Cocoa Porter Winter Warmer - Tommyknocker Brewery

Zorro

California

3.18/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Sampled due to the kindness of gbontrag.

A clear brown colored beer with a thin tan head, decidedly looks more like a brown ale than a porter.

Smells like Italian Espresso flavored soda. Little sweet with a seltzer and Espresso aroma. Doesn't smell bad it just needs more complexity and layers.

Taste is a little sweet with a big Nestle quick chocolate flavor up front at the beginning. Very much a chocolate flavored beer with a much lesser taste of coffee in it. Main problem here is that this tastes like Canfield's Diet Chocolate Fudge Soda. I happen to like that soda myself but it doesn't taste like beer.

Mouthfeel is very much soda.

A Canfield's Diet Chocolate Fudge Soda version of beer. If you like that soda you will like this, if you don't you will hate this.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2006 04:45:00 | More by Zorro

klewis

Ohio

3.53/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bottled 11/10/06

A: Pours a solid brown color with a small bubbly head. Very light lacing.

S: Smells like cocoa mix and a bit of cappachino.

T: Chocolately and somewhat sweet with an earthy quality. The taste is subtle and plain, but overall, it tastes good.

M: Medium-light in body with a smooth creamy texture.

D: Not outstanding, but a decent brew. The flavor should be widely accessible for the unrefined palate and should satisfy even those with better taste. An all-around solid brew.

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2006 04:38:47 | More by klewis

ZimZamZoom

West Virginia

2.8/5  rDev -16.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

12 oz. bottle poured into a tulip glass. Bottle is dated 11/10/06.

This beer is different. It might be great for some and taste just awful to others. I think the blending of flavors is not done to perfection and at times the flavors actually clash. Cocoa and honey? Not the best combination to begin with if you ask me. Would you put honey in hot cocoa?

It pours a deep amber with a pretty decent head. You can really smell the cocoa and not much else. Maybe a hint of roasted malts. The taste is also of cocoa, with some hop bitterness. Truthfully the flavor combination could be mistaken for a sourness which I do not think is there. If you don't think of it as sour and think of it as what it is...all is well.

I would not recommend this beer. Unfortunately I bought a sixer. It's not going to go to waste but I won't be looking forward to the next 5.

Serving type: bottle

12-03-2006 03:03:01 | More by ZimZamZoom

FtownThrowDown

Ohio

1.35/5  rDev -59.9%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1

All I have to start with, is this is the closest I’ve ever come to a drain pour. It tastes really sour. It’s like eating a hershey kiss and a lemonhead at the same time. Don’t really get this beer. The smell is as bad as the taste. The only thing going for it, is it doesn’t look that nasty sitting in the glass. Which gets you to drink it. I kept on taking drinks thinking there’s no way it’s as bad as I think it is. This thing is a mess!

Serving type: bottle

12-01-2006 14:41:53 | More by FtownThrowDown

Domingo

Colorado

3.43/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

This is a pretty fun take on a winter warmer/chocolate beer.
Pours a cloudy medium-brown color. It's not as dark as I might have expected. Roughly like a Weizenbock. Looks a little like a light colored ale spiked with cocoa powder ...which might be the case.
Smell is almost all cocoa. It's got the typical beer yeast smell so you're not going to confuse it with hot chocolate, but there's very little else to it.
Flavor's quite good. The first sip is a sweet chocolate zing followed by a sourness that surprised me although some other Tommyknocker beers seem to have it, too. On the back end it has a warm milk chocolate flavor. At the same time, the malt's definitely there and it's clear that the actual backbone isn't as weak as you might initially expect.
Mouthfeel is a little thinner than I figured, but it actually makes the beer very drinkable. It goes down very easily and after finishing a bottle I wanted another right away. That's always a good sign.
It's not a world beater, but it's still a good beer for the season.

