The Pipeline Porter comes advertised as a limited released, made with 100% Hawaiian Kona Coffee. For the beer and coffee drinker, this would seem like a great match. The bottle is also decorated with an "island fashion", complete with palm trees and surfer on the beach. Surfing must be thirsty work...
Pipeline pours a very dark brown, but not quite black, with a small, quickly dissipating head. This was a fairly "hard" pour, but head retention is not there. I suspect that oils from the infused coffee contributed to this.
The nose is an underlying malt sweetness, but predominately a mild roasty coffee aroma.
Mouthfeel is medium, with low carbonation. I would almost call this beer thin due to the lack of effervescence.
The taste is dominated by a strong coffee backbone, placed in a mild malt body. Not quite pure coffee in taste, I was reminded more of raw coffee beans or freshly ground coffee, as opposed to freshly roasted coffee. There are also some tobacco flavors, though they are very vague. There is no discernable hop character or flavor at all. As the beer warms, the coffee flavor becomes much more pronounced and the malt takes a back seat.
I liked this beer at first, but it became less enjoyable as it warmed. Not to say it was bad, but the total experience was lacking in a kind of fullness that I hoped for. Somewhat thin, the flavors are not contained within the form well. Especially towards the end, I was reminded much more of a coffee stout than a porter, the hop character and rich malt flavor being the distinguishing factor for the style. It is a limited release, and therefore more a novelty beer, so I can accept it as such. It would have made a good compliment to Tiramisu no doubt.
Pipeline was good, but not worth making a trip to Hawaii for. But a very special thanks to MR and SR for their generosity and kindness to think of me, especially when they thought of beer...;)
Labels: beer reviews