Midnight Sun Brewtality
"Combining jet black color with incredibly smooth texture and decadent coffee flavor, BREWTALITY breaks the expectations of both rich espresso and dark beer to create a whole ’nuther beast. While brutal in alcoholic strength, this biggie beautifully showcases its roasted malt and coffee flavors without bringing on bitterness and bite. This is the first of two lagers in the series."
Re-released as part of "Alaska’s Most Wanted" Series
Re-released as part of "Alaska’s Most Wanted" Series
3.8
171 reviews
Anchorage, United States
Community reviews
Pours pitch black and completely opaque with very faint mahogany edges when held to a light source. Half finger off-white head that quickly settles into a thin ring. Minimal spotty lacing left behind.
Slightly smokey, deeply roasted dark malt aroma with a robust gourmet coffee presence that’s nicely integrated without obliterating every other characteristic of the beer. Some smoked meat and charcoal along with burnt toast, fresh espresso bean and bitter dark chocolate. There’s also a subtle lactic presence along with some sweet desert-like bakers chocolate. Smells kind of like flour less chocolate cake.
On the lower end of medium body with tight carbonation and a bitter, deeply roasted espresso/coffee bean flavor that dominates the palate. Doesn’t live up to the aroma with a light mouthfeel, a bit too much carbonation and slightly one dimensional flavor profile. Dry and bitter with a slightly burnt, acrid espresso flavor with hints of smoke, charcoal, barbecued meat and burnt toast. Under all of the roast, there is some nice coffee flavor and sweeter chocolate malt notes. The high ABV is well masked but it’s still a bit too harsh and roasted/burnt tasting for my preference.
Bottle. Head is initially average sized, frothy, brown, mostly lasting. Body is dark brown to black. Aroma is moderately to heavily malty (chocolate syrup, fudge, burnt grain), with notes of alcohol, vanilla, hint of plastic. Flavor is heavily sweet, lightly acidic. Finish is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Full body, syrupy/creamy texture, lively carbonation, moderately alcoholic.
Very very sweet, with almost nothing to balance. Not much in the nose other than a mess of chocolate. Pretty mediocre. Sure sounded neat though.
Very weird and not good. Smelled vaguely of extremely burnt coffee grounds but hinted at some burning plastic or rubber. Just not good, at all. A major downer.
65 cl bottle @ hotel room, San Diego.
Pours pitch black color with a small head. Loads of grains on the nose, some granola, licorice and oats, very faint dark berries, quite faint coffee here. Sweet cocoa and chocolaty flavor, dark roasted malts, granola again, quite sweet caramel and faint syrup notes. Thick and heavy stuff. Not quite sure what would be the proper style for this brew.. Dessert beer properties here definitely.
6325
65 cl bottle @ hotel room, San Diego. Aroma has oaty malt and soy sauce. Flavour has sweet and sticky malt, salty licorice and toasted sugar. Sweet all the way.
650ml bottle
Pours pitch black with a tiny head. Aroma of roasty malts, coffee, espresso, earthy notes, some breadiness and dark chocolate. Taste is heavy, sweet, sugary and syrupy with loads of breadiness, roasty malts, dark chocolate, coffee, espresso and mocha. Finish is sweet, burnt and ashy with loads of roasty bready maltiness, syrup, toffee and dark chocolate. Heavy and syrupy.
650 ml bottle. Enjoyed at San Diego, CA. Pours a black colour with a small beige head. Aroma of toasted malts, salty licorice and bread. Flavour of roastiness, sweet syrup, mild spiciness, a bit of bun dough, smokiness and grass. Medium bodied. Sweet and heavy.
Dark black pour with light tan head... Aroma of espresso, licorice, raisins, and chocolate... Flavor is slightly cloying initially, overripe plums, raisins, finishes with big coffee and dark fruits on palate... Solid
Bottle at the DC Local Gathering on 8/1/2015. Dark brownish black with light tan head. Aromas of roast, caramel, toffee. Tastes of roast, chocolate, caramel, dark fruit. Medium body with a dry finish.
Black pour with ok head. Roast with some chocolate, some caramel. Bittersweet finish. Bottle shared at tasting.
22oz Bottle. Poured a dark brown color with a small wispy tan head. Aroma was some coffee, chocolate. Light licorice. Chocolate, light coffee. Interesting!
Bottle. Clear maroon brown color, tan head. Aroma of cocoa and port wine. Taste is roasty, burnt licorice, light body. Very tasty. My 69th Baltic porter rake, thanks Nate!
25 July 2015, bottle. black. nose is meaty, Worcestershire sauce, very odd aroma. med body and moderately fizzy. very interesting beer. meaty, Worcestershire sauce, sweet alcohol. i really can’t describe this and i really have never had anything like this. such an odd flavor and aroma. if i hadn’t bought this at the brewery within the last two weeks i would think something was the matter with it. It is also labeled as a black coffee lager. I don’t taste or smell any coffee and it doesn’t taste or feel like a lager. very odd and unusual.
On June 23, 2015. At The Beer Junction in Seattle, Washington. Draught.
As "Midnight Sun Brewtality Espresso Black Beer".
