Wolaver's Alta Gracia Coffee Porter

Welcome to the very first edition of our Untappd inspired New Brew Thursday!  If this is your first time checking out TDBB, feel free to follow us on Untappd under TDBC_Cavalier and TDBC_Dobie.  This week, the tasting is dedicated to my coffee obsessed friend Becki - we have three coffee porters and three coffee stouts ready to go!  My am I going to be drunk by the end of this.

Since I'm going in ABV order, first on the docket is Alta Gracia Coffee Porter by Wolavers, of Middlebury, VT.  Interesting fact, Wolaver's is one of a few USDA certified organic brewing companies out there!  The Dobie and I are looking into brewing as a USDA certified organic, so the beers from this company always interest me quite a bit.

Beer: Alta Gracia Coffee Porter

Brewery: Wolaver's
Style: American Porter
ABV: 5.0%

Glass: American style pint

Appearance: Pours with a 2 inch thick, fluffy, tan head that creeps down slowly.  Very dark brown with some pretty red highlights.  Hazy, with evidence of some very fine sediment.

Aroma:   Deep coffee aroma blended with some scent of chocolate malt and some subtle vanilla notes.

Body & Texture: Medium thickness bordering slightly heavy, but not a beer I have to chew by any means.  Mouth feel is extremely smooth and creamy, like silk with a slight fizz at the end.

Taste:  Quite a bit like a cold, alcoholic version of drinking my morning coffee (which by the way should be served thick, black, and untainted by any of this silly "milk" nonsense!)  Coffee is naturally the predominant flavor, and it is backed by chocolate malt.  A light vanilla bean flavor is present in the finish, that blends well with the mild bitterness one might get from the coffee.

Overall: 3.5/5  Well suited as an after dinner drink, or perhaps as a Saturday substitute for your morning brew.  I certainly wouldn't say no to this first thing on an early tailgating morning were it offered on one of my yearly pilgrimages to Paternoville!  Coffee is a classic way to go when creating a porter, because it allows for a thick, dark beer that doesn't need to be overly hopped as the bitterness is already there in the coffee.  Judging by the robust flavor of the Alta Gracia, I have to assume the coffee was added later in the brewing process - adding coffee too early can tire out the flavor, making it a weaker flavor that acts more as a background bitter than an upfront part of the beer.  My overall feeling about Alta Gracia is that it is quite good, however I think it would be better paired with food or as a more drinkable item that you're planning on having a few of, because it lacks the complexity of flavor that I like in a beer that I'm drinking solely to enjoy a beer.  That being said, get out your biscotti and coffee cake and give this one a shot!