It’s here! Christmas in July! As you may well know, every year I save some Christmas beers for the following July, when I drink them in a special celebration. I try to mix up the lot with old favorites mostly, but a few never-before-tried winter/holiday seasonals as well. This year, one of the newbies was Fat Bottom Icebreaker Coffee Porter, and I have to say, it was amazing.
I’ve had Fat Bottom beers before and enjoyed them all. Fat Bottom is from Nashville, Tennessee, and one of an increasing number of great craft breweries there. Icebreaker Coffee Porter is listed on their seasonal section and is available beginning in November.
The brewery says on their website:
A delicious blend of dark malts and our cold-extraction process produce a one of a kind coffee porter for your mouth to enjoy. To keep things interesting, we change roasters and coffee varietals each year to showcase this special ingredient.
I don’t know the roaster or varietal for 2017, but they really nailed it folks. Fat Bottom Icebreaker Coffee Porter has an alcohol content of 4.2% by volume with 26 IBUs. I was surprised after the fact to learn the alcohol content was this low, but I like that. My can is stamped as canned on 11/08/17 and I drank it on Sunday, July 08th 2018. It has aged well indeed. The can also says this is batch #971 and BOTTOMS UP!
Fat Bottom Icebreaker Coffee Porter pours to a jet-black color with a towering head of rocky tan foam and a massive coffee grind nose. Taking a sip, the beer has a full roasty chocolate palate with hints of caramel and absolutely infused with robust dark coffee grind notes. The whole affair finishes roasty bitter, but not oppressively so, and leaves me amazed at how good it is. The hint of caramel is the secret here, it complements the huge coffee notes wonderfully.
I loved Fat Bottom Icebreaker Coffee Porter, and if I’m in Nashville this winter, I’ll definitely be looking for more.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft