Megalodon Imperial Coffee Porter
Champion Brewing Company

 

Appearance: Pours espresso colored with a head of creamy tan foam that leaves a web of lacing behind

Smell: Dark roast coffee with chocolate, char and a hint of cream

Taste: Dark roast coffee forward with chocolate playing a strong supporting role; hints of dark fruit and cream temper, through the middle; the finish is slightly boozy

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with moderate carbonation; warmth in the gullet

Overall: Quite impressed by the balance between the coffee and the chocolate here and appreciated some of the subtle tones

 

 

Sampling a cellar temp 16 oz can poured into my snifter. beer is courtesy of a swap with @cubatobaco, thank you!

The beer pours a dark coffee brown color with no light passing through the glass when I hold it up.
A dense creamy beige colored head of 1 cm foams up. This foam fades to a soft sturdy surface layer that lingers throughout the sampling. The foam also creates some scattered lattice when I take a sip or swirl the glass.
the aroma is some roasted malt and a bit of bakers chocolate with the dominant scent being coffee grounds. Definitely smells like a black coffee not light and sweet. No hint of the 10% ABV and hops are absent as well.
First sip reveals a very soft and smooth textured body. The carbonation is gentle and rolls across my palate , this beer feels like its on cask. Very gentle physical traits.
Flavor is what I would expect from style and nose. I get some roasted malt light chocolate notes and then a good dose of coffee. Again the coffee is not sweetened and leans towards a little bitterness. This doesnt really linger though and it isnt overwhelming or acidic tasting as can sometimes happen with coffee beers. I dont get hop character here either and the ABV is well hidden with no warmth or bite. Making for a dangerously easy drinking beer.
Really glad to have tried this one from a brewery I am not familiar with, but this beer is solid and worth a purchase if you like dark roasty brews.

 

Pour is black white a khaki head
Nose is fresh roasted coffee grounds, mocha, latte, roasted malt, a hint of plum
Taste follows. A big wave of fresh mocha, latte up front. Then the porter shows itself is chocolate, roasted malts, a touch of ash.
Creamy body. Lingering chocolate, coffee.

Woof. That's a nasty looking creature on the label. The brew is pretty nasty too.

It's black or rather the darkest brown imaginable. A fine head persists. The nose is filled with monster hops and roasted malts. Liquid coffee grounds. Espresso. It all hits the taste very to make it very bitter, with tons of coffee bittering helping balance and hide all the sugars and booze. Sticky (!) finish.

Highly recommended. This is an outstanding creation. I'm not sure if I have any more from this brewer but I will seek them out.

From the tall boy can in a snifter. This exceptional imperial
pours a rugged brownish black with a nice head of tan foam
that settles to a thick ring, thin dusty layer, and shows very nice
lacing. Nose of coffee, char, light cream, and deep roast with
dark chocolate and touches of dark fruit. Flavors hit the high
note on this one! Rich layers of coffee, waves of dark chocolate
fudge, touches of cream, and hint of dark berries with char
and roast. Very nice mouth feel; full body, smooth, lightly
slick, coating, light carbonation, and a full bitter malt finish
that is lightly warming.

Excellent!!!! Need to try more from this brewery!

Cheers

big papa party can poured into my trusty 10 year old Lagunitas jar. canned 11/12/20 and I already feel guilty popping it this early. PROSIT

pours near-pitch black with a roasted tan froth foam head that has moderate retention and leaves only the occasional patch of thin sticky lacing as it settles to a murky cap with defined halo, before ultimately dissipating completely after about 30 minutes.

aroma is coffee, booze heat, and loads of rich thick chocolate malt. THICKKKKKAH
---as it warms, the aroma loses some heat and sweetens up vividly

straight up follows that nose, leaning in significantly. the rich thickness is balanced by a booze heat bite that serves as a proper pause for dramatic effect. several shades of chocolate here; blends of smooth milk chocolate, lush molasses-like dark chocolate syrup. coffee hits off hard with the dark fruit notes shared by the chocolates. lactose carries vague Madagascar vanilla in there among the reeds.
---warming up, the dark fruit and vanilla/lactose blossom, the heat dies down, and the coffee notes really open up and hone in. splendid.

