Stranger Than Coffee & Maple Syrup
Collective Arts Brewing

 

 

 

Can purchased and drank at Collective Arts Brewing in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

This one pours a dark black color, with a small head, and a bit of lacing.

This smells like roasted malt, dark chocolate, bittersweet maple, vanilla, caramel, and coffee.

This is a nice little update to a great porter – Stranger than Fiction. It doesn’t have too much added sweetness to it, from the added pastrying. The coffee works well with the general roastiness of the base porter. The maple adds a creamy but not overwhelming sweetness, and there’s a very nice general chocolatiness.

This is creamier and more full bodied than I’d expect for the lower ABV of this one. It’s quite drinkable and super smooth.

This was extremely enjoyable, and quite well done.

L: Pours a dark walnut, forming a thin latte head that dissipated quickly. Scant cloud of retention on the surface, and a wavy ring of lacing lines the edge of the snifter. Held to the light, this beer has an opaque dark chocolate, almost dark umber hue.

S: Aromas of maple syrup, chocolate, brown sugar - very sweet and balances out plenty of coffee. Faint char and roasted malt.

T: Heaps of coffee and maple syrup. Burnt/browned sugar and a smattering of dark chocolate with some lightly toasted malts. The coffee roast dominates the flavor profile.

F: Thin body for a porter. Breaks apart quickly, very minimal coating. Syrupy, later fizzy mouthfeel. Some moderate carbonation.

O: Should be more robust and higher ABV. Too thin, good flavor but lacks the punching weight of some of Collective Arts' stouts/porters. Good introductory beer porter for a first timer.

 

16oz can purchased from the fridge as a single for $3.49. AUG/23/2023, so this is about 5 1/2 months old.

Look: Very dark. It's basically black with some brown highlights coming through the base of the glass. There was a nice-looking single finger of mocha-colored head that ultimately dissipated.

Smell: Huge, sweet aromas of dried figs and raisinettes (chocolate covered raisins). Coffee and chocolate coming through as well. Definitely has a vanilla coffee aroma. The maple syrup comes through up front; I think it is a more subtle aroma compared to some of the other strong notes so it has a tendency to get lost in the mix.

Taste: Okay, this beer is significantly sweet. The nose was leading me this way, so I am not so surprised. The finish is slightly bitter with notes of chocolate and dried figs. I think that I would enjoy this beer much more if it wasn't so sweet. I also wish that it had a more pronounced and complex coffee flavor. I feel that there is so much maple syrup and residual sweetness in here that it is hard for the other notes to shine.

Feel: The mouthfeel is pretty nice - it's creamy and it has a medium plus body.

Overall: It's a tasty Coffee Maple Porter, as advertised. It's just too sweet for me. I appreciate the aroma much more than the taste.

From the website:
Your favourite and strangest ode to all things breakfast has returned! We started with our flagship porter and then added copious amounts of both our very own Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup and freshly roasted coffee from our friends at Detour Coffee, who are based in Hamilton. The result is a beautiful marriage of chocolate and sweet maple syrup that is balanced with the fresh roastiness of the coffee. A cozy favourite!

From the can:
LIMITED RELEASE
Cascade, Nugget & Gr. Magnum

 

Pint on tap at Sidewall Pizza in Travelers Rest, SC.

Appearance. Opaque blackish body with some transparent brown showing at the edges. It is topped by a beige head which has good retention.

This has an evenly balanced (excepting the stronger coffee note) and harmonious blend of dark grains, medium-dark roasted coffee and maple sugar. Mildly bitter overall with some obvious sweetness.

Mouthfeel. Exceptionally smooth, with well set medium-light carbonation in a full body.

 

473 mL can from the LCBO; dated Aug 9 2022 and served barely chilled.

Pours inky black with glints of chestnut 'round the base; nearly two fingers of puffy, soapy, tan-coloured head fizzles off within two or three minutes, dropping down to a thin collar and filmy cap. An attractive, meandering coat of lace clings to the glass, about half an inch wide - like the original, it's a beautiful porter. Huge coffee notes on the nose, with plenty of dark chocolate and maple candy; I'm also getting molasses, chocolate syrup, cocoa powder and a hint of vanilla. It's very sweet, but undeniably enticing.

