Thunderstruck Coffee Porter by Highland Brewing Co. is being judged as a Spice, Herb, Vegetable Beer (Category 30A) with an American Porter (Category 20A) base per the 2015 BJCP Guidelines.
This beer pours with a dark brown appearance with slightly hazy clarity when held to the light with a nice ruby hue. A sudsy khaki-colored head is short lived and fades not long after it was poured. A moderately low aroma of cold brew medium-roast coffee is most prominent in the aroma. There is a low smoky and slightly sweet note almost similar to hickory wood smoke. In the flavor, the coffee comes in at moderate intensity with the smokey aspect still coming in at low intensity. Medium-low malt sweetness is balanced out by a medium bitterness, which appears to be mainly coffee driven. A touch of acrid bitterness lingers in the finish as well as roasted coffee. This beer has a medium body with moderate carbonation. There is a touch of coffee-derived astringency as well as a slight touch of alcohol warmth. While this beer is well executed from a technical perspective, it falls short in recipe design. The balance falls too heavily on the coffee and lends to an overall aroma and flavor that overshadows the base beer lending to a slightly one-dimensional aspect.