Abandon All Hope
Octopi Brewing

22 ounce bottle into tulip glass, bottled in 2/2016. Pours lightly hazy/cloudy nearly opaque dark ruby red/brown color with a 1-2 finger dense and rocky light khaki head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount off streaming carbonation. Aromas of big coconut, milk chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, cream, biscuit, and brown bread; with light notes of chili pepper, coffee, nuts, dark fruit, herbal, grass, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malts, coconut, and light pepper/earthy hop notes; with big strength. Taste of big coconut, milk chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, cream, biscuit, and brown bread; with light notes of chili pepper, coffee, nuts, dark fruit, herbal, grass, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Very mild herbal, grassy, roast bitterness; and pepper spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of coconut, milk chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, cream, biscuit, brown bread, chili pepper, coffee, nuts, dark fruit, herbal, grass, and yeast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts, coconut, and light pepper/earthy hop flavors; with a solid bitter/spiciness balance, and no cloying flavors after the finish. Slightly increasing dryness from lingering bitter spiciness. Medium carbonation and medium-plus body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/velvety/bready, and slightly sticky/chalky mouthfeel that is fantastic. Zero warming alcohol for 7%, with minimal lingering Pasilla pepper heat through the glass. Overall this is an outstanding spiced american porter. All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts, coconut, and light pepper/earthy hop flavors; very smooth and easy to drink for the ABV, with the very mildly bitter/spicy/drying finish; fantastically soft feel. Not sure what the age did to this, but it tastes like a milk porter now. Great balance of rich malts and coconut flavoring; with mellow peppers and mild earthy hop notes. Not overly sweet with lingering dryness. A highly enjoyable offering, and outstanding experimental style example. Really big fan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dark reddish brown in the light, thin layer of creamy tan foam that laces well around the edges of the glass. Lasting skim across the surface, good clarity when held to light.

Toasted coconut aroma is great, macaroon impression, slightly sweet caramelized sugars.

Smooth and supple feel, a little thin and undercarbed, but flavorful with lasting notes of toasted coconut and light chile heat. Some carob or cocoa from the roasted malt. It's smooth and drinkable, spiced well but not "hot". Could use a bit more body, but it is a porter. At the end of the day it's more or less a vehicle for the adjuncts, but it works pretty well.

 

22 oz. bottle -

Pours dark brown with a lasting creamy tan head. Spotted and uneven lines of lacing stick down the glass.

The smell is of coconut, chocolate, peppers and light earthy spicing.

The taste is of chocolate and coconut. Light roast weaves in and out. The pasilla peppers show strong in the finish making it dry and spicy.

It has a pretty smooth medium body.

An interesting brew. A solid porter with a twist of coconut. The strong pepper spicing in the finish becomes a bit much after the first half (and wipes out some of the other traits from the palate).

 

Poured 22oz bottle into chalice. Rich, deep brown/mahogany with a 2.5 finger khaki head. Fades into a thick ring and leaves behind spotty lacing. Coconut aroma is very noticeable in a sweet way decadent way. Sweet malt with toffee and cola notes. Spice from peppers is not present in the nose. I pick up the coconut flavors right away with the base porter cola notes. A bit of light tootsie roll flavor and the spice from Pasilla peppers builds slowly and tingles, but is not hot. I think Pasilla was a good choice as it has a more mild spice. It is lighter body, yet still manages to be creamy. Carbonation is spot on. A pretty decent flavored porter with a twist.

 

 

Too much pepper. The initial taste is great- one of my favorite porter-y porters even. But then the pepper sticks in your throat and makes you feel like you have acid indigestion after about 10 seconds.