Maple Bacon Coffee Porter - The Funky Buddha Lounge & Brewery

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.95/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Such a fun time hangin with Calton and enjoying this one during hobo tasting number 8. this may very well have been one of the best beers i have ever had, hands down. just simply superb in every way. served into two pint glasses and enjoyed on 4/30

the pour was a thick dark motor oil brown with loads of lacing coating the sides and just a really sticky, messy look to it that seemed to plop down in the glass like sludge.

as i reach in to catch a wiff i am overloaded on maple syrup. i have never had a beer have this much maple in it. it was was really simply amazing. so sweet and full of everything, i cannot say enough good things about this one, it really was simply amazing. as it warmed, molasses, dark chocolate, loads of roasted malts and vanilla with coffee and espresso overload start to take shape. this carries over into the flavor which mirrors the heavy maple and brown sugar so perfectly i was simply blown away. each sip was like heaven on earth, a wonderful mix of rich flavors and sweet, decadent dessert like taste. this was more then a beer, this was an expeirence.

overall i really do not know what else i can say, this was quite simply one of the best beers i have ever had. absolutely amazing in every way.

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2011 02:00:17 | More by mikesgroove

Thorpe429

Illinois

4.43/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Growler courtesy of Dosbeerigos. Thanks, Phil! Served in a snifter.

Pours a very dark brown with a nice tan head and a bit of spotty lacing. Thin collar as it goes down. Nose is quite incredible with large doses of vanilla, smoke, and coffee off the front end. As it warms up, the maple really starts to come out. Very, very nice. The flavor hits the same high notes with a good dosing of roast and coffee plus some maple. Not as much smokiness here. Mouthfeel is medium with a dry finish and moderate carbonation. Incredibly drinkable and we certainly had no problem finishing off this 32-ounce growler. Thanks again to Phil for the awesome hookup on this one.

Serving type: growler

02-14-2011 21:38:35 | More by Thorpe429

brentk56

North Carolina

4.98/5  rDev +10.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Appearance: Presents with a fudge brown color capped by a mocha head that leaves a fair amount of lace

Smell: The maple and coffee dominate, with the chocolate and bacon elements underneath

Taste: Black bread, chocolate and coffee flavors, up front, with the bacon adding a subtle element on the finish

Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate carbonation

Overall: Lives up to the hype, with all of the flavors presenting in a nicely balanced fashion; just extraordinary and well worth seeking out

Serving type: on-tap

02-25-2012 21:53:58 | More by brentk56

TMoney2591

Illinois

4.48/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Served in a snifter.

Gotta love a label that's pretty much just a piece of scotch tape with magic marker... Anyway, this stuff pours a brackish black-brown topped by a half-finger of off-tan foam. The nose comprises rich cocoa, caramel, maple syrup, molasses, and Reese's peanut butter cups. Everything is richer than the thickest fudge I've ever had. Da-amn. The taste pretty much brings in more of the same, producing a veritable liquid version of a hot fudge sundae smothered in rich caramel sauce, with a tall coffee to drink and a side of maple-smoked bacon. The body is a lithe medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a fluid feel. Overall, a fantastic beer, one I wish I could encapsulate in a candle or a spray or a spread or something, any way to keep it around as long as possible.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2013 04:23:45 | More by TMoney2591

drabmuh

Maryland

4.47/5  rDev -0.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Growler shared by Mike, thanks! A truly wonderful beer.

Beer is black / dark brown and hazy with a thin wispy head, no lacing, low carbonation. Looks OK.

Aroma is super nice and really complex. First off, it's strong with coffee, the maple is second but there is not much bacon though.

Beer is medium in body and so creamy, as the beer warms the maple becomes more obvious. The maple is mostly in the back / aftertaste as the beer finishes mildly dry. The coffee and some sweetness is the most obvious flavors in the entire palate. I really liked this beer overall. A very good beer.

