Pipeline Porter

A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, I used to be the owner of a homebrew supply shop. It was a nice little retail shop situated in the heart of downtown Willimantic, CT and it was called the Natchaug Brewery. At one point I had grand plans of opening an actual brewery, hence the name. Along those lines, I spent a lot of time actually making beer. One of the finest I ever crafted was a coffee stout that is still mentioned by those that had tasted it, some twenty years later.

The secret to this brew was that there was actual coffee in the stout and that the flavors melded perfectly. While I may have been way ahead of the curve, there are some fine examples of coffee and beer mixtures out in the market today and I was introduced to one awhile back by my good friend Lucas. It is called the Pipeline Porter from the Kona Brewing Company in Kona, Hawaii.

To give you an idea of how good I think this brew is, I’ve been trying to do a review of it since before Christmas. The only problem is that every time I bought some to do a review, it would somehow disappear before I could actually do a tasting of it. So, I finally managed to purchase some at a time when I was drinking some other stuff and managed to stash away a couple of bottles for this express purpose.

To start with, the beer is a dark mahogany in color, allowing just the barest hints of light shine through. There was almost no head to speak of in spite of a vigorous pour. The head itself is a dark tan color that had no lace left behind.

The nose is one of intense coffee with hints of chocolate and a touch of macadamia nut. There is no hops to be found at all. On the tongue you taste the coffee. There is a bit of underlying malt flavor that contributes to the sense of chocolate. You also get just a touch of bitterness, more like bittersweet chocolate than burnt coffee or hops.

For a dark brew it is light bodied like most porters. There is a nice little fizziness from the carbonation that cuts through the flavor. This is a brew that I could drink several of and not feel bloated or weighted down. Overall it is an excellent offering.