Midnight Malt
Pelican Brewing Company

12iz can from Brewers Haven. Dark brown pour with beige head. Aroma brings cocoa, chocolate and roast. Dark chocolate in the taste, mildly sweet, smoky and finishes dry and bitter. Nice mouthfeel.

Didn't really enjoy this beer. It's thicker than a usual porter, but the cocoa is like cocoa nibs, a bit lingeringly bitter for my taste, and the malt is reminiscent of an over-roasted coffee, and that's a flavor I don't like in my beer.

 

12oz can
date stamped 03/09/21
L: dark brown body, tall tan head holds good retention
S: cocoa, dark grain, coffee
T: dark cocoa, chocolate malt, caramel, earthy hops, a bit metallic
F: medium body, ample carbonation, balanced finish
O: not as good as expected, but fun to try another beer from this Oregon brewery

something about a porter you want to drink all six of, its a rare thing to find, but here we have a great example of exactly that, a super sessionable and well made take on the style, traditional enough but unique too, a little yeast element giving it depth, not overly roasty or bitter or lingering, not too much body, and if there is actually cocoa in this, its more of an earthy organic low end sort of note, a cocoa nib rather than some other chocolate element, which works well, but its not even that obvious, like it could potentially all be from grain, which makes it even more cool and special. tons of subtle flavors integrated here, from licorice to toasted marshmallow, toffee and coffee, even leather and almond, its not an overly flavored beer, but i taste a lot in it at the same time, which to me is the mark of something very well done, especially in these darker ales. its lighter bodied and without the deepest of roasts, so in a way it sort of drinks like a brown ale, but there is a ton of depth still, a lighter but frothy body, and some dry linger on the swallow, so it fits best as a porter. i love the dark chocolate character, the texture, and the fact that pelican just continues to slay with everything they put out. definitely among the best of the northwest!

Had on tap at Bulldog Saloon Lynnwood, WA

We got this one at Total Wine in a 12 oz can, chilled and poured into an imperial pint glass.

Look: dark brown, almost black, hard poured into the glass and left a finger and a half size off white head that dissipated into a small layer of foam that hung around a while. As we drank a nice lacing clinged to the glass.
Smell: malty up front, followed by a light roast and light hop
Taste: malt, light roast, followed by bitterness on the back tongue that hung around a while. No chocolate and no noticeable coco. For us there was a metallic note that was unpleasant with hop notes that persisted on the back end.
Feel: smooth and watery, light tickle of carbonation that hung while it warmed

We live in the Portland area and Pelican is one of the few Oregon brewers that we think is fun and creative, in particular the beach from location that really makes traveling a food and beverage destination. Having said that, this particular beer is an average porter that doesn’t really live up to a coco porter as advertised.

Cheers?

Poured from 12oz can into a dimpled mug. Canned 10/12/20.

Appearance: rich, very dark brown hue with plenty of murk and a finger of frothy dark-tan foam. Quite attractive!

Smell: sweet with hints of chocolate and roasty malt. It's nice, but there's not a ton of complexity here.

Taste: a bit sweet with some caramel and toffee character, although there is some chocolate flavor here, it's not especially strong. It's quite a decent porter altogether, however; I dig it.

Mouthfeel: medium-light body with a moderate carbonation and decent creaminess.

Overall: I quite like this porter. Not many breweries are selling them widely these-a-days, and this is a nice, refreshing change of pace.

L: dark like a black cup of coffee, think cold brew
S: lightly earthy - not a strong smelling beer
T: delicious, good ass porter - coffee notes are more starbucks like then a boutique roaster
F: medium body, feels like a porter should feel, if not a bit over carbonated

Delicious beer. I’m down AF.

A-Good looking pour, with visible carbonation building to a nice head that persisted
S-subtle malts and bitter chocolate
T-charred, roasted nuts, bitter chocolate. Average sweet, below average bitter.
M-Average body, a little below average carbonation
O-Solid porter that incorporates the cacao nibs well.

12 oz. can. Part of a mixed 12 pack, just because i couldn't decide on one beer tonight!
From Safeway in West Salem
A handsome looking porter!. Black body . topped by an amazing rocky/billowy dark beige head. Fantastic lace retention all down the glass.
Nice strong aromas of semi sweet drinking chocolate, coffee and milk chocolate, little bit of fine roasted malts balance. Great
Taste is more roasty..but all that is in the aroma is here too.
Nice mouth feel for the style..medium with medium carbonation and semi dry finish
A very good porter from Pelican.

