Greetings From Coconut County
Hometown Brewing Co.

473 mL can from the LCBO; dated Aug 31 2020 and served barely chilled.

Pours a deep copper-chestnut brown with brick red highlights, producing more than a finger of foamy, light beige-coloured head that displays excellent retention. Even after the ten minute mark, a quarter-inch cap of smooth, creamy goodness remains in place, accompanied by a full, even coat of sticky lacing - now this is a nice lookin' glass of beer. The aroma is decidedly more muted - it smells of milk chocolate, coconut, coffee and caramel.

It's a serviceable coconut porter - leans sweet overall but especially at the forefront, with coconut flavouring, caramelized sugars and bready, doughy malts. Hints of cocoa, real coconut and some leafy, earthy hops towards the finish, with lingering hints of coffee, coconut flavour and caramel into the aftertaste. Medium-light in body, with mild carbonation that weakly brushes the tongue; feels smooth, but also a little bit flat to be honest. It was easy enough to toss back, but it's not something I feel the need to repeat in the immediate future.

Final Grade: 3.59, a B grade. Hometown's Coconut County is a decently rendered novelty porter, but that's the strongest praise I can muster up for it. Its flavours are ok and it looked fantastic, but neither the aroma nor the mouthfeel did much for me. According to the ingredients list, there is indeed real coconut in this beer, but it also mentions coconut extract... and I was sensing just a bit more of the latter versus the former. That's not to say it's cloying or overwhelmingly fake - it actually works fine alongside the dark/caramelized malt backbone - it's just that there's a tinge of 'inauthenticity', for lack of a better term. In any event, if a coconut porter sounds up your alley, then I'd say give it a try.

473 ml can served at cellar temperature into a pint glass. LCBO purchase for $3.20 CDN. Canned August 31, 2020.

Appearance - Dark chestnut brown with red highlights. Big two finger frothy tan head rests on top. Well above average staying power.

Smell - Weak chcoolate notes, hints of roasted malts and a little more coconut. Aromatics are fairly modest and artificial smelling (when it comes to the coconut).

Taste - Some bits of chocolate, a buttery quality and then some coconut that actually tastes better than it smells. Enough bitterness to keep things balanced.

Mouthfeel - Medium to even light bodied, lighter carbonation and fairly easy to drink. 5.6% ABV is well hidden.

Overall - Had a second can a few nights later (and wrote the review) and it's actually a decent little flavored porter. I'd think my limit on these is one per night as I'm not a huge coconut fan, but this is more than serviceable and a nice little treat that has me thinking of warmer climes.

Look: Pours dark brown with 2 finger beige small bubbled head. Head disapates after 5 minutes into strong lacing.
Smell: Light sweet caramel. Hints of chocolate. I didn't pick up any coconut.
Taste: The chocolate flavour of roasted malts hits you at first but then the coconut comes through well by the middle and hangs into the end. Slight mineral water sharpness at the end. Tastes like a beer brewed with combination of coconut water and sparkling water.
Feel: Very lighly bodied. Semi rich, but surprisingly light and sessionable for a 5.6 ABV. Feels more like a 4 % session stout.
Interesting beer, for fans of coconut water and porters this is definitely worth a try. I give it a strong B. I have to mention it's possibly the prettiest can I've seen all year.

Pours dark, dark brown (not quite black), with a loosely spread head. The smell is a bit coconut along with other nut flavours. The taste is again coconut with a rich malty backbone. For a guy that doesn’t usually like coconut beers, I thoroughly enjoyed this one.
Sept 30 2022