Serving type: growler

02-15-2011 20:04:10 | More by drabmuh

MasterSki

Illinois

4.53/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Huge thanks to Nate for procuring this. 32oz growler, served in a New Belgium tulip.

A - Pours to a finger-plus of tan foam that settles to a thick cap, leaving behind spotty lace. The body is a very dark brown that is a little lighter at the fringes.

S - Huge wonderful delicious roasted coffee beans mixed with maple syrup, and some peripheral chocolate and caramel flavors as well. Not much "bacon" (or smoke, hickory, etc.), but this smells so good that I don't care about the absence of pork products.

T - The taste has more maple sweetness than the nose, but there is still a nice balance of roast coffee bitterness and malt and syrupy sweetness. Again - where's the beef, err, bacon? Probably a 4.25 in this department, but I'll be generous seeing as this is a new brewery.

M - Medium bodied, with a chewy, sticky, texture. There's some roast coffee grit to it, and a lingering syrupy finish. Carbonation is fairly low.

D - This was quite good, although the richness of flavor would make it hard to drink a ton. Still, I'm impressed - great coffee and maple flavors that are well-attenuated. Would love to have this one again.

Serving type: growler

01-23-2011 05:11:39 | More by MasterSki

mdfb79

New York

4.68/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

From 06/07/12 notes. Had this on tap at Churchkey in Washington, DC. I've had the imperial version and BA version at NOTB/EBF, but never the base beer, so very excited for this one.

a - Pours a very dark brown color with one inch of dark tan head and low carbonation evident.

s - Smells of coffee, sweet maple, roasted malts, light smoke, vanilla, light sweet dark fruits, chocolate. Love the nose; I actually think there is less smoke than the imperial Wide Awake It's Morning version, making this nose even better. Perfect for me, just so well balanced.

t - Tastes of coffee grinds, sweet maple, sugar, roasted malts, coffee, chocolate, vanilla, smoke, burnt malts, sweet fruits. Again, an awesome taste though not quite as balanced as the nose, with the coffee coming through a bit more here.

m - Medium body and low carbonation. Super smooth and creamy, and very easy to drink.

o - Overall, a fantastic beer. I actually like it better than the imperial version due to it having less smoke, and would put it up their with their Morning Wood. The nose is perfect to me; a perfect balance of sweet maple, coffee, and light smoke. Something I could definitely have a few glasses of, and one of the best maple beers out there. Would love to have it again.

Serving type: on-tap

06-11-2012 19:52:41 | More by mdfb79

jlindros

Massachusetts

4.34/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Huge thanks to rudzud for sharing this gem. I was very disappointed that they couldn't make the rescheduled EBF this year.

Nice creamy foamy head, fades at a med pace nice lighter lacing, pitch black beer.

Nose is awesome, amazing, tons of maple, nice maple bacon thing, lots of brown sugar, fluffy caramel nutty malts, light peanut butter and hint sweet syrupy thing, hint cocoa and vanilla, some light roasted coffee beans and fresh brewed coffee.

Taste is sweet, big nutty malts, peanut butter and maple syrup, caramel, little molasses, tons of melted brown sugar, some lighter smoked malt for a bit of bacon, some decent coffee like fresh brewed, little earthy grainy flavor, light yeasty addition of chewy bready flavor. Fairly sweet almost candy like, maple candies, light fig like too. Then light earthy hint spicy hops, some bitterness. Finish is semi sweet and sticky but drier, lingering light bitterness, dark malts, light peanuts, more maple and light bacon, brown sugar, etc.

Mouth is fuller bod, thick and little syrupy, nice carb that has a bite to it, the more I drink and since rudzud pointed it out maybe a bit too much carb.

Overall great beer. very tasty, although probably couldn't drink more than a glass full.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2013 01:51:50 | More by jlindros

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

4.15/5  rDev -7.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

32 oz screw-top growler into a couple of tulip glasses. Big thanks go to Stakem for generously sharing this with me.