12 ounce can dated 10/20 or so. It's a dark beer, not much head. The smell is cocoa and mild roasted malts. The taste is similar, but to be clear, this isn't a chocolate beer. It's a well made basic porter, very well balanced, with cocoa as part of the mix, but not dominating. Some folks have mentioned coffee. Well, maybe, but not compared to a lot of coffee stouts.

Overall, it's just a really fine porter, smooth, sort of understated but terrific. Recommended for those who appreciate beers that don't hit them over the head with aggressive flavors. The relatively low ABV fits the personality of the beer, too.

12oz can

Pours a finger of pillowy tan head into my teardrop glass. Retention is average for a non nucleating glass. Initial lacing looks really nice. Body is jet black, not even any hues when held to the light. Looks pretty nice so far.

First thing I think of on the nose is creamy, that’s a good start. Noticeable cocoa, roasted malt, earthy, faint caramel, not much in the way of coffee like the can suggests, it wont be too missed. A little sweet, and a hint of bitterness, but overall it smells extremely clean. Not super complex, but this smells quite good.

Cocoa shines through very nicely, but does not overpower. Notes of vanilla as well. By the end of the palate some earthy notes shine through. Very clean, as expected. Pretty strait forward, but really yummy.

Mouthfeel is wonderful. Carbonation is medium-low, creating a very smooth palate. A little sweet, but very modest considering the style, a little dryness in the finish. Bitterness is low but shows up briefly to add some support. Body is about medium or maybe a tad below, not watery but definitely does not weigh the beer down either. Very very balanced. Killer.

Drinkability is outstanding, this beer is really tasty and drinks very easy.

Appearance was decent, lacing was pretty webbed, but not bad. Head was as expected for a glass of this nature.

Overall really nice, clean, balanced, tasty. Great to drink beer that still tastes like beer!

Delicious 12oz can poured into a nonic.

A: Very dark pour for 6%; opaque and mildly viscous with a fluffy tan head that laces OK.

S: Full nose of cocoa and roasty malt with impressions of caramel sweetness and coffee.

T: More of the same on the palate with a generous dry roasty malt and a solid dusting of cocoa with a fusion of caramel and coffee.

MF: Solidly medium body with a good mouthfeel and that drying porter finish.

O: Overall a solid cocoa porter. Very tasty.

 

Look: Jet black with a light brown head that settles into a nice lid and leaves good lacing as it does
Aroma: Baking cocoa, wood notes, bready notes, roast, some nuttiness, and some earthy hops sneak through as well
Taste: Roast and chocolate come in swinging and are quickly joined by a nice woody note along with some layers of earthiness. A big chocolate note leads to a silky and soft finish with slight dryness and zero bitterness
Mouthfeel: Smooth and silky throughout, a little light on the body but standard fare for a porter, medium-high carbonation, and a lightly dry finish
Overall: I like it. This came as part of a 12pk mix pack of cans and is a new beer for them as well as for me but overall, it is a nice chocolate porter. I’m usually more of a stout guy as some porters are too light in body for my taste preference but this one makes the cut. It also has a unique woody aroma and flavor I’ve never experienced before (at least as a beer that isn’t barrel-aged) but I feel it works well in this.

1 month old can poured into a pint glass. Great dark brown 3 finger head that falls slowly into OK dark lacing and a nice crown; however, after a few minutes the beer falls flat (served out of the fridge). The color is opaque black, with a tinge of red. The nose, while faint, is a hint of licorice, cocao, and some caramel mollasses. The taste is surprisingly un potent, meaning it has some complexity but falls flat for some reason, and to be honest this is a surprise from Pelican. I get some hint of chocolate, and traditional porter smoke, but not much else and it is fleeting. A very unnoffensive and safe porter, if there ever was one.

I wish it was better, but there is great potential here.

EDIT: Second taste on tap at Pelican Feb. 27th 2021. Very similar, although the hint of cacao is more pronounced this time around. Very mellow porter if one is averse to strong smoke flavors, still very drinkable. Taste was bumped to 3.5, from 3, and feel was bumped to 3.25, from 3, in this new edit.