CoCoNut Porter - Maui Brewing Co.

MusicaleMike

Pennsylvania

3.98/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

"Coconut Porter is a fresh handcrafted robust porter brewed with six varieties of malted barley, hops, and hand-toasted coconut."
For some odd reason, warm days make me long for dark beers. This one hits the spot!
Coming out of the can, the beer appears a deep chestnut brown color, and in the glass it appears almost completely black. Solid 2 fingers of mocha-colored foam on top. Slowly, the head dissipates to a very thin layer of bubbles.
The aroma is of delicious taosted coconut mixed with the milk chocolate smells of the porter's dark malts. It is a gentle yet distinctive aroma!
Fills the mouth with rich nots of toasted coconut, dark chocolate, toasted marshmallow, and light suggestions of lactose sugar.
Mouthfeel is a medium-bodied texture, with enough lively carbonation to keep it from being "heavy". Biting finish, and a roasty aftertaste.
Enjoyable beer and I would most definitely drink this beer again. Probably would go extremely well with desserts and Hawaiian-inspired pork dishes.

Serving type: can

10-20-2012 19:03:42 | More by MusicaleMike

ehammond1

California

3.65/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Can (2012)

Texas Liquor
Carlsbad, CA

Dark brown throughout with a moderate brown head that eventually leaves a small ring atop the beer. This leaves the glass near clean on the way down. Appropriate, but not special in appearance.

The aroma is certainly the star of the show here, with nice amounts of coconut and hazelnut coffee leading the way, along with mild roast and toast. There's a bit of a maple sweetness as well, interestingly enough. Wonderful aroma.

The flavor isn't quite as unique or simply as enjoyable as the aroma. The coconut, roast, and sweetness are still there, but there's also a touch of an acidic character that isn't exactly complementary to the rest of the porter.

Medium body with moderate-low carbonation.

Good enough, but not overly special.

Serving type: can

10-01-2012 00:44:11 | More by ehammond1

JohnnyHopps

Indiana

3.55/5  rDev -11.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I have been trying to get my hands on this one for a while. I am not entirely certain that it was worth the wait. The beer was a dark malty color when poured into a snifter. There was about a half inch, off-white head which seemed a little unusual for a porter. The fluffy head made the aroma leap into my nose a little easier, sending notes of malt and flakes of coconut into a scent detector. The initial taste was a dark malty thrust with the coconut hints far in the background. Also present was a hint of nuttiness and something flowery that I could not identify. The thicker texture of the mouthfeel allowed the porter to coat the tongue and lending staying power to taste. For a porter, this is a nice drinker. Like most people, I did not buy this as a porter. The unique coconut spin on a porter is what will draw the attention of drinkers. In this respect, I found the beer disappointing because the coconut was not potent enough overwhelm my palate.

Serving type: can

09-30-2012 19:44:02 | More by JohnnyHopps

Dave1999

Virginia

4.23/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured a very dark brown with a big tanned head.

The smell is roasted coffee,dark malts and burnt toast.

The taste matched the smell, rich dark,toasted malts,coffee and burnt toast which must have been the toasted coconut.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium carbonation.

Easy to drink and very tasty.

Serving type: can

09-26-2012 23:45:23 | More by Dave1999

jlindros

Massachusetts

4.03/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

My first from this brewery, thanks to dcloeren. Also interesting looking can, although canned 9/14/11, over a year old now unfortunately.

Pours a fluffy bubbly large darker chocolate colored almost 2 finger head, that fades fairly quickly at first, then slows a bit but eventually leaves nothing to cover the top, with spotty messy lacing, over super dark molasses brown color with barely any light coming through almost making it black looking.

Nose is nice, lots of chocolate, dark chocolate, cocoa, little syrupy like with caramel, vanilla, toasted biscuit, with nice toasted coconut undertones that come through fairly well, nice toasted coconut, nutty aromas, and chocolate, slight almond joy like nose.

