Rogue Mocha Porter

Next up for our New Brew Thursday edition, inspired by Untappd, we have a Mocha Porter from Rogue.  I love Rogue, and who doesn't, for their wild ideas, great bottle art, and highly original brews and collabs.  Someday, I vow to try every brew on their list, but my goodness is that a challenge.  Challenge accepted, here we go with Mocha Porter!

Beer: Mocha Porter

Brewery: Rogue

Style: American Porter
ABV: 5.3%

Glass: American style pint

Appearance: Pours with an impressive 3-4 inch tan head.  Deep dark brown and opaque, with hints of red around the edges.

Aroma:   Aroma is dominated not by specifically chocolate, but cocoa notes, that lovely pre-chocolate chocolatiness that is more bitter than sweet but still all around delicious and mouthwatering to smell.

Body & Texture: Medium bodied, right around where I feel a porter should be.  Lightly carbonated, not enough to remove from the general "coffee" experience.  Silky smooth mouth feel.

Taste:  Coffee and cocoa combine to create a delicate bitterness that is very suggestive of a morning brew that I'd like to have in my coffee mug.  Perhaps we should have tasted this one in English mug glasses! A nice roasted malt flavor caps it off to complete a well rounded flavor with a short finish.

Overall: 3.5/5  The combination of the coffee and cocoa flavors blend nicely with the toasted malt, creating an end result that is not unlike your standard morning cup o' very nice joe.  I was expecting this to be a more chocolaty beer, with the sweetness one thinks of when you see the word mocha.  While I was surprised at the bitterness, it was not at all unpleasant.  While a sweeter beer would of course have a certain savoriness to it, I think that the bitterness added by using cocoa in lieu of straight sugary chocolate contributes quite a bit to the overall drinkability of this beer.  Rogue Mocha Porter is another good brew to have with dessert, or even in the morning if you're feeling adventurous and don't have to work.  Pair this lightly bitter chocolatey beer with something a little sweeter to compliment the flavor like tiramisu!