De Eem/Hommeles Maple Coffee Porter
Brouwerij De Eem

Got this one from the Mitra in Maarssen

From a bottle into a snifter
Malt: Pils, munich and carafe
Hop: Tomahawk, Willamette and Brambling Cross
Indonesian and Corazon coffee with Canadian maple syrup

APPEARANCE: Clear dark brown pour yields a huge, four finger, looser, foamy and fizzy light tan head with huge retention. Bistre brown body with little visible carbonation evident. Huge foamy head isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Eventually fades to a foamy cap. A slight foamy cap remains and leaves some chunky lacing down the glass.

SMELL: Some light maple notes and touches of coffee, but mostly wet cardboard and metallic oxidized aromas. Not pleasant. Oddly enough, if you smell the bottle when you open it, is smells like maple syrup and coffee. Disappointing.

TASTE: The flavor follows suit. Wet cardboard and metallic oxidized flavors up front and into the swallow. Not much maple syrup is left at all. Some coffee at the finish with a medium and lingering oxidized aftertaste with notes of coffee bitterness and metal. Shame.

PALATE: Thinner body, light, and piles of foamy carbonation. Light and foamy on the palate, goes down fine and finishes drier.

OVERALL: Not pleasant and not worth finishing at this point. There was a lot of potential and smelling the just opened bottle was promising, but this one is definitely oxidized. It’s not even that old I don’t think. It’s too bad, as I’ve always been impressed with de Eem and this seemed right up my alley.

 

33cl bottle. Deep brown pour with a thin beige head. Smells of roasted malts and cold brewed coffee. Tastes a lot like cold coffee and roasted malts, with some caramel in the background.