Coal Creek Porter - Big Time Brewery & Alehouse

woemad

Washington

4.03/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pint consumed on-tap at the brewpub for $4.

Dark, murky brown color, with a Decent-sized tan head that left lots of lace inside the glass.

The nose was of dark chocolate, roasty coffee, and a little bit of smoke.

The taste was like the smell - It's a dry, dark chocolate bitterness matched with roasty black coffee. There's a mild hoppy zap to the palate as well, but not enough to make it too West Coast stout-like.

Medium bodied, with a slightly creamy mouthfeel.

If I hadn't already had two IPAs at the brewpub and didn't soon have to get underway, I could've had several pints of this and not minded at all. Very drinkable, with an abv that would lend itself to sessioning.

Serving type: on-tap

10-02-2007 05:53:48 | More by woemad

Gueuzedude

Arizona

4/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours with a frothy, creamed-chocolate, brown colored head that starts out three-fingers in height. The beer shows a brilliantly clear, chocolate brown color as I pour the beer, but sits in the glass an opaque blackened amber, almost black color. At first the aromas smells of thin black coffee, but then it gets interesting all of a sudden; salty blackened malt aromas almost pick up a peat-like smokiness, richly toasted grain, it even has aromas that I associate with rich, umami laden flavors. The aroma almost reminds me of smoked, dried, blackened prunes that one might pick up at an Asian grocery store. An interesting aroma, one which I can easily partake of for quite some time before taking that first sip.

Light feeling up front as it first hits the tongue, it then picks up some soft, creamy fullness as it moves across the tongue. Dark malt notes dominate the flavor profile and that interesting, salty, smoky note is here in the flavor as well. The beer actually has a fair amount of complexly dark, sweetness that reminds me of smoked, dark chocolate. The beer finishes with a touch of harsh, bitter burnt grain husks, but still has that rich, malty, salty, peat like not as well that lingers on in the finish. Speaking of roasted grain, this beer has a lot of roast malt character; black coffee, even espresso and burnt caramel notes are quite prominent.

This beer is very drinkable, quite tasty and with an interesting mix of flavors. It has a complexity to it that makes it quite intriguing. The one flaw is that there is perhaps a touch too much burnt grain astringency in the finish.

Serving type: bottle

07-10-2007 01:45:10 | More by Gueuzedude

shivtim

Georgia

3.58/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

A hazy brown brew, not too dark, with a small dense head. Looks decent. Nose is subtle maltiness, but not too much else. Taste is sweet chocolate malts with touches of honey, and a little hop kick comes through on the end. Mouthfeel is pretty average, drinkability is high, especially considering the low ABV.

Serving type: on-tap

04-10-2007 16:36:10 | More by shivtim

TheBungyo

Washington

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

Man, what a dark looking pour. Head is minimal. Nose has a bit of roastiness and a slight tart sourness that I get from some of the darker beers. Doesn't bother me as much as it normally does. Taste is more of the same tartness with some coffee and very mild chocolate. Bit of hoppy grapefruit in the finish. Overall this is pretty decent. You wouldn't need to twist my arm to get me to drink another but I won't rush back for more either.

Serving type: bottle

08-27-2006 07:42:25 | More by TheBungyo

Gavage

New Jersey

4.03/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: pours a lovely burgandy browninsh color with a tan colored 2" head that slowly falls to a thick surface foam.

Smell: roasted malts and chocolate are easy to detect.

Taste: roasted malts, chocolate, hints of coffee, and a touch of molasses. Nice bitterness levels round this out.

Mouthfeel: smooth from the start to finish. Short aftertaste. Medium bodied.

Drinkability: this is what I like in a porter - not some stout wanna be, but a flavorful lighter beer that is easy to drink. Great beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-20-2006 17:34:52 | More by Gavage

jclovebrew

Washington

4/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Enjoyed on tap at the brew pub.

Nice malty flavor with slighly more than a hint of smokiness (which is just right). Very smooth. Chocolatly. Highly quaffable. Actually very similiar to their Old Rip Oatmeal Stout offering, but not nearly as sweet. I would order this again.

Serving type: on-tap

11-07-2005 23:56:46 | More by jclovebrew

GClarkage

California

3.6/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Mid September 2005. Had on tap at the Big Time Brewery in Seattle, WA.

Presentation- via samplers from the tap.

Appearance- 1/2 inch dark brown pour with nice lacing.

Smell- Fairly dark roasted malt scent, a touch of chocolate as well.

Taste- Good chocolate hit with a solid hop bitterness following. Mild roasted malt with an overall earthy taste.

Mouthfeel- Low to medium carbonation for a stout.

Drinkability- Fairly decent stout. Overall one of the better stouts I had on my trip. Would try again for sure.

Serving type: on-tap

09-30-2005 21:15:35 | More by GClarkage

RoyalT

Ohio

2.73/5  rDev -24.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Appearance – Very dark brown in color with a nice, chocolate head that went down rather quickly.

Smell – Nice mix of dry grain, chocolate-flavored coffee, and a rather sharp citrusy hop profile.

Taste – I like the malt-portion of this Porter, but the hops are huge and detract from the style. They overtake the lovely chocolaty coffee and malts from the nose.

Mouthfeel – Medium-bodied with a dry hoppy finish that seems out of place.

Drinkability – Another disappointing PacNW hoppy Porter.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2004 00:31:56 | More by RoyalT