Same goes for the flavour profile - maple syrup, caramel and molasses right off the bat, with raisin and roasted malts quickly giving way to waves of coffee at the finish. It's bitter, with hints of earthy hops and coffee grounds sharing space with the maple syrup sweetness. They both linger into the aftertaste, but somehow the syrup manages to outlast the bitter coffee notes. Medium in body, with a slick, syrupy mouthfeel and relatively inert carbonation that meekly nudges the palate; this is the opposite of refreshing, but it does have its charms.

Final Grade: 3.92, a B+. Stranger Than Coffee & Maple Syrup is good, but it's a downgrade over the base porter. Comparing this to Fiction, I'd say this variant wins on aroma, but loses in the flavour and drinkability departments - I like coffee as much as the next guy, but with all the sugar, this beer swiftly made me thirstier (for water). Strong coffee can cause that, but for me, really sweet flavoured beers also tend to, so it's a double whammy. Not a beer I'd seek out deliberately, but I'd buy it again if I were in the mood for a sweet porter, milk stout, etc. along those lines.

A-Black metal with a cappuccino head
S-Syrup heavy with maple aroma quite pronounced
M-light mouthfeel with medium body and low end carbonation
T-Nutty flavour with a maple spark and intense coffee flavour that remains as an aftertaste
O-Solid but flavours are chemical…

Can: Poured a black color stout with a large brown foamy head with good retention and some lacing Aroma of roasted matl with light chocolate and strong maple notes. Taste is also a mix of semi-sweet roasted amt and chocolate notes with some faint coffee notes and a strong maple finish. Body is light with good carbonation. Not bad and drinks quite well.

Apr 26 2024

 

Appearance - Pours a dark jet black with two fingers of bubbly mocha tan head,

Smell - earthy, leafy, and floral hops, strong coffee aromas (espresso), maple syrup, cocoa, roasted malts, caramel, and earthy yeast.

Taste - earthy, leafy, and floral hops upfront. The strong coffee and bold maple syrup come through next. The cocoa, roasted malts, caramel, and earthy yeast round out the brew.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Finishes smooth with the coffee and bold maple syrup lingering.

Overall - A tasty and well rounded porter with the pleasant addition of coffee and maple syrup. What surprised me the most about this brew is how potent the maple syrup is with the coffee notes in this brew. Well done Collective on delivering another memorable drinking experience!

 

Kind of worried trying this one as this style, with coffee and maple, is for the heavy hitter breweries, not the mass produced ones CA has become, plus at 5.5% ABV, it's way too weak for the style.
Let's see.
The pour is black, as it should be, but the head does not have the caramel colour that ought to come with coffee. Unless there isn't much of it in here. The taste is surprisingly drinkable, though watered down, obviously. The maple shines quite well (unlike in the disastrous Rorschach attempts) and the coffee does appear enough to remind you of its presence. In the aftertaste, I even detect the chocolate.
Obviously not going to replace anything from Dieu du Ciel or Founders, but it could have been much worse and really, it's pretty decent. Maple and coffee are excellent choices for stouts when done right.
Worth a few tries, though sadly not for me, as this, just like a few of CA's more popular brews, gave me a headache.

 

473 ml can from RedChurch. Served cold into a tulip.

Appearance - Dark brown, near black in color, nice two finger tan head, staying power, all the good stuff.

Smell - Some wet coffee grounds, general roastiness and maple syrup. Not the biggest nose, but the key special ingredients are both there.

Taste - Roasty notes of front, some coffee flavor and then a little sweet on the back end with maple syrup. Sort of a sourness in the aftertaste that isn't bad but detracts a bit.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied, seemed a touch thin and carbonation is moderate.

Overall - Not the best beer from CA, but worth trying a can. I think coffee and something else or maple syrup and something else with the base porter might have produced a better result.