Taste starts a bit syrupy and semi sweet, with a light caramel and syrupy like flavor. That quickly turns to nice cocoa, dark chocolate, fairly bitter dry chocolate powder. Also some vanilla, Then plenty of toasty, toasted coconut again, toasted almond, toasted grain, etc. Nice coconut that is light overall and heavy, but not overpowering. it does get a slight off flavor from the coconut oils breaking down, but that's most likely from the age. Little biscuit malt. Finish is semi bitter, earthy hop bitterness with a slight spicy quality, then nice coconut, chocolate, and vanilla lingering and quite dry.

Mouth is med to a bit heavier bodied but still feels somehow watery, decent carb.

Overall pretty good, nice flavors of chocolate, cocoa, vanilla, and lots of toasty coconut. Pretty tasty, but not perfect, and the age shows a little. I would like to try it on draft sometime, hopefully in Hawaii. Wormtown NORM might be the only coconut porter better than this though.

Serving type: can

09-21-2012 02:11:18 | More by jlindros

circus_cat

Virginia

4.2/5  rDev +5%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: WOW, head alert. Be careful pouring this into a tulip glass--I went semi aggressive and it overflowed in about 1 second. Good-looking beer. Mine's almost ink-black with a rocky, slowly dissipating mocha head. Getting more lacing than I would have expected. Some bubbles are clinging to the side of the glass. It looks effervescent.

S: The nose is straight-up dark chocolate almond joy. Light coconut with bigtime chocolate wrapped around it. I get burned toast but not in a terrible way. Caramel and chocolate malts coming through as well. A tag bit of hop bitterness. The slightest bit of banana on my second or third smell.

T: I'm a little surprised--I get the bitterness up front with dark chocolate and coffee through the middle. The finish is milk, coconut, and milk chocolate. I really like this.

M: Light to medium body, refreshing, no booze burn at all (pretty lowish ABV so no surprise there), on the dry side. I like!

Serving type: can

09-14-2012 21:15:52 | More by circus_cat

Svarallo94

4.45/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a super dark brown to light black with a nice creamy tan 2 finger head that fades to a capping really looks nice in a tulip or snifter

Nose hits with strong toasted coconut right away with creamy chocolate and vanilla aromas right behind it . Possibly a hint of coffee as well . Smells really nice

Tastes is similar to the nose . Got even better as I let it warm .

Mouthfeel was middle of the road / not super thin but not super heavy .

Overall this is a really great beer . One of my favorites ( but I am partial to coconut brews ) it drinks like a desert with the great chocolate malt / vanilla / coconut flavors.
I was very impressed by this . Cheers !!

Serving type: can

09-13-2012 01:54:43 | More by Svarallo94

jtd1969

North Carolina

4.53/5  rDev +13.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

A - dark brownish black with a light brown or light tanish head.

S - Coconut and coffee, chocolate

T - Sweet roasty malts with coconut and a rich coffee taste. Hops on the end are really well balanced.

M - Smooth, good carbonation, nice rich body that is a little thinner than medium body, but definitely not light bodied. Rich tasting but a smooth light swallow

O - Such a tasty porter. I would drink this often if I could get my hands on it regularly. I recommend it.

Serving type: can

09-11-2012 00:54:47 | More by jtd1969

cyclonece09

Virginia

3.83/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12 oz can into a 14 oz "pint" glass. Pours a nice black color with a nice 1.5 finger brown foam head that leaves nice lacing down the glass. A very aromatic brew with lots of smell of rich chocolate and some coffee taste. A little blander than I was expecting given the aroma, nice dark malt taste, but little chocolate smell in the taste. This light bodied beer is very drinkable with a nice level of carbonation, but not overly so. Overall, a very good beer.

Serving type: can

09-01-2012 20:44:12 | More by cyclonece09

IvoryFoxhole

Virginia

4.23/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 ounce can into tulip glass

A) Slow pour leads to moderate light brown foamy head that slowly disappers into a very low cap with light lacing. Beer is a very dark brown.

S) You catch the sweet roasted malts, sweet coffee, some coconut, a little bit of alcohol

T) Nice mix of sweet and bitter - lots of roasted coffee, some coconut. No alcohol evident in taste. Moderately carbonated.

M) Pretty consistent with taste, not too thin. A little bit of carbonation, finish not too dry at all.

