Brooklyn Beer Shop Homebrew - Chocolate Maple Porter

This may well say more about my general inability to a) read instructions, b) follow said instructions and c) have all ingredients available at any given time but I think that what I have in front of me right now is comparable to each other individual effort, so whilst reading this please award either a few more or a few less mental beer points depending on how competent you personally think I am at making beer.

Before I review the beer itself I would like to say that the Brooklyn Beer Shop make it very easy for you to start your homebrew. They give you everything you need and they give you detailed instructions, some of which actually come in video form just in case you're an utter idiot and need flashy colours to learn. The most satisfying thing about the process of making this beer was the Mash, turning malted barley and water into a delicious, sweet, black, wort that made my kitchen smell like chocolate brioche.

Anyway, enough of that, down to the beer! There is no carbonation but that's because I don't think I did that bit properly, it smells dark and smoky like a black coffee from a non-chain coffee shop that sources it's own beans. It tastes a whole lot like dark chocolate fudge and has a texture like syrup... Though you're supposed to use Maple Syrup... I didn't have any of that so I just used golden syrup that came in a squeezy bottle. I think it worked because the beer does have an underlying sweetness but it is definitely overshadowed by the big, bitter, dark, smooth choco/coffee tones.

This was purchased, after a heavy session with my beautiful enabler of a girlfriend at The Bottle Shop and it's one of the smartest things I've ever done... Whilst drunk.

Food Suggestion: What goes best with chocolate and coffee? No, seriously, what does? There are loads of things! When I drink this all I can think of eating is a whole messy packet of chocolate hobnobs. Chow those things down like a starving student!

Drink this if you like: Anything that describes itself as a chocolate or coffee porter, especially the Meantime ones.