Pours black at first, but holding it up to the light actually reveals a deep ruby hue to this, and is topped with a ½ finger of light mocha colored head. This stays frothy on the edges, with a filmy look across the center. This has a very robust flare-up to it, leaving back a foamy cascade of lacing that slowly recedes into rich swathes of lacing. I can't quite put my finger on this recognizable aroma at first, until I realize that it smells....LIKE BREAKFAST!!! Bacon and sausage mixed with maple syrup covered chocolate chip pancakes and a dash of zippy coffee character. Oh, and just a smidge of earthy hop across the back of the nose to remind you that your actually smelling a beer!

The taste brings things back down to reality a bit. The smoky flavors are more subtle here and hang on the edges of a core of roasted coffee, light bitter hops, and sweet chocolate. That molasses flavor is present as well but doesn't quite stand out, instead integrating itself with all of the other flavors a bit more. Smoke and coffee hang in a rather dry finish. All of those flavors from the nose are present and balanced with each other but this just overall lacks the impact of that aroma. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, maybe a touch fuller feeling, with a nice mellow creaminess to the carbonation. Some light sharpness works itself in to, adding a gentle crispness to the proceedings, and zero alcohol presence helps keep this easy in the mouth and quite drinkable.

While this one didn't quite live up to the hype, I still found it very impressive how they were able to pull all of these unique flavors off into a very interesting yet still approachable drinkable package. That's 2 for 2 so far on these Funky Buddha beers for me. I will continue to seek more of these out.

Serving type: growler

03-09-2011 20:22:12 | More by Kegatron

corby112

Pennsylvania

4.2/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Draft at Cigar City, Hunahpu Day 2011.

Pours a deep dark chocolate brown color which is completely opaque with a one finger frothy micha headthat quickly settles into a lasting ring. Minimal spots of lacing left behind.

Wow, the aroma of this beer is ridiculous! Slightly roasty and smokey with a blast of chocolate/mocha/espresso. Not burnt or acrid smelling at all with lots of luscious chocolate, roasted espresso bean and sweet maple syrup. Kind of smells like a Southern Tier dessert beer.

Medium bodied with a smooth silky roasted chocolate mocha espresso flavor. Very well balanced with the perfect roasted character, sweet malt and maple. Thankfully the coffee presence is prominent without being overly acrid or tasting like used coffee grinds. Lots of silky, luscious milk and bittersweet chocolate flavor as well as some slight smokiness and sweet maple. With bacon in the name I was expecting this beer to be more robust, smokey and burnt tasting but it's just a touch and a very nice compliment to the sweeter flavors. No noticeable alcohol heat making this smooth beer very quaffable.

Overall, I was pretty impressed with this one. It doesn't quite live up to the extremely high scores it's received so far but it's pretty damn good. Even somefolks who hate coffee beers were really into it.

Serving type: on-tap

03-12-2011 17:15:19 | More by corby112

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

3.93/5  rDev -12.5%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

First had: oddball bottle serving from an old bottle at Pinocchio's, Media, PA (see other review below). This review is for an actual on-tap serving at Woody's, Philly, PA.

This was much different than my sample acquired from the bottle, but strangely enough...I liked the bottle better. On tap, this beer was served in a ball-stem goblet, an opaque brown-black with a small mocha head that receded to a ringlet. I think I can definitely say that this beer's best attribute is the aroma, and in more than one way. Lots of coffee up front, some sweetness, roasty malts, unfortunately not too much in the way of bacon or maple, though the maple comes out more as it warms. As I said in my previous review, the aroma of this beers lingers on whatever it touches, whether it be your glass, your clothes, or your hands, and it not only lingers, but actually seems to get better. Hours later at home, after my wife had washed her hands with Lush soap, we could still smell the maple coffee from the beer. So we sat around and just sniffed her hands for an hour or so. But I digress.

When the beer hit the palate, it came off a bit disappointing in comparison to the aroma, but I think mainly because it wasn't as full-bodied as I expected. Coffee is the dominant factor here, lots of coffee, very roasty, and if there is any bacon or maple (anyone else stutter or perform involuntary spoonerisms when ordering this?) in there, the coffee kind of overpowers them. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but it just doesn't have the balance you'd hope for. Maple comes out more as it warms, just like in the aroma. Bacon is mostly truant. Mouthfeel is heavier than medium, but not quite full.

This is a tasty coffee porter, but definitely not the best out there. It's not even the best porter from Funky Buddha, which IMO is easily the Last Snow.

Thanks go out to Ryan and FB for bringing your great beer to Philly, and also to Bella Vista, Monk's, Capone's, Woody's, Prohibition, Devil's Den, Hulmeville, and any other provider I may have missed.

Serving type: on-tap

06-04-2012 03:25:22 | More by Rifugium

HopHead84

California

4.47/5  rDev -0.4%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

10/21/2011

I was able to drink a pint of this and found that the maple sweetness really limited the drinkability. I felt satiated after 3 ounces. Dropping overall down to 4.

9/18/2011

Bottle shared by a generous Adam, thanks! Snifter.

A: Dark brown with a small beige head that quickly recedes.

S: A blast of maple, which smells amazing. It reminds me of maple syrup. Wow. There's a pervasive roast with a nice earthy coffee profile. A light smokiness wafts from the glass and it does smell a bit like bacon. This is amazing.

T: Earthy coffee with huge maple presence in the flavor. Lightly smoky with a moderate roast. Doesn't match the aroma, but it's undeniably excellent. Dark chocolate is evident. Alcohol is nowhere to be found in the flavor.

M: Upper medium in body with upper moderate carbonation.

Overall: This is awesome. Breakfast in a glass. I didn't expect this to be as good as it sounds, but it is. The maple is really powerful in both the aroma and the flavor but it lacks the sweetness one might expect. Highly recommended.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2011 14:11:27 | More by HopHead84

stakem

Pennsylvania

4.18/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to DosBeerigos for the trade and the opportunity to give this brewery a try. I've held on to this 32oz "apothecary" growler for too long just waiting to share it with someone. Finally an opportunity to open and share it when visited by Kegatron!

From the screwtop growled into a pair of snifters, this brew appears nearly black in color with brown clarity showing through the edges. When held to the light this brew reveals some deep ruby coloration. A dark whisp of dark brown head holds close to the edges of the glass with spotty lace clinging to the wall. A swirl revives the cap.

The smell of this brew has quite a lot going on. It takes me quite a few sniffs before I try to pick it apart. It has a mildly musty grain scent that's blended in with a seemingly smoked sweetness of molasses. There is a bit of a woodsy scent reminiscent rauchbiers that is smokey and enjoyable. There is an underlying amount of coffee present that adds to the complexity.

The taste of this brew is equally perplexing, complex and enjoyable as the aroma. There is a light burnt flavor upfront that gives way to a smoked quality coupled with light molasses character that again reveals a bit of some smokey notes. There is a modest amount of bitterness that creates a unique blend of roasted malt to sugary molasses and coffee. The aftertaste of this brew is sweet with caramel malt mixed with molasses. Quite a bit more woodsy in the way it tastes than what I was expecting but still enjoyable.

This is a medium bodied brew with a modest amount of carbonation. Very drinkable with quite a lot of flavoring to take in and enjoy. This beer, while a pleasure to drink and something I would certainly seek out again, was a wild ride. Take away the visual and I never really felt like I was drinking a porter. In so many ways this brew reminds me of the conglomeration of different beer styles that makes up Bullfrog's Gothika. It's a crazy hybrid of rauchbier/smoked beer mixed with a porter and supplemented with coffee and molasses. In every way this brew screams morning/breakfast treat.

