Cooperstown Benchwarmer
Rich ruby brown color. A very smooth porter with a dry coffee-like finish.
3.3
177 reviews
Milford, United States
Community reviews
Bottle- Pours a dark brown with a good tan head that fades slowly to nice lacing. Aroma of roasted malt, dark chocolate and hint of dark fruit. Mild flavor of roasted malt, dark chocolate hint of coffee. Has a mellow bitterness and a dry finish. Medium body, smooth and creamy. Very well balanced. No hint of the 6.3% ABV. Easy drinker, very enjoyable. A solid English pale ale. Another good beer from a small beer crafter.
Tap @ the Brewery, Milford, NY. Served in taster glass. Also had in a 12 oz bottle from the brewery. Aroma has dark roasted barley and chocolate malt. The flavor is robust. Sweet and malty upfront and finish is great bitter hops. Also, hints of nuts and wood as the brew warms up. Medium to full mouthfeel. Excellent balance. I wish I had bought more to enjoy later. (Only 2 bottles left)
This porter is NOT a benchwarmer, it’s a heavy hitting cleanup hitter. Nice job from the head brewer in Milford!
12 oz. bottle. Black color with a light head. A little more sweet than roasty for my liking, but drinkable.
Bottle. Dark brown beer with a tan head. Chocolate and caramel aroma. Caramel and chocolate flavor with light roast. Medium bodied. Caramel and chocolate lingers with light roast.
The Cooperstown Brewing Company is a very small operation located just south of the Baseball Hall of Fame in upstate New York. Not surprisingly, this brewery has a baseball theme to all of its beers. I decided to start with the possibly ironically-named Benchwarmer Porter. In sports terms, a benchwarmer is a lousy player but in the case of this beer it’s actually a solid performer. If this is the benchwarmer, the rest of the team must be outstanding!
APPEARANCE AND AROMA
I poured a 12oz bottle into an Irish tulip pint glass. It flowed out of the bottle like water and produced next to no head. What developed was a coating of tan, soapy suds - although I was able to generate a thicker head with a forceful swirl of the glass. The color was typical for a porter: nearly opaque black but with dark ruby red highlights around the edges.
The aroma was standard for a porter: malty with a touch of dark fruit and yeast. Fairly sweet and no alcohol notes.
TASTE
The brewer’s describe this beer as being brewed in the tradition of English porters and I could tell this was the case upon the first sip. Much like its brethren from across the pond, Benchwarmer Porter is noticeably mild and surprisingly light body as soon as it hits the palate. There’s a dark fruit flavor and a slightly yeasty texture followed by a strong milk chocolate and coffee aftertaste.
This beer reminded me of Samuel Smith’s Taddy Porter throughout the first half of my glass. As I continued to drink on I found the chocolate and coffee flavors seemed to weaken out but the fruits and malts from the front became more prominent. Eventually it all became a mélange of flavors typically found in British pub beers. I’d prefer something more robust, but the palate here was quite pleasing even if it was mild.
DRINKABILITY
British pub ales are known for their high drinkability and much like the taste, Benchwarmer Porter also follows the formula with its extreme smoothness. The mouthfeel is light, thin, and almost doesn’t seem carbonated as it goes down like water. The sweet aftertaste is really pleasant, although it becomes quite dry as the beer warms.
For a beer with a potency of 6.3% ABV, this drinks like a much lighter brew. Between the tepid body and mild palate it’s quite impressive how well the alcohol is hidden both in the palate and on your system. This beer would pair well with a red meat dinner or substitute two bottles for dessert.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It takes a lot for a porter to wow me but Cooperstown Brewing’s Benchwarmer came awfully close. I liked the taste for what it was but couldn’t help wanting more all around. Still, it’s so drinkable it’s the kind of beer I could see myself buying more often.
Bottle on 01/15/2011 at the 13th Richmond Gathering. Clear copper body with a small tan head. Sweet caramel and toasty malt aroma. Big roast and chocolate flavor with some toasty malt. Medium body with moderate carbonation.
