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Groundwork Coffee Porter
Smog City Brewing
- From:
- Smog City Brewing
- California, United States
- Style:
- American Porter
Ranked #21 - ABV:
- 6%
- Score:
- 93
Ranked #4,120 - Avg:
- 4.16 | pDev: 10.58%
- Reviews:
- 53
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Jan 29, 2024
- Added:
- Dec 31, 2011
- Wants:
- 36
- Gots:
- 97
Blurring the line between coffee and beer, our Coffee Porter treats the taste buds to a decadent romp in chocolate-covered espresso beans. Through careful selection and much experimentation, we synced up with local coffee roasters to create this exceptional brew.
Each barrel of beer is loaded with over five pounds of fresh coffee, enhancing the notes of dark chocolate, roasted malt and its native coffee character. This unexpectedly crisp and refreshing dark porter is equally satisfying on a bold winter night or a lazy summer day.
Indulge in the rich duality of Coffee Porter and let Smog City stir up your perception of "dark" beers.
Each barrel of beer is loaded with over five pounds of fresh coffee, enhancing the notes of dark chocolate, roasted malt and its native coffee character. This unexpectedly crisp and refreshing dark porter is equally satisfying on a bold winter night or a lazy summer day.
Indulge in the rich duality of Coffee Porter and let Smog City stir up your perception of "dark" beers.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by RaulMondesi:
Reviewed by RaulMondesi from California
4.35/5 rDev +4.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
4.35/5 rDev +4.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Is there a delicate dream? One that does not have violent shocks? One that does not wake you with an abrupt jolt? If there is, it is Smog City Coffee Porter. It is light and airy; thin and grace-like - like an Angelino ballerina to be. And when I say 'thin,' I don't mean 'thin thin.' I mean fragile, like one of your grandma's doilies. The beer is nice, light, airy, fragile, beautiful, graceful... There is this beautiful aroma with an abundance of coffee flavor that hits your pallet like a Van Gogh paint stroke. This is the real deal and Raul recommended.
Dec 05, 2017More User Ratings:
Reviewed by marcnotmark from Florida
4.73/5 rDev +13.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
4.73/5 rDev +13.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
This was a really good specimen of the genre. It was exactly like what it should be ; half coffee, half porter, CO2 and a mild alcohol kicker. Yummy and refreshing. A great 4 PM refresher.
Oct 18, 2020Reviewed by DIM from Pennsylvania
4.34/5 rDev +4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.34/5 rDev +4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
This is kind of one dimensional, but coffee is one of my favorite dimensions so...
Up front the porter notes are distinguishable, roasty cocoa with a hint of twang. In short order though, a deeply satisfying, robust coffee flavors builds and builds until a completely takes over. Finish enormously satisfying, fresh brewed exhale.
Sep 24, 2020Up front the porter notes are distinguishable, roasty cocoa with a hint of twang. In short order though, a deeply satisfying, robust coffee flavors builds and builds until a completely takes over. Finish enormously satisfying, fresh brewed exhale.
Reviewed by Viaduck from California
4.43/5 rDev +6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
4.43/5 rDev +6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
Almost black with a minimal head that does not last long. Very delicious aroma: dark roasted coffee & rich dark chocolate. Mildly bitter with a touch of sweetness. As promised by the aroma, lots of dark roasted coffe flavor, rich dark chocolate & malted grain. Not very complex but absolutely delicious. Feel is a bit with little carbonation. No alcohol detected but feels stronger that 6% to me. A great replacement for the morning brew.
Jul 18, 2020Reviewed by metter98 from New York
3.92/5 rDev -5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
3.92/5 rDev -5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
A: The beer is jet black in color. It poured with a half finger high tan colored head that left a thin layer of bubbles covering the surface and lots of lacing down the sides of the glass.
S: Moderate aromas of cold brew coffee are present in the nose along with notes of dark and chocolate malts.
T: Like the smell, the taste is dominated by flavors of cold brew coffee and has underlying notes of chocolate malts. There is a light amount of bitterness and the finish has hints of roasted malts.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation along with some dryness from the roasted coffee in the finish.
O: This makes for a very nice coffee beer to start out your day and is quite heavy in body for a porter - the mouthfeel is much closer to a stout.
Serving type: bottle
Jul 05, 2020S: Moderate aromas of cold brew coffee are present in the nose along with notes of dark and chocolate malts.
T: Like the smell, the taste is dominated by flavors of cold brew coffee and has underlying notes of chocolate malts. There is a light amount of bitterness and the finish has hints of roasted malts.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation along with some dryness from the roasted coffee in the finish.
O: This makes for a very nice coffee beer to start out your day and is quite heavy in body for a porter - the mouthfeel is much closer to a stout.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed by ELS from Florida
2.78/5 rDev -33.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.75
2.78/5 rDev -33.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.75
I had this beer on tap at the brewery. It looks pretty good with a nice medium brown color. It smells a little burnt with an underwhelming aroma. Taste is just average for a coffee porter. The coffee is a bit astringent and bitter. Was this cold pressed? Tastes like they didn’t brew the coffee properly for an adjunct to the beer. The mouthfeel is where this beer is truly lacking. Yes, a porter should be thinner than a stout but this beer is watery and it really kills it in a bad way. I don’t see how this beer can be rated so high? Maybe this was a really bad batch? I had an excellent stout while at the brewery so I know Smog City is more than capable.
Jul 09, 2019
Groundwork Coffee Porter from Smog City Brewing
Beer rating:
93 out of
100 with
413 ratings
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