Review of Wolaver's Alta Gracia Coffee Porter
Vermont Beer with Coffee and Vanilla Bean by Otter Creek Brewing
Nov 11, 2009
The result is growers who feel pride in their occupation and have healthy, sustainable farms producing delicious products.
Alta Gracia Porter Flavor Profile
Alta Gracia, a bit ironically, follows Will Stevens’ Pumpkin Ale (yellow color, pumpkin flavor, and slightly cinnamon aftertaste) and is new to shelves this month. It is brewed with organic roasted barley and chocolate malts and scheduled to be available in 6-packs, cases, and draft.
The beer is rich, dark, and robust in appearance, which leads to a surprisingly smooth chocolaty-rich coffee nose and body with the infusion of vanilla only barely perceptible at the back of the throat and on swallow. The first mouthful is really almost like drinking a smooth blended gourmet coffee, and the characteristic beer flavor of the beverage seems to be completely and comfortably seated in the background.
The evidence of alcohol upon comsumption is almost completely non-existence, and neither is it existent on the bottles or the 6-pack itself. Apparently, the alcohol percent by volume (ABV) is a closely guarded secret, as it is not even listed on Otter Creek's Alta Gracia press release page. Best guesses put it at around 5 to 6 percent, but the truth is that it doesn't really matter much because it is craftily hidden somewhere deep within the beer's luxurious full body and delicate infusion of vanilla sweetness. Unfortunately, it has the tendency to announce itself (mostly at inopportune times) in a big way after a couple of drinks.
Alta Gracia and Traditional Porters
There is no doubt that this is a smooth and satisfying beer. Unfortunately, it may be a bit too smooth, and one misses the traditional beer nuance of a slightly bitter body, and tenacious hoppy finish. If the alcohol is hidden in this beer, than the hops are non-existent, amalgamated into a rich and robust mixture of coffee, chocolate malt, and vanilla and ending up as nothing more than a distant afterthought. Most assuredly, the hops are there, somewhere in amongst all of the smoothness, but they can hardly be detected in the body and not at all in the finish.
Perhaps this is not that unusual, though, as far as modern porters go. Developed around the start of the 1700s, traditionally porters were meant to be slightly sweet (dark malts), full-bodied, and well-balanced with noticeable bittering and a classic hoppy bite. But this distant image of a porter, to be fair, has been long been broadened and beaten out to encompass a modern and grand array of darkly colored beers mixed with various flavors. In this modern sense, Gracia gets all high marks, and it gains much esteem in that the quality of the ingredients can be tasted with every tug.
This is not to say that Gracia is badly brewed or misconceived in any way. Hardly. It is only pointing out that this highly crafted and specifically flavored porter might be better paired with a medium-rare steak and rosemary roasted potatoes than consumed in great quantities on the back porch with a college roommate. It is so smooth and subtle in its complexity of flavor that it may even make an excellent after-diner cocktail, elusive notes of vanilla only just perceptible to the tongue.
Wolaver's Certified Organics and Mission
Perhaps one reason there is such a coherence and complexity of flavor is that the entire Wolaver's line of fine ales is certified organic, promoting the use of only quality sustainable ingredients since 1997. After working closely with Newman's Own Organics to create a profitable and sustainable business model, Morgan Wolaver bought the Vermont-based Otter Creek brewing company and label in 2002. As luck would have it, the bucolic and pastoral vistas of the Middlebury, Vermont area fit in perfectly with Wolaver's philosophy and mission, and the then current owner, Lawrence Miller, was looking to sell.
Although Wolaver admits that finding certified organic ingredients from which to craft his quality brews remains challenging, the brewery is certified by the Vermont Organic Farmers and the Northeast Organic Farmers Association of Vermont. Wolaver's also adheres to the strict National Organic Program Standards, which impose rigorous federal organic guidelines on soil quality, growth, and processing of all certified organic materials.
Wolaver's mission, by design, can be derived from their logo - farmers threshing grain, a forest nearby, and the brewery on the hill. The picture is meant to promote a sustainable and a wholistic relationship with the land, and the company even prints the following statement on the bottom of every 6-pack:
"In one tablespoon of healthy soil there are more living organisms than there are people on the planet. Petrol-based fertilizers slowly kill and destroy these organisms, essentially sterilizing the soil. Wolaver's maintains that "organics are not just better for you, they are better for the planet."
It is a statement, a mission, and a quality beverage experience that is hard to disagree with.
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