O) I can see why Washington Post tasters loved this; while a bit of a gimmick beer it's really quite good and a definite change of pace. Not a traditional porter, but very tasty.

Serving type: can

08-30-2012 23:15:17 | More by IvoryFoxhole

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

3.88/5  rDev -3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

An even porter. The coconut tones seem mild and subdued. I think I was expecting more. It's consistent though. Fairly hearty. I was just expecting some...coconut. Or at least a clearly notable bit of it. I think in this instance, it's more an accent than a feature. And that's alright. The oily nature of this porter works well with it.

Serving type: can

08-30-2012 16:43:59 | More by RblWthACoz

Hoptometrist

Oregon

3.68/5  rDev -8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served from the can into a nonic pint glass

A- Poured almost black with a frothy dark mocha colored head that left droppy lace

S- Pretty sweet aroma, lots of vanilla, some cocoa, and a smell that is coconut like.

T- Big dominant roasted malt flavors, roasted coffee, some unique sweetness that does taste a little coconut like

M- Very smooth, lighter to medium body, very drinkable, goes down like water, finishes semi-dry

O- This beer has great drinkability with great roasted malt flavors although I didn't really get any coconut flavor

Serving type: can

08-17-2012 03:19:33 | More by Hoptometrist

BostonHops

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz can served in a pint glass.

pours a dark, cola brown while yielding a healthy 1" head; decent retention and lacing. nose offers a lot of your usual suspects - roasted malt, coffee, a hint of chocolate - but is distinguished by a prevailing coconut presence.

flavor largely follows the aroma with roasted malt, coffee, coconut and bitter chocolate being the primary players. maybe a touch of smoke in the background. medium bodied mouthfeel with average carbonation.

overall this is a very nice porter. tasty and distinguishable by the coconut character, which sets it apart. not world class territory but very enjoyable.

Serving type: can

08-15-2012 22:56:22 | More by BostonHops

AtrumAnimus

Texas

5/5  rDev +25%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

This porter was an amazing surprise. When I first noticed it in the store I saw that it was made with Coconut and was also a World Beer Cup Gold Award winner. This seemed completely counter intuitive to me since I am a cook and home brewer I am able to imagine tastes combinations before combining very accurately. This one was not connecting my head. Therefore I had to try it, regardless of the $10 for 4 cans price.

Now that I have tasted it, I would have paid $20! One of the best beers I have ever tasted and now, officially my absolute favorite porter.

The beer pours a wrongfully rich dark black that is impenetrable to a 100 watt light bulb. The head is incredibly thick, rich and long lived with a perfect tan coloring. The lacing is thick rick and slow to settle down the sides.

The nose is wonderful sweet malt, chocolate, nutmeg, roasted coconut, fresh cut grass and hints of the fragrant perfume orchid. It is a sweet floral nose with earthy undertones that is just fantastic.

The taste, the greatest surprise, is very much not overwhelmed by coconut. Even if you hate coconut, you will not hate this. There are notes of savory, sweet bitter and the subtle yet satisfying level of bitterness from the hops. The beer is perfectly balanced flavors that have a combination of bitter dark chocolate, some coffee, bread, heavy cream and rolls over the palate from savory sweet to bitter with almost no after taste. The mouthfeel is rich, creamy and super smooth.

I absolutely love this beer and it will become a staple for me. I rarely give 5 out of 5 for any beer. This is rare and wonderful treat. I just recommend letting it warm to about 54 degrees to get the complexity of the flavors. I took my from the fridge and let it set for about 20 minutes before pouring.

Serving type: can

08-10-2012 03:06:40 | More by AtrumAnimus

tut2528

Illinois

3.03/5  rDev -24.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

bottom of can states: Canned on 05-04-2012... consumed on 07-24-2012

A: pour is a deep black with a solid fingers worth of head formation. massive lacing cause the head to retain in excess of a minute. The head has a consistency that lies directly between thin and foamy and is off-white in appearance

S: I pick up on a strong malt backbone, chocolate, coffee grounds and a slight smokiness. I do not pick up any coconut however which is disappointing.

