Let’s face it – we can’t all be morning people; but as it turns out, sometimes great adventures like hiking, biking, fishing, and camping – and going to work early in the morning to make beer – require getting up before the sun. Folks around here have found that pain in the wee hours can be offset by reaching for fortifying liquid upon opening the orbs – morning beer. Our favorite seasonal brew for beerfast is Hotbox Coffee Porter, a roasty, malty, wake-up-call of a porter made with Hotbox Roasters coldbrew. It’s not just for breakfast though – the solid 6.5% ABV, campfire drinkability and an inclination to be paired with desserts make Hotbox Porter a beer that can hang all day.
Hotbox Coffee Porter is built on a hefty heap of malts, including seven varieties and led by Caraaroma – a nutty, red-hued malt drum-roasted from German barley. Caraaroma is a favorite of Tim Matthews, our Head of Brewing Operations. “The malt bill highlights chocolate, fig, plum, espresso, burnt sugar, caramel, and marshmallow,” said Tim. “Overall, the beer is medium-bodied and just sweet enough, with the coffee and malt flavors designed to mesh together perfectly.”
On the coffee end, the guys at Hotbox Roasters used a blend of beans from South America (Columbia, Honduras and Guatemala), roasted them to highlight flavors of tobacco, chocolate, wood and earthiness, and brewed up a super-concentrated coldbrew, which was added to the beer. Hotbox Roasters is known for their Nitro coldbrew, but Head Roaster Noe Lopez explained that the Hotbox Porter bean juice is a double-strength “still” (non-nitro) brew. “We brew two pounds of coffee to one gallon of water and then steep it for 36 hours,” said Noe. “It adds massive coffee and chocolate flavor to the beer.”
As a toast to Hotbox Porters upcoming 2018 release, we asked a few peeps around the office about their ideal morning beer situation, and what to pair with Hotbox Porter. This is what they said:
Kelly Fitzgerald, Controller: If there’s an early sporting event, like a football game, I want a beer. I’d pair it with something chocolatey, like chocolate lava cake.
Noe Lopez, Head Roaster at Hotbox Roasters: I like a breakfast beer after waking up but before taking a nap. I’d pair HBP with steak and eggs, or (this might sound weird) oatmeal. Also some spicy and sweet Afghani Kush.
Scott Johnson, Brewhouse Operator: When do I like to drink a morning beer? Whenever I wake up. What do I with HBP? Doughnuts.
Nate Hurst, B Stiff & Sons Systems Administrator: On a lake or a boat; or next to a morning campfire Oohhh yeah, you’re making me think about morning campfire beers now. Pairs with: something salty, or a nice big steak.
Tim Matthews, Head of Brewing Operations: Gotta pair HBP with not-so-elegant foods like bacon cheeseburgers, because it provides a good contrast to salty richness. Barbacoa. Bacon. Canadian bacon. Barbecued meat…
Roasty, chocolatey, malted, and coldbrew-infused Hotbox Coffee Porter complements the sunrise, football games and campfires; and is best consumed alongside either rich breakfast foods or salty, meaty dishes. Basically, keep one on hand for whatever an autumnal day brings. It’s a seasonal release, so it won’t be around forever. Join us at our taproom release events in Austin, Brevard, Longmont, or Boulder on August 4; or look for it on the beerfinder in August. After all, the early bird gets the beer.
Share:Original Source Here