Serving type: growler

03-09-2011 17:10:51 | More by stakem

thagr81us

South Carolina

4.7/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Massive thanks goes out to my boy mikesgroove for sharing this one with me during Hobo Tasting #8 sitting in the car at Lowe's before buying a grill (hobos gotta eat too). Served from bottle into a Stone nonic. Poured pitch black with a half finger slightly tan off-white head that subsided to a minimal amount quickly. Maintained excellent lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, slight roasted malt, coffee, dark chocolate, and maple syrup. The flavor was of sweet malt, maple syrup, coffee, caramel, dark chocolate, and a very subtle smokey note. It had a medium feel on the palate with mild carbonation. Overall this brew was just plain excellent. The flavor on this thing was crazy good. Maple syrup was the star of the show, but definitely not overpoweringly sweet as you would expect allowing some more of the sublte flavors to come through. The aroma just gives you a small hint at what is about to explode on your palate. Really glad I finally got a chance to try this brew and would love to do so again! Also, how can a beer with a bottle label that awesome be bad!? Excellent job Funky Buddha!

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2011 14:56:08 | More by thagr81us

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

4.53/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Growler shared by Thorpe429. Thanks Mike!

This very intriguing brew appears a dark brown shade, with crimson highlights apparent when held to the light. The head is about a quarter inch thick, and settles down to a thin layer atop the beer. The smell is just awesome. Wow! Scents of maple, vanilla, smoke, chocolate and a robust coffee presence make for a world class aroma. The taste does not disappoint, though it doesn't quite live up to the promises of the fabulous aroma. Fresh coffee and maple syrup are blended to perfection, with some chocolate and vanilla notes coming in behind. I actually thought this beer was higher in alcohol. Highly drinkable - I could sip this all night. In fact, that's what I did.

Serving type: growler

02-12-2011 17:14:24 | More by Huhzubendah

jrallen34

Illinois

4.78/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 5

2nd tasting on tap at Hunaphu. Orignal score was 4.33, had to adjust up accordingly. Incredibly tastey and crushable.

Big time thanks to Nate who was able to land this after I failed with several attempts. 32oz "Florida" growler into a Matilda tulip...A dark brown, almost black pour. A very light tan head rises about half a finger but stays with a great cap, ok lacing...The aroma is star of this beer. Huge notes of freshly ground coffee, slightly roasted, bold. The finish brings about wonderfully subtle maple syrup. The sweetness breaks the coffee up nicely. Most maple syrup is used heavy handily, this is done right. One would almost want more but it would really become to sweet in my opinion. Slightly smokey as well, but bothers me as I can't help but ask where is the bacon?...The taste is almost as good, but doesn't quite carry the weight on the nose. Coffee again is the main player, comes across more roasted now, but still freshly brewed. Sweet finish again, a hint of smoke. Basically, the nose, just not as good...Mouthfeel is ok, good carbonation, but the body is too light, not much of a finish...Easy to drink!

This is really good, and close to being world class. The name throws me the most and without the bacon reference I would have probably rated higher as going in I was expecting more smoke or some salty pork so I feel a little let down, if that's possible. I would certainly drink this again and recommend it highly. Just forget the name going in.

Serving type: growler

01-23-2011 01:28:32 | More by jrallen34

TurdFurgison

Ohio

4.95/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Huge thanks to UrbanCaver for bringing this to a Jackie O's tasting in May (thanks Cam!). Along with Chocolate Rain this was one of the main events.

Dark brown color, nearly black, extremely dark for a porter. Holy shit does this smell appetizing. So rich, so much maple, also ample amounts of bacon smoke and roasted malts, if this doesn't earn a perfect score on smell then I don't know what does. Coffee too, but honestly I've never tried a beer with such an appealing maple nose.

And it tastes just as good as it smells. Each particular flavor is easily discernable, maple, coffee, roasted malt, smoked meats, everything. This is another perfect 5.

