Big Breakfast
Glasstown Brewing Co.

As a Stout / Porter fan...this might be the best heavy out there...thankfully its in my back yard!!!
It’s name is on the money, it’s like drinking coffee for (breakfast) lunch and hopefully dinner!!
Smooth, rich and full bodied, it’s like morning coffee for the afternoon / evening soul!! Most importantly, the consistency of this year round favorite is always true! Cheers to my friends @ Glasstown!!!

Pours a dark color with a nice head and lacing
Aroma has coffee, maple syrup and roasted malt hints
Taste has a coffee, malt syrup and roasted malt flavor
A medium bodied well carbonated beer
A good Porter

 

Glasstown Brewing Co. "Big Breakfast"
16 fl. oz. can without production codes or freshness dating

Notes via stream of consciousness: A rough pour halfway up the pint brought up a four inch tall head. Topping it up after it dies down I've now got a finger's width of light brown foam. The body is an opaque black. I can smell it at arms length and it's very chocolate-like. Before I get into what else is in there, what IS in there? The label doesn't list anything it just says coffee maple porter. OK... ahh, at this point the head has dropped and it's starting to break apart on the surface. No lacing was left behind. It's definitely very chocolatey but I also very clearly get the coffee and Maple syrup. Everything is bright and the coffee is like oily coffee beans sitting in the bin at my local breakfast shop. On to the flavor... I'm definitely getting more coffee and bittersweet chocolate there. I get the maple upfront and then again in the back but it just can't compete across the middle. It's got some bitterness to it, some acidity from the dark malts, and it finishes bitter, dry, and roasty like black coffee. I appreciate that there's some sweetness upfront, just the perfect amount in my opinion, but it's also got that dry and bitter finish. That's some remarkable balance right there. The finish is quite long, at least once you've had a few sips and it builds on your palate. The chocolate fades first, followed by the coffee, and then the bitterness but, surprisingly, some caramel and nuttiness emerge after that. Although I didn't get any lacing from the initial head dropping there is some in play now. It's formed after each sip, and then it fades away. It's not great, mostly just a few splashes and streaks here and there surrounded by small and tiny spots but at least it's something. In the mouth it's medium bodied and gently crisp, then smooth. There's a lot of flavor packed into this one, and I really think they've nailed the balance between sweet and bitter, and all of the different flavors.
Review #7,789

On tap at the brewery's taproom at the airport.
This dark, opaque porter smells like pancakes covered with maple syrup with a chip of coffee on the side. I see this is just what the brewery's description says. Tasting rebels a flavor that's almost as good as the aroma. The coffee is more prominent and, thankfully, it is not as sweet as the aroma suggests. Very well balanced mix of flavors.

 

Poured into a tulip glass. It pours ink black with a half finger of fluffy, khaki-colored head that slowly dissipated leaving a thin sheen of lacing inside the glass. It has quite a nose! Freshly-brewed coffee, maple syrup, caramel, and a whiff of chocolate. I thought it might be cloyingly sweet but it wasn't. It opens with a rush of char and tobacco smoke followed by burnt coffee, maple syrup, cinnamon, nuts, and a nice malt base that really simulates pancakes. It's really roasty. Oftentimes "breakfast" stouts and porters are gimmicky but this on isn't. It finishes fairly dry and slightly bitter. This Porter has just the right mouth feel; it's not too thin. The carbonation is pleasant and it carries a pop with its 7.2% ABV. Lots of breweries are releasing breakfast brews but Glasstown pulled it off nicely with The Big Breakfast.