Black color with hints of dark red and brown, tan head. Malty, roasted, bitter taste. Roasted aftertaste. Medium mouthfeel, high bitterness to medium high. Malty, sweet scent.
Bottle from malt and vine. Black with a tiny tan top. Nose of coffee, ripe fruit and malt. Taste is dark fruit and coffee.
Smells like malt and chocolate. Taste is malt, dark chocolate, and mild roast. Medium carbonation, full body, and very slight foam.
Bottle - Molasses, fig, prune and dark roast coffee. Jet black with a decent brown head. Dark chocolate, dark coffee, dark fruit and and nice light bitterness to counter the sweetness. Rich on the palate. Nice that there are other flavors than just the coffee. Decadent and nice.
22 ounce bottle at home. Pours opaque with a small, creamy tan head, short retention with good lacing. Aroma is rich dark chocolate, coffee and roast malt with prunes and a light nuttiness. Flavor is sweet and rich dark chocolate, roast malt, espresso, nuts, dark fruits and a sweet and clean finish. Full body and medium carbonation.
Appearance: sludgy, viscous black pour with an incredibly rich medium tan head near the consistency of pudding, which lingered forever, belying the ABV; impressive. Aroma: big and roasty in general; TONS of fresh-baked black bread (bit of rye?), scads of bustelo-type ground espresso, a surprising amount of umami (soy sauce), with a big backbone of molasses and licorice. Taste: VERY sweet and almost syrupy, with espresso-chocolate syrup, slightly burnt black bread with honey butter, tons of blackstrap molasses and vanilla, with just a hint of mint. Finish: fulsome with lingering chewy sweetness; the palate on this thing was a monster. Notes: A gigantic beer, but the alcohol was almost completely hidden in the palate, which was almost more like drinking an espresso milkshake as opposed to drinking a beer. Very little in the way of lager characteristics. Almost too sweet, too chewy, too big. Hard to wrap my mouth around this one. Still thinking about it... Bottle from Sarah for Beersmas 2014.
With Z, pours a deep dark black color with a small head. Nose is full of chocolate malt with rich espresso. Taste is roasted charcoal with notes of coffee and licorice. As to the contrary there is some old bitterness in the finish, with some subtle alcohol. Descent, quaff score 7 / 10 ☕️
Bomber. Pours pitch black with a brown head and nice coffee, espresso strong aroma. Taste is of delicious, lots of deep roasted coffee, espresso, and roasted malt leading to a coffee filled, roasty burnt, warming finish. Great coffee brew
Bottle shared at pre-BBF’14 tating at ABC Beers, Den Haag. Pours light dark with a reddish brown hue, no head. Medium coffee aroma but quite some bourbony character as well. Malty body, some alcoholic heat.
Bottle at pre-borefts tasting .
Pours black, no head .
Smell is oaty , bourbon, wood .
Taste is bitter , coffee, bit thin .
Roasted maltyness . Bit sweet. ok , not as good as expected .
bottle shared @ Pre Borefts tasting
Thin tan head. Clear deep amber pour. Lovely complex aftertaste. A great beer.
Poured deep dark brown with a small tan ring. Aroma of dark fruit and liquorice. Medium body, flavour as the aroma, dark chocolate, coffee.
Bottle shared at the Pre-Borefts Tasting. Pours near black with no head. Aroma of molasses, raisin, overripe dark fruit, toffee, booze. Flavour is heavy sweet. Full bodied with soft carbonation.
Hmmm. This is almost a very special beer. Almost. Black pour. Huge espresso and malted chocolate aroma. Hints of smoke and more chocolate and iced coffee flavor. I’m a sucker for the coffee and its good, but there is no balance whatsoever, only 17 ibu, and the utter lack of bitterness makes this cloyingly sweet as it warms."
Clear black body with hints of red, skiff of graham foam. Aroma is roasted malt and coffee, faint raisin. Taste is raisin, pecan, cherry, black coffee, vanilla. Kinda sweet, but not bad, finish is bitter sweet. Palate is thick, but not syrupy, carbonation moderate. Better than I remembered, especially in comparison to other stouts I’ve been drinking.
from the 22 once bottle. Light chocolate and coffee. Lager? Surprise surprise. Hides ABV well. tasty.
22 ounce bottle into snifter, no bottle dating. Pours pitch black color with a 2 finger dense tan head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass. Aromas of big roasted espresso, dark chocolate, roasted malt, cocoa, toast, molasses, light char, licorice, raisin, light alcohol, and roasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with good balance and complexity of big roasted espresso, dark/roasted malt, and light yeast ester notes; with great strength. Taste of big roasted espresso, dark chocolate, cocoa, roasted malt, toast, molasses, light char, raisin, light smoke, herbal, and roasted earthiness. Fair amount of roasted bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of dark roasted espresso, dark chocolate, cocoa, roasted malt, toast, molasses, light char, raisin, light smoke, and roasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Fantastic complexity and balance of roasted espresso, dark/roasted malts, and light fruitiness; with a great roasted bitterness/sweetness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Light-medium carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a smooth and moderately creamy/chalky mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a slight warming present after the finish. Overall this is an awesome coffee infused Baltic porter. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of espresso, dark/roasted malt, and light fruitiness; and very smooth to sip on for the big ABV. A highly enjoyable offering.