Jan 6, 2017

Oskar Blues Hotbox Coffee Porter

Oskar Blues makes one of my favorite big beers in their massively thick Ten Fiddy. That’s a big imperial stout that is decadently — almost unbelievably — smooth. Well, leave it up to the Colorado brewery to accomplish the same level of smoothness with a much smaller brew. Hotbox Coffee Porter weighs in at 6.5% ABV and is brewed with cold-extracted (not sure what that means) coffee from Hotbox Roasters.

The coffee roaster used a blend of Burundi and Ethiopian beans in the process, but that’s not the most interesting part. With many coffee-infused beers, especially porters and stouts where there is already a good amount of roasted dark malt, there’s a strong dark coffee astringency and bitterness. For fans of strong coffee, like myself, it’s not that much of an issue. However, sometimes you just want to enjoy the flavor of coffee without that acrid aftertaste. And that’s exactly what Oskar Blues and Hotbox have done with this porter.

It’s probably one of the most smooth, non-nitro beers I’ve encountered that uses coffee as a main ingredient. I mean, it’s really, really smooth as it crossed the tongue, hints of cocoa, dark fruits and cigar lingering in its wake. The flavors of this brew are spot on and more than appropriate for a cold Winter afternoon (or morning). I will most certainly be picking more of this one up soon. Oh, did I mention that it’s really smooth?