Brewery: Meantime Brewing Company
Location: Greenwich, London
ABV: 6.0%
Version: 330ml bottle
Source: The Vineyard, Belfast

I picked up the Meantime Coffee Porter in a batch from Belfast’s premier beer merchant, The Vineyard. On the advice of our very own Ed Ashby, I made a point of stopping off there for supplies when Jo and I were visiting friends in Northern Ireland in August. Weighing in at a dinky 330ml, in a mini-wine-bottle format, I consider this to be more of a taster than a full-length drink experience, but it still did enough to convince me that I’d be more than happy to re-visit a larger measure if I ever encountered one.

On the face of things, Meantime Coffee Porter does exactly what it says on the label, but there’s a deeper complexity to this strong, flavourful porter that makes it really quite special. It starts off with a big, big coffee nose, sure enough, but on the first sip I was tasting much more rich caramel and bonfire toffee. The coffee notes developed as the drink went on though, and by the end of the bottle (too soon!) they really were dominating the others and the after-taste was definitely espresso.

Overall, it’s a beer of huge, intense flavours and powerful character; one I thoroughly enjoyed. I might even be able to get away with a session on Coffee Porter, if I was feeling brave or foolhardy enough, but I rather suspect it would be better savoured as a bill-topper after a few pints of lighter London Stout.