Coffee Lawlessness
Platform Beer Co.

 

Well looks like this isn't gonna be made anymore!!! Yikes...anyways this actually was pretty decent, coffee was there, lighter body. If this wasn't Platform I'd be slightly more optimistic but regardless I really didn't find this to be a bad brew at all

 

Today is my (Un?)Happy New Jumping Off of the New Platform Beer Sunday (Week 755)! I have been redding up my house during my CANvalescence from surgery & putting together a number of brewery horizontals in doing so. I had planned, even before its announcement about its sale to A-B/InBev, to drink a buncha beers & a seltzer from Kleveland's Platform Beer Co. for this week's NBS. I was disheartened to hear of the news, especially having read the GI story. I am not one to boycott a beer due to their acquisition by a large corporation, but it did take some of the wind out of my sails.

From the CAN: "Porter Brewed with Coffee"; "Grains[:] 2 Row[,] Munich II[,] Chocolate[,] Beech Smoked Barley[,] Special 8[,] Victory[,] Hops[:] Northern Brewer[,] East Kent Goldings[,] Fuggle[,] Yeast[:] San Diego[,] Adjunct[:] Brazilian Espresso[,] Plato[:] 15.5[,] IBU[:] 34"; "Phoenix Coffee Co."; "LOCOBA"; "Ohio Craft Beer".

I Crack!ed open the vent & while the Glug went as planned, the pseudo-cascade was not as pronounced as in the previous iteration. Still, it foamed up nicely to form just under two fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, deep-tan/light-brown head with decent retention. Color was solidly Black/Opaque (SRM = 44) in this one, allowing ZERO light penetration. Nose was redolent with … not simply coffee, but espresso! I remember one of my first encounters with espresso - it was in Sardinia at the boat landing & it really wound me up for the day. I CAN always tell when it is being brewed as my nose will automatically orient in its direction. Mouthfeel was medium. The taste was almost entirely of espresso. I am very glad to have gotten to try this in a back-to-back with its base beer. Here, the coffee simply dominated. The smokiness from the malt was amplified by the richness of the espresso. Speaking of rich, this was the dictionary definition thereof! Man, it was really like a few cups of espresso & less like beer. Finish was dry & bitter in the sense that espresso is dry & bitter. Of the two, I really liked this one. Then again, I like dark, rich, roasty black coffee every morning. YMMV.

 

 

12 ounce can into tulip glass, canned on 1/10/2019. Pours a bit murky, nearly opaque dark brown/black color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and rocky khaki head with great retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice dense soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, medium roast coffee, caramel, brown sugar, roasted nuts, wood smoke, toasted biscuit, and dark/brown bread/crust; with lighter notes of molasses, dark fruit, charcoal, herbal, wood, floral, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready/smoked malts, coffee, and light-moderate earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, medium roast coffee, caramel, brown sugar, roasted nuts, wood smoke, toasted biscuit, and dark/brown bread/crust; with lighter notes of molasses, dark fruit, charcoal, herbal, wood, floral, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate herbal, floral, woody, grassy, spicy hops; and charred, roasted coffee bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, medium roast coffee, caramel, brown sugar, roasted nuts, wood smoke, toasted biscuit, dark/brown bread/crust, light molasses/dark fruit, charcoal, herbal, wood, floral, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready/smoked malts, coffee, and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; with a great roast/hop bitter/sweet balance; and no cloying, acrid, astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering hop/char bitterness. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/silky/bready, and fairly sticky/chalky mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 6.25%. Overall this is an excellent American coffee porter. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready/smoked malts, coffee, and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; very smooth and easy to drink with mellowly bitter/charred/drying finish. Awesome well rounded rich malts and fruity/nutty coffee complexity; with nice earthy English hop presence/balance against sweetness. A very enjoyable offering, and spot on style example as expected. No complaints.

From the 12 oz can in a snifter. This mighty fine little porter pours a
nice deep chocolate brown color with ruby highlights and a nice head
of khaki foam that settles to a thick ring, thin light clumping layer,and
displays some nice light lacing. Nose of rich coffee, light char, deep
roasted malts, and subtle cocoa. Flavors follow the nose with rich
cold pressed coffee and bakers cocoa with char and brulee overtones
that feature smoked woodsy elements with a touch of tobacco.
Very good mouth feel; almost a full body, smooth, coating, rich,
light carbonation, and a char and roast laden finish.

Everything I look for in a porter, and with coffee.....even better!

Excellent!

Canned on 1/10/19. 12oz can poured into a tulip. Pours almost black with a creamy khaki head that falls leaving great retention and sticky lacing. The aromas are coffee forward. Roasted characteristics are there. Chocolate is there. Hints of vanilla. Malts are there. The flavors basically follow the nose. More black coffee up front. Hints of dark chocolate. More roasted characteristics coming through. Solid bitterness coming from the coffee. Malts do their thing. Alcohol goes unnoticed. Mouthfeel is medium-bodied with moderate carbonation. It's fluffy, smooth and easy to drink.

This is a nice coffee porter. Nice coffee aromas and flavors. Well done. I like it. It's just as good as their regular Lawlessness porter, based off of my memory.

I bought a 6pck of this from my local meijer. It poured an opaque dark with tan head that is leaving some lace. The scent had coffee notes. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with roast espresso presence. The mouthfeel was lighter in body with good carbonation. Overall its a solid beer.