Oily mouthfeel, if anything this only adds to the amazingness that is this beer. It coats and sticks to your tongue, keeping those rich flavors for along aftertaste. Not sure what other praise I can heap on this, an extremely good and flavorful beer that you can drink for a long time given the relatively low ABV. Awesome.

Serving type: bottle

06-20-2011 01:04:29 | More by TurdFurgison

AgentZero

Illinois

4.43/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Big thanks to Snoop Dog Nate for hooking us up with this, and another shout out to Alex, Jason, and Nate again for not drinking the whole thing, and the Master(Ski)ful Alex one more time for bringing a bit back in the growler.

A - Pours a super dark, black depending on the light, brown that lets some light pass through the edges. Finger of tan head that left behind some long lasting spots throughout consumption.

S - Smell was a bit of a shocker, and took me a second to figure out exactly what was going on. Perfect blend of coffee and maple syrup. It's almost like it's a new substance, they are combined so well. Bitter chocolte, distinct espresso (somehow still a separate note from the coffee/maple combo), and some sweet malt top it all off. Not sure where the bacon is on this one.

T - Taste follows suite with the smell. The coffee and bitter espresso notes tone down the sweetness of a strikingly present maple syrup. I would call the coffee on this the backbone, with chocolate, maple, caramel, and milk creamer in there. My one complaint on this fantastic taste is the absence of any type of bacon, smoke, pig, grease, rauch, whatever, something to make sense of th name. I guess it's hard to complain about what's not there given all the great stuff that is, but the name is misleading at worst, but at the very least, confusing.

M - Full bodied, chewy, syrupy, tongue coating, with low carbonation. Feels a bit heftier than its 6.3%.

D - A truly fantastic beer, best maple beer I have had to date. Would highly recommend and drink every chance I get. For their next trick, I hope they add some subtle smoke to it, to make it match the name.

Serving type: bottle

01-23-2011 18:11:57 | More by AgentZero

Jwale73

Rhode Island

4.5/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

An unexpected treat from jedwards. Pours the color and clarity of cola with some ruby red highlights around the edges and no head. Big coffee grounds character in the nose, with a hint of chocolate that gives it just a kiss of a mocha character. Taste reveals dark malts and a big maple syrup character, some earthiness and quite a bit of chocolate. Mouthfeel is medium-bodied, with a pleasant, even carbonation. This is an outstanding American Porter. Incredibly flavorful and oh so drinkable. I must have more.

Serving type: growler

12-18-2010 22:19:31 | More by Jwale73

onix1agr

Pennsylvania

4.58/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On Tap at Hulmeville Inn

A- Maple Bacon Coffee Porter is a black beer, it's pretty black but I've seen blacker, but this is still on the black side. A small skim of foam up top that kinda fades leaving just black.

S- The nose on this killer. It really jumped out at me. Big scents of fresh maple from the source, dark coffee/espresso with roast and some deep rauch type malts resembling bacon, but the bacon scent needs time to come out and some imagination to make it pop out. Very bold.

T- The maple comes out ever so much to excite the palate to the core without the cloying and overabundance of southern tier creme brulee type levels. It integrates nice with the deep roasted coffee flavor with some faint vanilla. The bacon is an afterthought but give it time, it will come to you.

M- Very full on the mouth without having a total heavy body to cause a sipper of a beer.I could sip this or take small gulps without being blown away, except for the flavor which is packed. The carb is light and plays the bench after a while, which works out for the beer IMO.

D- A glass of this is fine, no need for more, like said a sipper or if you want to take it down quicker, the body wont prevent that. One of the better beers I've had all week.

Serving type: on-tap

06-08-2012 03:59:47 | More by onix1agr

GbVDave

Illinois

4.6/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Served in a half pint glass at The Funky Buddha. Thanks to HeatherAnn, HollyAnn, and Keith for the assist!

