Maduro Porter
Coast Range Brewing Co.

Aroma: Hints of coffee, some black malts, but very mild overall.

Appearance: Tan amber glass with good clarity topped by a nice off white cover that left spots of lace.

Flavor: Very mild taste as well. Inoffensive with some mild black patent flavors, hints of hops, and an overall very balanced and well put together flavor.

Mouthfeel: Watery texture, medium body and low carbonation.

Overall Impression: It flies below the radar for me, but a very enjoyable beer. It could make a great session beer, complex enough but not taxing. Thanks to Pegasus for sharing the beer!

When poured, it was a very dark brown, with a nice amount of tan foam. The smell of roasted malts and bitter chocolate filled the nose. The taste was of roasted malts and bitter sweet chocolate with what seem like a hint of prunes on the palate. The warmer this porter got, the bitter it seem to get. I think, the colder this porter is, the better it taste's.

Bottling date unknown
[Alcohol 5.5% by Volume]

Presentation: 22 fluid ounce brown glass bottle, with a nice simple Coast Range angled across a dark diamond set on a gold background. No other data except for Maduro Porter at the bottle, and no other information is on the bottle except the usual health warnings.

Appearance: A very dark garnet, tending toward black that dropped into the glass like used motor oil, raising an immense foamy head that just sat there and sat there. It settled very slowly leaving almost no lacing in my glass. If you like fat, long lasting heads this ones for you, but I got impatient after a few minutes and so dug through it looking for the Porter that was supposed to be in the bottom of the glass somewhere.

Nose: Intense odors of dark chocolate, coffee, and burnt malts. Dark fruits kind of like prunes soaked in alcohol are in there also. Hops are pretty much hidden at this point.

Flavor is a very distinct dark chocolates and caramel with some brown sugar and dark burnt wood flavors that fill in with a hefty dose of roasted malts and just a hint of hops. The finish has a nice light hop bite, along with some liquorices and caramel that rounds this great Porter off nicely.

Mouthfeel: This one has a really smooth mouthfeel. Not oily, not harsh, but just great to slosh around over the teeth and tongue. Going down the back of the throat you feel a little tingle, but low carbonation makes this exceptionally easy to drink.

Overall and Drinkability: This is one that needs not need to be gently sipped; you can take a big swig and come back for more. So overall I have to rate this as simply a really nice Porter. One last comment. I drank this at room temperature and feel that was the correct decision. Too cold and it would not be as nice. I wonder how many raters drink their dark beers too cold.

just had to drain pour a beer, and that doesn't make me happy. I'm praying this beer, will put a smile on my face.

appearance: now that looks right. deep, deep, dark black look, no red at all. a thin film for a head that holds

smell: milky, could pass for a milk stout. sort of chocolatly, not chocolate malts, but actual chocolate. strange, but appealing bitterness, which i'm guess are the "west coast" hops, which normally you wouldn't find in a milk stout. real good though.

taste: frankly this seems more a like milk stout than a porter, but I won't knock it down for that because it's damn incredible. there's a certain mix of flavors here thats very interesting, yet completly drinkable. On one hand theres the creaminess you would except in Young's Chocolate Stout. But then in the aftertaste, you get some roast and a blast of west coast hops. wow, is this good.

mouthfeel: exactly like chocolate milk. works to a t here. this is grown up chocolate milk.

drinkability: fanstatic beer to enjoy over a bomber. wow thanks Jredner, i would have probably never picked this, if you hadn't recomended it. I'm thinking this is a more a milk stout, imo, but man do this sucker.

Highly Recomended.
ps. tried two new beers tonight. one a drain pour and one this nectar. i guess you never know, till you try.

This is a real porter and it is freaking awesome and obviously misundersttod and underappreciated. The aroma is mild, but roasty with hints of chocolate and malt. Deep brown to black with a fast fading head. Beautiful roasted barley flavors. Coffee and Chocolate, but they are both behind and a cohesive part of the roasted flavor. This is what I think of when I think of porter..it is the idealized porter flavor. It’s thin. But, it IS NOT thin for a porter. It is near perfect palate wise for a porter. I often see porters called thin and it throws me off since they should be thinner than stouts, but heavier than pale ale, bitters, esb and the like. Anyway. This is spot on. This is porter. A fantastic porter.

Well, this is my review that puts me over 900 "beer fun" points! I know to some it's not that cool, but to me it is. I have a few reviews saved up from when I went out to Cali a few months ago, this is one of the bad boys. I felt the look on this beer was simply devine. Super black body, with a very thick/frothy head that had awesome retention. The smell was really damn good too. Had such aromas as strong chocolate, roasted malts, coffeeness, and some hints of grapes. Kind of a red wine smell to it. The taste was great, but also had the element of a "winey" taste. It was very drinkable, even though it would be thought of as a heavier beer. It had a very smooth /rich/hearty taste and mouthfeel to it, so that helped it in the "drinkability" area.

