Coalition Brewing Co.'s Loving Cup Maple Porter

I have a habit of wandering into the beer cooler whenever I'm at a grocery store.  It's not that I'm buying beer every time, but it's a fun excuse to see what's new.  Sometimes that leads to picking up a bottle of something I've never heard of.

Enter Coalition Brewing Company's Loving Cup Maple Porter.

It didn't occur to me until this very moment that I shouldn't have been as excited as I was to pick this up.  At this point in the review I haven't even popped the cap yet, but it hit me that our last encounter with a beer involving maple didn't go over so well.  There must me something intrinsic or deep down inside that yearns for somebody to combine two things I love so much into a palatable experience.  Scientific experiments at the WestToast test lab (Shari's) have proven that beer and maple go great together separately, so why not together?  Well, let's see if Coalition can pull this off.

I admittedly hadn't heard of Coalition before, so let's consult their website:

We're a ten-barrel brewery located just across the street from the pub, on Southeast Ankeny, just west of 28th Ave in Portland, Oregon. Our core assortment of beer reflects the traditional English style with a northwest influence - well balanced and highly drinkable.

The Loving Cup, although boasting a complex malt profile of 7 different grains, is a classic brown porter at heart.  Pure Vermont grade A maple syrup is added at the end of the boil to lend a subtle sweetness and maple aromatics.  The maple is balanced out by roasty British chocolate malts, making this seasonal ale highly drinkable and the perfect treat for any time of the year.  For maximum enjoyment, pair with chilly nights and good friends.

I'm somewhat cold, but I'm ignoring their second suggestion.  If you want some of this, get your own.  To the beer!

Brewery: Coalition Brewing Company
Style: Maple Porter
BeerAdvocate.com Rating: Not rated yet
RateBeer.com Rating: 3.3/5
Serving: 22oz bottle
ABV: 5.48%

Appearance: Dark brown and creamy with a finger's worth of head on the pour.  Looks exactly like a brown porter as they claim.

Smell: Rich and malty similar to a typical porter with just a hint of coffee behind it.  I'm actually not picking up any maple, which is a bit surprising.  Just a hint of sweetness.

Taste: There it is!  Their description is dead on in that there is just a hint of maple.  Not a mouth full of syrup like my previous example.  The chocolate malts really take the show and make this a very enjoyable and drinkable chocolate brown porter (if that exists?).  It really has something for everybody if you enjoy browns or porters.

All in all I really like this.  It looks like I'm going to have to add Coalition to my list of breweries to hit up around Portland.  If you can't make it to their pub, it looks like they at least distribute through local Whole Foods in the Portland area.  Above all, I'm just really excited to be drinking something unique that obviously required taking a chance on.  This one very much paid off.