Beer: Death By Coconut
Brewery: Oskar Blues Brewery (Longmont, CO)
Style: Porter – Other
6.5% ABV / 25 IBU

Oskar Blues typically releases Death By Coconut only for a few months every year as a fall seasonal. That’s a bit of a shame, because it would be a truly worthy addition to the brewery’s year-’round core line-up. Still, I suppose it also gives us all something to look forward to at the end of the dog days of summer. And thanks to the Colorado brewery’s unwavering devotion to canning, a beer like Death By Coconut also holds up exceptionally well to cellaring; I pulled out a can with a “Best By” date nine months prior and it remained an exceptionally well-balanced and delightfully drinkable brew.

Mind you, beers like this are intended for cold weather consumption. While about 2/3 as strong as related styles like Baltic porters and Russian imperial stouts, this 6.5% ABV Irish-style porter still produces a warming effect in your throat. Another key difference is the use of malted barley, which is typically what separates a porter from a stout. With Death By Coconut, there are wonderful roast-y notes from the malt. When combined with the cocoa/chocolate used in the brewing process and the bittering hops, Death By Coconut has a strong undercurrent of coffee flavor.

Oskar Blues knows that it has a reliable standard with the porter base, and recently expanded the line in 2020 with a series of gimmicky Death By offerings, including king cake and affogato (espresso poured over vanilla ice cream). Don’t know if any of those are due to return, but the coconut really works with this porter. Especially after a hard pour into a glass, which generates a massive head that is sweet, creamy and bursting with coconut and chocolate flavor. Yes, the nose smells like Hawaiian Tropic, as pretty much all coconut beers do. Don’t hate the player, hate the game.

For more info, check out Oskar Blues Brewery here.