T: Where's the coconut?!?!?! it has a decent balance of roasted malt barley (as the can indicates) and coffee grounds, and just an ever so slight hint of nuts. Hops and a smokey aspect dominate the finish.

M: medium-full bodied, finish is decent but doesn't leave much of a flavor.

O: went to Maui on my honeymoon and thought that this was a huge disappointment. The coconut was completely elusive (which makes me think that it must be consumed immediately fresh). Sells in 4-packs for a typical price, but I just don't find this one any more unique than any other porter. Disappointing

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2012 03:01:04 | More by tut2528

JuicesFlowing

Kansas

4.48/5  rDev +12%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a standard pint glass.

The beer is a dark cola black with brown coming through the light on the edges. A frothy oatmeal colored head recedes to a bubbly wisp with a thicker ring, and loads of sticky lacing at the top of the glass.

Coconut aromas tickle the nose, in a sweet subtle way. This is not like sticking your face into some suntan lotion, it's not -- it's more in an around about sort of way. A touch of roasted malts and bitter chocolates as well.

Taste profile is again, not in-your-face. This is definitely a porter first and not a dessert. Roasted malts and the bitter chocolate profile comes out, but there's that whole coconut thing going on. It's just perfectly infused into the malt sweetness that it tastes natural. There's a small bitter hop finish as well.

The mouthfeel is sharp and dry.

Overall, if there's such a thing as a "refreshing" porter, then this is it. There's coconut here, but it's not as cloying and sweet as you may think. I think this beer is done just right, and very interesting.

Serving type: can

08-05-2012 03:38:37 | More by JuicesFlowing

LiquidAmber

Washington

4.35/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Review from 8/2010 notes. Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a dark, dark brown with an enormous long lasting dark tan head. Nice lacing. Interesting porter aromas of dark malt and something pleasant that doesn't smell like coconut, but must be. Nice porter flavors with roasted malts, cocoa and a hint of coconut. This is the best low ABV porter I've ever had. Nicely done.

Serving type: can

08-02-2012 18:24:19 | More by LiquidAmber

facundoCNB

New Jersey

4.6/5  rDev +15%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

a very brown/black pour with 2 fingers of frothy tan head which quickly dissipated. sudden nutty smells once i popped the can open.. smell of roasted coffee, roasted grains, and overall smokyness followed. a toasty, yet sweet overall taste. the coconut seems to act like lactose in sweet stouts, but does have that coconut taste as well which makes this beer fantastic. usual suspects are there too (roasted grains, tobacco flavor, coffee beans). its' medium body does not take away from the silky smoothness one bit.. it's slightly creamy yet balanced perfectly with the amount of carbonation that it just goes down extremely smooth.

overall, this has got to be one of the best porters/dark beers in general i've ever had. i tip my hat to the brewers at maui, this is a damn fine beer.

Serving type: can

07-31-2012 02:27:52 | More by facundoCNB

ThisWangsChung

Maryland

4.08/5  rDev +2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz can poured into a tumbler pint glass.

A: Pours a very dark brown color with little light coming through. The head is a weakly textured, one finger offwhite color that fades away to a thin film quickly.

S: Oh wow, this is nice and strong. Roasted malts, chocolate, hints of cream, and of course, coconut. I love how this smells - let's see if the taste stacks up.

T: It's not quite as amazing here, but that's damning it too much, because it's still a great tasting porter either way. Initial flavors are strongly roasted malts and coffee, before giving way to bittersweet baker's chocolate, nuts, and coconut. Not the most complex, but nicely flavored; a light vegetal note on the finish is the only flaw here.

M: Textbook porter - light bodied, slightly astringent, and quite dry, with low residual sugar and a bittersweet finish. The carbonation is fairly powerful too, perhaps even a bit flabby. Still, it's very hard to fault overall drinkability.

O: A damn nice porter with a slight twist...if it were just a touch cheaper, this would be among my regular beers. Definitely a repeat purchase, though.

