Porchata
Mirror Twin Brewing

4 pack from Trader Joe's

Creamy with notes of cinnamon. Good roasted malt, and a subtle sweetness. The carbonation is a bit more for me, but I think that is a deliberate choice that I can jump on with.

 

 

As the temperatures cool down, our interest in higher culinary art is just heating up. Pushing the porter to new flavor heights, the brewing team at Mirror Twin reminisce of Mexico and the vanilla cinnamon cream drinks that refresh the palate with softness and spiciness.

Enter Porchata- a porter that comes with the expected dark brown, slightly bronzed color and carrying a fine haze. Its creamy but still froth swirls like coffee creme. Sharp cinnamon aromas tingle the nose with a backdrop of toast, coffee and chocolate looming. Sweet on the palate, its malty base of caramel, toffee and cream swirl on the tongue with a rich and wintry delight.

The dark ale strives for balance on the middle palate as the sweetness slowly relaxes and the spice and nuanced toast of the beer begin to stand out. Those dark toast, medium chocolate, roasted pecan and soft coffee tones give a savory and robust charm to the underlying toffee sweetness and invite the cinnamon to add more character with a sharp spiciness that just screams Christmas. Potpourri-like, the spice and toast is soothed by the vanilla and heavy cream for a lush and milky finish.

Medium bodied and moderately sweet, Porchata remains remarkably drinkable though pushing the alcohol strength slightly. Its peppery alcohol spice tucks nicely behind the cinnamon as a malty dry finish tries out outweigh the cream in finish. A long and cinnamony aftertaste easily outlasts any porter or vanilla character as another drink comes quick.