moderately low carbonation and moderately thick body. occasionally smooth with spikes of booze heat. finishes mildly bitter.
--as it warms, the booze spikes stop rearing their head so often, and a coffee bittersweetness takes the reins for the finisher.

overall:
this might as well just be labelled a stout and call it a day, but since it isn't, I guess, technically, this classifies as one monster porter and you should adjust accordingly. this thing is a beaut, and while i did not get the initial "privilege" of experiencing the ultra-smooth velvet tanker i have noted in other reviews, the grainy booze kicks were a welcome reprieve in what would have been an otherwise predictable ocean of "sameness" that has become the coffee/breakfast porter/stout. or so I thought....
as the brew warms up/sits around and kicks off its boots for a bit, the booze settles and the coffee really shines through even more. these beans carry a bite themselves, i'd wager - and i plan to find out as soon as i can find a bag from this Shark Mountain.
cheers to whoever helped these two artists meet. seriously. one of the best porters I have had in years, and certainly stacks up with and pairs well with big boy stouts in a flight.

Canned on 11/12/20. 16oz can poured into a tulip. Pours almost black; creamy khaki head that fades leaving nice retention and lacing. The aromas are malt forward along with a nice amount of cocoa powder. Hints of vanilla. The coffee is pretty subtle in the aroma department. The flavors follow the nose, but are bolder. Lots of chocolate leading the way. Nice blend of milk chocolate, dark chocolate and chocolate syrup. The coffee comes through in the flavors. More vanilla along with some lactose in the mix. Subtle sweetness along with a subtle bitterness. Solid malt backbone. Mild warmth in the finish, but nothing crazy. Mouthfeel is full-bodied with moderate to low carbonation. It's very fluffy, slightly creamy and velvety, smooth and ultimately dangerously drinkable.

This is a decent coffee brew. It drinks more like an Imperial Stout than an Imperial Porter, in my opinion. It might not be my new personal favorite, but it's not bad or anything like that.

I got a late start on yesterday's NBS (Week 774) & I did not finish up my DelMarVa (+ DC) adventure as planned. 8=( Further, I have promised that next week's NBS (Week 775) will be dedicated to the wonderful beers sent to me by @jkblr who seems to have a real handle on my drinking habits. CANsparency is key in these things! As a result, I am going to CANcentrate over the next few days on eradicating everything that would have CANbined to form the finale of the DelMarVa (+ DC) adventure. Sit down, strap in & hang on. It's gonna be a wild ride! My last from Champion is undoubtedly from my local, in-person trader, @tone77 so it is appropriate to give him props & much love.

From the CAN: "Megalodon is our massive Imperial Porter made with locally roasted cold-brewed Sumatra Lintong coffee from our friends at Shark Mountain Coffee Company. Rich and velvety with smooth coffee flavor."

Something is wrong here! Twice now, I have lost massive amounts of verbiage that were there before I pressed "Submit"! 8=(

I Crack!ed open the vent & beCAN a slow, gentle C-Line Glug into the awaiting glass. It foamed up mightily to form just under two fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, deep-tan/light-brown head with very good retention. Color was Very Dark Brown to Black/Opaque (SRM = > 34, < 44), allowing only the faintest ruby highlights to shine through. Nose was full-on dark-roasted coffee. Mouthfeel was perhaps the weakest link in this very strong chain, just not bringing the kind of fullness to acCANpony the rest of its CANtents. The taste was smoky, chocolaty & mosdef of coffee. Finish was plenty dry & quite satiating. YMMV.

 

Poured from a 12 oz. can. My can says 10% abv. on it. Has a black color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of chocolate, coffee. Taste is coffee, roasted malts, smoke, some chocolate, alcohol is well hidden. Feels medium/full bodied in the mouth and overall is a quality beer worth trying.