12 oz. bottle sampled at the brewery. Pours just about black with a light brown head. Pleasant aroma of roasted malt with a few notes of coffee and chocolate. The flavor is likewise roasted malt with just a bit of coffee and chocolate. Medium bodied. Very nice, solid porter.
Had at Tap NY. Benchwarmer? It’s better than that, maybe a fourth starter or a utility infielder that plays a few times a week. Taste is pretty smoky with the malts shining through. It’s not a very powerful beer, but the taste is solid and it goes down easy.
Bottle. Pours near black with a brown head that starts at the edges dissipates completely. Aroma is a combination of roasted malts, dark grains and a bit of a dry coffee note. Flavor begins with roasted malts and finishes with a dry coffee note but is a bit thin. Not bad, just middle of the road.
12 fl oz bottle from BOTW (Rochester), served at cellar temperature in a tulip glass. 15AL11.
App.: Deep brown-black with a decent grey-tan head.
Aroma: Quite bright and fruity, old apple juice, not good.
Palate: Medium body, moderate effervescence, a touch astringent.
Flav.: Earthy cardboard, old apple juice, some restrained dark malts, not good; dry with some bitterness and a kinda watery, vegetal, vague finish.
Not good. Drain pour.
Bottle from Half Time. Pours very dark brown with a creamy/foamy beige/tan head. Aromas of chocotate and burnt malt. Med body. Flavor is quite bitter. That might be burnt malt, hop or coffee. Whichever it’s dry and bitter in the finish.Chocolate notes persist throughout.
Bottle at 13th Richmond Gathering, courtesy of MaltDawg. Pours clear dark brown with an average to large beige head, long retention with excellent lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (bread, cookie, chocolate, roasted, nutty), light hops (woody), and average esters (fruity) with notes of dates and leather. Flavor is heavy malt (bread, cookie, chocolate, roasted), light hops (earthy, woody), and average esters (fruity) with notes of smoke, prunes, and dates. Medium body, warmth, and carbonation, and low creaminess with a dry and biting finish.
(Sample Date: 1/15/2011 Source:Other) Light graininess and chocolate malts. Clear dark amber brown with small white head. Earthy oxidized notes. Bottle may be a bit dated. Dry finish with some roast and moderate bitterness.
12 ounce bottle courtesy of MaltDawg at the 13th Richmond Gathering. Thanks! Pours a clear dark reddish brown. Large brown head. Decent head retention and lacing. Aroma of roasted malts, chocolate, smoke, a bit of a tart note. The taste is roasted malts, a milky note, tart fruity finish. Medium bodied. Decent. Maybe a bit past its prime.
Bottle. Pours a nearly opaque dark brown. Smells definitely of coffee and chocolate. Heavy on the chocolate. Taste is similar, but it’s not as heavy as a big stout. Easy to drink for the style. Enjoyable.
12oz. Bottle: Aroma of malt, cream, chocolate, and slight coffee. Poured dark brown/ruby in color with a very small, tan head that lasted throughout. Clear. Slightly sparkling. A couple of small particles. Good lacing. Flavor is light to medium sweet and lightly bitter. Tastes of malt, chocolate, coffee, caramel, hops, and hints of nuts and wood. Medium body. Tingly, then dry texture. Average carbonation. Lightly sweet, lightly bitter, malt, chocolate, coffee, and and slight caramel finish is dry.
bottle: I thought this was a great porter. sweet, chocolate malts, sweet smooth. nice head. simple and tasty. Body was a bit thin, and some soapy aftertones. great pub beer.
Almost black pour. Very light hop malt flavor and slight chocolate aroma. Not bad, just very basic. Rated 8/24/08
(Old BA rate - bottle)
Very dark brown, edging on black with ruby colors, with a thinner light tan head. Aroma has coffeeish/bittersweet chocoate, with some roasted characteristics (not as much as expected). Roasted malt sweetness, notes of chocolate (didn’t pick up too much coffee in the taste). Lighter MF for the style, but still weighty. Lower carbonation. This is a decently drinkable porter. The lighter body still carries a lot of great flavors. Overall, this is a solid porter.
