We’re hoping to make a new friend this week with a new brewery from the land of 10,000 lakes. Lupulin Brewing is coming to us from Big Lake, Minnesota, and they are coming out of the gate strong with a couple of favorite features of mine, personally, but also with a flavor combo that hopefully sets the bar for the rest of the tasty treats we find from them as we go.
This week, we are drinking NA CPB from Lupulin Brewing. You know I like big cans for my big hands, and this one is no exception as I grip the 16oz can and look over the label. Are you concerned about recent events in the political sphere? Don’t worry. I looked into it, and CPB has nothing to do with customs but everything with chocolate and peanut butter! NA CPB is an oatmeal porter with coffee and peanut butter. If there’s a sign-up sheet somewhere, please put my name down cause I’m on board.
At the first crack of this can, I had to double-take the label and make sure that the “C” stood for chocolate and not coffee. Whether intended by Lupulin Brewing or not, those roasted bean notes come right off the rim and mix with the roasted oat aroma as the brew fills the glass. It holds the traditional dark brown color with a beautiful tan head, bursting with flavorful aromas. The thickness of the liquid definitely leans more towards porter than stout, but we all know these regulatory folks consider it all “dark.”
When the sweet, dark nectar reaches the entryway to my speech tube, the aromas grow stronger and mix with the intense flavors on the front of my flappy tongue. The flavors I get are pronounced and nuanced but not necessarily what I expected. First, a strong oatmeal base and a thick mouthfeel harkens to a stout more than a porter. Then those coffee aromas hit the coffee flavor, which thankfully brings out the chocolate, but not as if it’s on the label, but more like it snuck in at the last minute. The lack of strength in the chocolate and the virtual non-existence of the peanut butter was a bit disappointing, but the flavors you get are packed in and make Lupulin Brewing an excellent place for a dark brew. Untappd gives NA CPB by Lupulin Brewing a 3.5 out of 5, but given the lack of good stouts and porters in this arena, I’d throw this up at a 4, maybe even higher, with some peanut butter flavor mixed in. It’s always nice to see the flavors I like; I just want to taste even more of them.
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