Avery Brewing Coconut Porter

Product description – Copious quantities of coconut coupled with time basking in bourbon barrels complement the chocolaty and sumptuous nature of this delectable porter.

Avery Brewing Co. – Avery Coconut Porter- 22 oz. bottle poured into speciality glassware 10.4% abv.
This one is a clear, deep cola color upon pouring, looking jet black in the glass. It generates a medium-sized, tan head with good formation and retention. The aroma is assertive beginning starchy and sweet like Twizzlers moving to flashes of higher alcohols and Malibu rum. The flavor begins bitter, perhaps from some oxidation in the barrel, with a flabby mid-palate and harsher, anesthetic finish. For the aroma and taste, the coconut character is just barely there. Once the beer has warmed up, I think it improves a bit. Milk chocolate and dark rum dominate and it becomes quite the sipper. Even though the body is thinned out and boozy, I found it more enjoyable at this stage. Though I was not the biggest fan of this beer, others in my tasting group found this one to be excellent and enjoyed it over a long period as a nightcap type of drink.

Overall, I thought the coconut character was very low and the bourbon character very high, and it came across more boozy and thin like dark rum than a bourbon barrel-aged imperial porter. There was very little base beer to appreciate turning it into more of a liquor-like, slow sipper.