Coffee Sessions: Four Barrel
Cellarmaker Brewing Co.

 

 

Served in a stange at Good Karma in San Jose CA. This came highly recommended by the owner, who in general has superb taste in beer.

A: Dark, dark brown. Almost black but not quite. Light can be seen around the edges no problem. One finger of mocha colored head that dissipated quickly, not a ton of carbonation or lacing in general though. pretty much your standard appearance you'd expect for a porter.
S: Roasted coffee beans... Almost that smell that smacks you when you enter Starbucks, or any coffee shop, gorgeous coffee aroma. Dark chocolate, roasty malts, dark roast coffee. Hints of sweet malts in the background, but this is a dominantly coffee based beer.
T: Black coffee upfront, roasted beans and dark chocolate mix for a great coffee forward taste, small amounts of bittering hits in this salvo of flavor. This is followed by a bit of malty sweetness blended with roasted malts. Coffee lingers in the aftertaste with a mild sweetness.
M: Medium mouthfeel, not too heavy but plenty of body. Low carbonation, just enough to compliment the beer and fit into the carbonated beer paradigm. Lightly coats the mouth with every sip, yet you can drink continuously due to only being a 6% beer.
O: Holy crap, one of the best beers I've tried this year. If Cellarmaker was based on the East Coast they'd be getting so much more run for the amazing beers they make. Absolutely floored at how tasty and intricate they've made this without high abv, barrels or hopping. Get it while you can, this is worth seeking out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured on nitro at Cellarmaker's tap room. Poured creamy and milky at first into a small 5 oz. taster, settled to a dark tan head with decent lacing. This stuff is mostly a dark, hazelnut brown.

Smells like a dream, really great. The mocha aroma is intense and chocolate. So much sweetness on the nose and a really intense/roasty punch that fills the room.

The rich coffee flavors burst in the front end, no acidity at all. The milk sugars linger for a few moments then fade to a sweet and slightly bitter finish. Leaves you wanting to take another sip immediately.

Velvet coating smoothly spreads across the palette hitting every square inch of your tastebuds. It could be heavier with a more "imperial" mouth feel. On a hot day like today, however, it works well.

If you love coffee and rich/creamy porters, you gotta get yourself down to Cellarmaker in SF. It's like drinking an ice cold cup of rich and decadent chocolate coffee.

A- Rich brown in color with thin mocha head
S- Coffee for sure. Huge roasted bean notes right up front
T- Not vey much of the coffee. A bit of the bean mixed with pine and tropical hops... nice, but not great
F- Medium ... pretty standard porter
O- Great nose, unfortunately for me, the taste didn't match... close, but not on par. Very good beer... just shy of great.