EDIT: What's odd is that after the first try of this beer I find myself liking it less and less. However after a year I liked the first bottle of the second batch, too. I'd say that it's just one of those beers unique enough to trick your palate a little, but you'll get sick of it quickly.

I think I wish this was in bombers instead of a six pack. A bottle to split would be nice, but 6 is a bit much for this.

Serving type: bottle

11-28-2006 17:22:27 | More by Domingo

mwalters

Illinois

4.63/5  rDev +37.4%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This was a very fun beer. Upon the opening there was a major aroma of chocolate. Very nice, different.
Tha taste was very pleasent. This was a fun beer to drink because it was so different. This is a seasonla release and would make a great addition to a hliday party. I also had this on draft was also equally pleased.
I reccomend this beer!

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2006 00:57:17 | More by mwalters

chOAKbarrell

Maryland

1.3/5  rDev -61.4%
look: 4 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

My first impression is: this beer stinks! As in = it smells really really bad. For whatever reason, the scent is of moldy wet burnt carpet. Ick. On the bright side, it looks good. Very dark and the mocha head stays around. I think that's about the only positive thing I have to say about this one. The taste is bad. Its sweet and syrupy and kind of nauseating. Something just doesnt taste right. I dont know what happened here. I want to believe I got a bad bottle. I split this with my girlfriend and could barely finish my 6 ounces.

Serving type: bottle

11-19-2006 23:44:47 | More by chOAKbarrell

Beaver13

Colorado

3.13/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

12 oz bottle, bottled on 10/13/06. Pours a dark reddish-brown with a thin and fizzy tan head that quickly diminishes to a collar.

The aroma is sweet, slightly roasted, chocolate (hot chocolate) and some coffee and honey.

The flavor is mostly just the sweet, slighlty roasted,chocolate. There's a little honey in there, and a sour coffee twang at the end. The mouthfeel is thinnish and watery with little carbonation.

Overall, an interesting beer, albeit one dimensional. If you like sweetened chocolate, this may be for you. The sourness detracts from it a bit.

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2006 00:55:47 | More by Beaver13

Jredner

Florida

3.65/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

New in town. Saw it at World of Beer and Beer World of Largo. VERY chocolate/cocoa accented. High concentration invokes cocoa powder and makes me want it warmed up with little marshmellows in it. Dark brown to ruddy black with a quickly diminishing mocha head. Big cocoa blast in the fore. Thinnish body. Almost has the feel of istant hot chocolate. If thicker with a few more other flavor notes this could be pretty good. It’s just seriously basic as it is, but quite tasty if you like cocoa and if that is what you want then this is a solid beer. I have to confess that personally it is a flavor I rather enjoy so whil it aint a Porter I’d want to have on my deathbed it is tasty, to me.

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2006 21:39:49 | More by Jredner

russpowell

Oklahoma

3.8/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Born on/best consumed date of oct 14 06 (Best consumed within 4 months according to the label). Claims to be a winter warmer, but probably just taking liberties with the term. No where on the label does it say St. Nick& is completely different than the one displayed, shame i suck at computer stuff. Using my ignorant tastebuds, I'd ballpark this at about 5.6%abv

Pours deep chestnut/mahogany with a 1.5 finger of offwhite head. Some thin film & some spits of lacing on the glass

S: Bigtime cocoa up front, then a hint of roast grain. A little breadyness & a whisper of cinamon& just a little bit of alcohol burn on the finish

T: Choclate & some lactose notes up front, then a few hints of burnt grains & then some brown sugar. Some warming notes & breadyness come through as the ale warms. Dryness is the main that I get from the honey that's added. More cocoa, a hint of maple syrup & dryness in the finish

MF: Slight slickness & low-low carbonation . Skews a little sweet to me

Drinks really easy, not something to get lost in deep thought with, but still works with the cool weather. Miles better than say, breckenridge porter. Works as a nice change of pace. Not bad, liked their rye-porter better when I was at the BP

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2006 23:08:13 | More by russpowell