For those of you not in the know, Coast Range Brewing hails from Gilroy, CA, a town known mainly in these parts for it's huge outlet mall and garlic festival. Gilroy, where the aroma of garlic never quite goes away. Spend a few days there, and for awhile afterwards you will catch a whiff of yourself and wonder if it might be time to change brands of deodorant. Coast Range has bottled a few of my favorite Central CA beers, so I figured it was time to give them a try.

A- Pours a deep, dark brown, like fountain Coke syrup before the carbonation is added. Quite a bubbly head initially on this one, but it lacks the gumption to stick around for too long.

S- Sweetness, mainly. A good mix of roasted malts and coffee. Mild, not overpowering, but still distinguishable.

T&MF- At first taste, it seems like this one might turn out to have a chance at being the mouth-filling type of porter that I enjoy, but after a quick burst of roasted malt and dark chocolate there is not much left to speak of other than a slight bitterness followed by a creamy, lightly carbonated finish.

Maduro porter never really does much to seperate itself from the pack, but it offers a no-nonsense smoothness and easy drinking overall charcter. If you see it, give it a try.

Dark black colored brew, I can not pass light through it.

Smell is sweet and full of roasted malt scent. Scents of toasted bread and faint chocolate.

Taste is a little sweet with no scorched flavor. Flavors of chocolate and coffee bitterness. Some fruitiness here and the taste of milk. Faintly acid from the dark malt but it isn't harsh at all.

Mouthfeel is good.

Hard to believe that Coast Range Brewing made this because this doesn't suck. A tasty mild porter that I can recommend.

I am sampling this beer courtesy of Watermelonman. Thanx!
I pour the room temp beer into a snifter. It pours pitch black with no lite escaping.
A creamy tightly packed tan head foams up 1cm and fades to a thin surface layer.rather quickly.
Aroma is roasted malt and some raisin witha bit of espresso in there too.
First sip reveals a smooth creamy textured brew with very soft mild carbonation.
Flavor is similar to nose with roasted malt and some chocolate dominating but allowing a bit of coffee to mix in on the finish. The finish is very roasty.
The beer is very smooth and easy to drink, although the body seems to thin out a little on the finish, the beer is very tasty and enjoyable.

Extremely dark and thick-looking for a porter, pitch black body. Little to no head, no more than the smallest whisps of haze. Doesn't look too exciting with its thick stillness. Nose is sweet and thick, fruity coffee bean, light vanilla.

Taste echoes the nose, juicy malts with notes of coffee candy. But that's pretty much it. Low unobstrusive carbonation doesn't distract from the singular taste. Medium body. Bitter, dry, sourish aftertaste.

Sweet, unoffensive, not too interesting porter, indeed, one-dimensional. Is it maduro b/c it's not that lively?

This beer pours dark brown. The head is tan. The head fades somewhat quickly leaving few laces. It smells malty, like burnt malts. There is a slight coffee smell. There is also slight hints of chocolate. It tastes slightly coffee like. I can taste chocolate. The malty sweet taste is quite refreshing. It also tastes just a little nutty. This beer is very smooth. It is refreshing and creamy. It leaves a good aftertaste on the palate. This is a perfect session beer. With low alcohol content and a good smooth malty taste, I would dring this beer over and over again. Definately worth a try or two.

Presentation: 22 ounce Bomber that I picked up from BevMo this weekend for $2.99. Standard brown glass Cali Bomber comes with a gold and burgundy colored crown cap that has the words “Coast Range Brewing Co.” on it. The main label has the words ‘Coast Range Brewing Co. Maduro Porter’. Established 1995 but no sign of any freshness date or even a strength.

Appearance: Extremely dark brown body that has a pitch-black look about it. Thick ‘over the top’ dark tan head covers the dark body well and rarely lets it see the light of day, though after a short while, one or two small black puddles appear on the surface. Decent conditioning but nothing to write home about, the lacing looks good though.

Nose: Roasted malts and lots of dark chocolates with some bitterness. Back end aromas remind me of chocolate covered hazelnuts and coffee Walnut Whips.

Taste: Silky but sharp and clean roasted start that builds into a smooth chocolate dark middle which has a nutty feel. Rather one dimensional but tasty enough.

Mouthfeel: Creamy and very smooth, dark malts, roasted chocolate….lots of smooth silky creaminess in this one.

Drinkability: Pretty damn good start actually, quite the quaffer. But as I reached the back end of this Bomber its enticement soon faded and it finished with a rather above average appeal for some reason.

Overall: The only other Coast Range brew that I have tried up to press was OTRA, whish is Lithuanian for Stale Donkey Piss apparently, thankfully, Maduro Porter is far removed from that awful experience. Not a bad offering considering, would I buy it again? – erm I’m still not sure….maybe!?

I don't consider myself a great beer reviewer, but since there are no other reviews of this beer...

I had this beer on tap at Cato's in Oakland. It's a mighty tasty brew, very drinkable. I have found some California Porters to be too bitter for my taste (Sierra Nevada comes to mind), but not this one. I had a pint and had to go back for a 25oz mug.

Color is very dark brown, with minimal head.

The smell is sort of chocolatey.

I guess my main impression is SMOOOTH.