Tasting Tuesday: Zekes Coffee Porter by Brewers Art

A dark, delicious pint of Brewers Art Zeke's Coffee Porter.

What's your favorite porter? For this week's Tasting Tuesday, we have a cool collaboration between one of Baltimore's small-batch brewers and what is arguably Baltimore's best small-batch coffee.

It was 13 years ago when I was invited for a late night cocktail that I first discovered The Brewer's Art in Baltimore. It's a smaller brewery housed in a beautiful old mansion in Mt. Vernon, and has a great vibe. If sitting on a sofa or wingback chair by the grand fireplace doesn't appeal to you, the artfully-lighted basement bar is a great escape. Their beers, naturally, go great with the ambiance - full of flavor, and tastefully done.

But it was only last year that I discovered Zeke's Coffee, also from Baltimore. My friend, John, bought me a cup in a local sandwich shop. Hand-roasted with a careful eye (and nose), Zeke's is a wonderfully smooth cup of coffee rich in flavor.

Together, they collaborated to make a 6% ABV porter that is  a dark reddish color with slight carbonation, and a definite aroma of cocoa. It's very malty with a mild sweetness and, when combined with the gentle roasted coffee, is a bitter, but very smooth drink that has a dark chocolate hint to the taste.

Normally, I'd steer the casual beer fan away from porters, but this one is worth a try, particularly as a dessert complement - it went amazingly well with the peanut butter cheesecake I was eating with it. Serious fans should definitely have this on the list.

So what are YOUR favorite porters? Let us know or write it in the comments below.

Beer Bloggers Conference Prepping

Prepping for Beer Bloggers Conference.  We are going to be packing in a lot of miles and a lot of beer tasting. (No....Not At The Same Time).  Hydration is top of mind even though we will be using the spit can ;)

Milkhouse Stairway IPA - Frank About Beer

Eric & Christian from Frank About Beer review the amazing Stairway IPA from Milkhouse Brewing. But things don't work out as planned. Great beer - not so great of a review. 

Milkhouse Stairway IPA - Frank About Beer Video

Honest beer reviews for the casual beer drinker

Eric and Christian like to drink beer. We like other people who like to drink beer. But with all the craft beers out there, how do you know which one to drink?

We looked around, and all we really found were a bunch of narcissistic beer snobs talking ad nauseum about "adjunct beers" or the "complex roast of the malt". That's all well and good for beer afficionados - but what about the casual beer drinker?

So, over a couple of pints, we decided there needed to be a simplified, down-to-earth and, well, FRANK and HONEST beer review site.

When it comes down to it, you really just want a straightforward answer.

So we started Frank About Beer to give you that honest opinion you're looking for, right from the tap. But don't take our word for it - because when we go out to the bar for tastings, WE ALSO ASK THE OPINION OF EVERYONE ELSE IN THE BAR. Think of it as crowdsourcing for beer.

Beer? Entertainment? And a WTF moment added in? That's what you get with Frank About Beer.