Serving type: can

07-29-2012 21:58:55 | More by ThisWangsChung

Stinkypuss

Pennsylvania

3.9/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

CoCoNut Porter
Maui Brewing Co.
Style: American Porter
ABV: 6.00 %

Brewed with toasted coconuts. (thanks to FrothyBeverage for the sample)

LOOK: Dark brown colored brew with an off white brownish head. Leaves plenty of lace on the glass. There was a small amount of sediment.

SMELL: Roasted malts, brown sugar, coconut milk, and coffee all emerge from the glass.

TASTE: This coconut porter has a robustly malty flavor profile, with alot of charcoal, coffee, smoke, and chocolate notes. The espresso flavors work well with the brew and contributes to a balancing bitterness. There is some vanilla/caramel like note from the coconut used in brewing, lending a milk sugar cream sweetness to the black coffee flavor profile.

FEEL: Medium to full bodied and well carbonated, leaving a sweet malty taste in the finish.

OVERALL: A fine use of coconut in brewing, this is a world class porter with considerable character. Delicious beer from a remote location.

Serving type: can

07-28-2012 20:28:31 | More by Stinkypuss

beergoot

Colorado

3.9/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Rich, dark brown, opaque body. Thick, creamy, chunky tan head that reduces in size quickly, leaving a thin film. Smell emits slightly charred grains, hop bitterness, mocha and cocoa. Lightly burnt toast and a bit of milk chocolate, coupled with a nice bitterness make up the taste; a bit of espresso. Mouthfeel is light, smooth, clean.

A distinctive and enjoyable addition to the porter beer family. Would have liked the head to hang in there. The real draw is the taste -- a pleasing, coffee-like roasted flavor, smoothed out nicely with the roasted coconut sweetness. Good stuff...

Serving type: can

07-27-2012 23:48:14 | More by beergoot

Dankuel

Illinois

3.63/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a can into a brandy snifter glass. Ok head on first pour, however nice residual left behind once it settles. Smells strongly of milk and coconut up front with a slight hint roasted malts in the background. Taste upfront is analogous to the aroma; milk and coconut upfront, with the bitter roasted malt taste following soon after. Has a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, I really enjoy this beer. The coconut really tames the porter and blends nicely. I am curious to how this would taste on tap.

Serving type: can

07-23-2012 23:09:23 | More by Dankuel

shigg85

Japan

4.1/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Had this on tap in a pint glass at Vivo! in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. Completely different from the tap compared to the can. Loved it this time! Pitch black, chocolatey looking with a thin dark head. Sweet Kona coffee flavor with a bit of bitter chocolate in the aftertaste. Foams up nicely when you spin it, releasing some macademia nut scents.

Serving type: on-tap

07-21-2012 07:34:40 | More by shigg85

davey101

Connecticut

3.25/5  rDev -18.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Canned on 9/12/2011. Pours a dark brown body with a one finger high khaki head. Aroma is pretty standard for a porter. Roasted malts, light chocolate and coffee. Just a touch of the coconut. Flavor is kind of a let down. Bitter roasted malts with some dirty coffee. Almost no coconut presence. I know this wasn’t fresh, but I was excited to find this on a road trip. Pretty weak.

Serving type: can

07-15-2012 02:08:48 | More by davey101

Grohnke

Illinois

3.2/5  rDev -20%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

(BA / BJCP)

Very dark brown. Creamy cola colored head forms and lasts quite long. Spotted etching remains, along with a scattered film.
(5 / 3)

Heavy chocolate, medium coconut, medium-light roast, light caramel. Very light herbal hop, and very light fruity esters.
(4 / 10)

Moderate roasted malt. Medium-light nuttiness. Light chocolate. High hop bitterness. Light acidity from the roast. Light herbal hop. Light vegetal characteristic starts on the finish and continues throughout the aftertaste. Stale-like qualities.
(3 / 12)

Medium-light body, medium-high carbonation. Moderate astringency.
(3 / 3)

The aroma gave me the initial impression that this beer was going to be stellar. However, the complex, beautifully balanced aroma did not carry through to the taste. The flavor was messy and had some off-flavors. Where is the taste of coconut?
(2.5 / 5)

(3.2 / 33)

Serving type: can

07-12-2012 00:21:32 | More by Grohnke