Bottle. Very good porter. Pours a dark brown, almost black, with a thin though thick beige head. It subsides quickly but does leave significant lacing. Aroma is light, notes of caramel and roasted malts, and just hints of coffee. Flavor is restrained yet satisfying. Strong malt backbone, moderate sweetness. Dry and lightly smokey in the finish. Very mild bitterness, some stickiness. Body is medium, the alcohol seems to add some nice depth but isn’t really perceivable - which to me is good. The flavor would benefit from a bit more complexity, but overall this is a strong example.
Dark midnight fizzy bodied, with a fizzy laced head(wow I cant tell the difference by looking between this and Pepsi). Aromas of cocoa, chocolate, caramel, coffee, with undertones of spiced hops. Flavors of coffee/chocolate up front with subtle notes of caramel. Very bubbly on the palate. Lightly bitter dry finish. To much carbonation in this, as it deludes the flavors slightly. A porter I wish was on tap at my local bars.
Sweet malty nose, roasted and toasted, cola + a touch of coffee. Not a wonder to look at, ok, dark, thin head. Palate is sweet, nutty, cola flavored, nice body, decent beer.
A deep reddish brown porter woth a thin moka head. In aroma, a good mix of chocolate and butterscotch. In mouth, a smooth powdery chocolate with metallic hops, a bit of butterscotch, herbal mineral notes. Tasted at CNY brewfest, Feb. 6 2010.
Presentation: It was poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a pint glass. There is no noticeable freshness or born on date on the bottle.
Appearance: The body has a dark black look with a very dark reddish brown hue when held up to light. On top is a tan colored foamy head. It slowly fades down to a thin wisp covering that makes some slick lacing.
Smell: Its aroma has dark bready notes with some dark roasted and chocolaty barley malt. Hop notes are very mild and add a very light herbal quality to the overall aroma.
Taste/Palate: There is a dark bready base with lots of dry, roasted, toasted and chocolaty maltiness. There is a very mild toffee like sweetness underneath that I really like. Hop flavor is well balanced for the style and adds plenty of dry herbal notes to the mix. It finishes very dry with dark chocolaty, toasted and very light coffee notes. The palate has strong medium body with a smooth texture and mellow carbonation.
Notes: This is just a good solid Porter. It is very enjoyable, very sessionable and easily my favorite beer from the Cooperstown Brewery.
Reddish brown pour with an extremely small beige head. Aroma is dark fruit, cocoa, coffee, and cream with some definite suds. Flavor is sweet chocolate and mild coffee and roasted barley qualities. Palate is quite thin, leaving a dry coating finish.
Initially a very offensive plastic like aroma. After breathing for a while some coffee notes are present. The flavor is weak with some coffee and wood flavors. Almost no finish. Basically dark coffee flavored water.
Pours a strong deep brown with a thick medium head and good lace. The aroma is coffee with complimentary floral notes. The flavor is milky with some chocolate, coffee, vanilla and a nice hoppiness. Absolutely delicious.
The look is glassy dark brown, almost purple in the darkest spot. Large cardboard brown head. Some light comes through at the edges. Big milky swath of film/lace.
Smell is coffee with just a bit of mustiness. Some sweet, dark caramel. Hint of bitter dark chocolate. Malt is only lightly roasted. Nice dry, bitter character to the aroma.
The taste is a bitter coffee blast to start off. Second flavor is sweeter, though the bitter aftertaste remains. It’s a really nice balance. Roasted and also smoky.
The feel is extremely dry, with a bitter afterbite and film. A tad milky even. Hefty, and not at all watery. This is a smooth-sipping beer. A nice, sturdy porter. Really really enjoyable.
Had this one bottled at the brewery in Milford, New York. Dark brown pour with a nice chocolately, coffee, malty nose, very nutty, very good.
Poured dark brown with red highlights and very little white head. Faint roasty aroma. Flavor is roasty and slightly bitter, dry and astringent. Fairly flat mouth feel. On tap at Dive 96 in NYC.