A: Served pure inky black with a thin and sticky wafer of dark khaki colored head sitting on top. After a short while all that is left was a thick collar that left a suprisingly healthy amount of lace in the glass.

S: Holy crap! Smells just like its' name. Fresh maple syrup, applewood smoked bacon, and fresh pulled espresso shots blended with dark chocolate, deeply roasty malt, and campfire smoke.

T: Taste mirrors the smell. Breakfast in a glass while sitting around a campfire is what this tasted like. Superb!

M: Smooth, full, and quite creamy with just a hint of roasted malt dryness.

D: Man oh man, This is one of the most impressive beers I've had in a while. The folks at The Funky Buddha are just killing with the stuff they're putting out. Simply excellent!

Serving type: on-tap

03-07-2011 21:04:01 | More by GbVDave

oline73

Maryland

4.05/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I had this on-tap at Churchkey during the Funky Buddha/Cigar City event. Served in a snifter.

Appearance: Pours a dark brown color with a finger of off white head that fades to a ring around the edge of the glass.

Smell: Smooth coffee roast with some dark chocolate notes. Sweet with some maple and a nutty quality.

Taste: Very smooth with tons of coffee. Nutty and sweet with dark chocolate and some caramel. I'm getting some maple, but it doesn't slap you in the face or anything.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with tingly carbonation and an overly dry finish.

Overall: This is one of the smoothest coffee beers I have ever had. The nuttiness from the coffee and the malt was very nice as well. I didn't feel like the bacon added much. I would love to have another.

Serving type: on-tap

06-12-2012 03:10:25 | More by oline73

billab914

Virginia

4.43/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

On tap at Churchkey during Savor week, served in a tulip. It arrived pretty close to black in color with a thin, frothy, tan colored head to it.

I immediately get smoky bacon and sweet maple in the aroma. It's got a bit of a breakfast sausage and syrup thing going on. There is a bit of roasty coffee to it along with some chocolate chip pancake notes. The maple and smoke combination is really awesome. Everything really integrates well. The flavors are bold, but don't overpower one another. Smells like an awesome breakfast.

In the taste, more smoky with bacon and sausage come out up front with the maple sweetness more towards the finish. It's also very roasty in finish with good dose of coffee coming out. Again, an awesome breakfast is probably the best way to describe it. Also pretty well balanced for all the bold flavors.

Mouthfeel felt thin and a little watery for the style of beer. Carbonation was on the lower side. I'm not aware if they added any oats to this or not, but a big creamy oatmeal stout mouthfeel would have gone great with this beer in my opinion.

Overall, I thought it was a great tasting and wonderfully unique beer. It was an awesome breakfast in a glass. Everything comes together perfectly in it and I loved the smoke and maple flavors. Wish I could drink this every morning.

Serving type: on-tap

06-12-2012 15:01:26 | More by billab914

srandycarter

California

3.98/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Pretty dark, almost black. Light tan head, slow to leave, some cling.

S - Used coffee grounds, maple syrup.

T - Porterish, with smell attributes strong in taste. Not much bacon here for me. Something even seems a little corky at the end.

M - Fat, well carbed, coffee predominant, medium body, fair balance.

D - Not all that for so rare and hyped. Still pretty tasty.

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2011 04:24:46 | More by srandycarter

Sean9689

Illinois

3.88/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

On-tap at 2nd Hunahpu's Release.

A - Pours a medium brown color, off-white head that vanishes quickly that leaves a few bubbles here and there on top with no lacing.

S - Who needs to eat breakfast when you have this? Bacon, coffee, roasted malts, smoke.

T - Lots going on here and comparable to the nose. Bacon, smoke, coffee notes, malts, some sweetness in there too.

M - Light, a bit too thin for the style, little to no carbonation.

D - Had one sample and that was enough. I wish it was a bit more thick and had a touch of carbonation. Otherwise, a very cool beer that I'd try again if given the chance.

Serving type: on-tap

03-14-2011 16:48:42 | More by Sean9689