Beer Description

Arcadia is not new to the brew game. Home in the great beer city of Kalamazoo, it’s been brewing since 1996. They have a very large selection of craft brews to pick from and their specialty beers are not just named cool, the actually taste great. If you are in the Kzoo area you need to get whatever you can by Arcadia.

The Porter Rico is a beer that is available in the mid west regions in the winter and can be obtained usually 6 at a time for around 10 dollars depending on your location and store.

The brewery description for the Porter Rico is as follows.

Take a trip to the lost island of Porter Rico, where cacao and coconut live in harmony and frolic on the sandy shores. Our island getaway takes the form of a dark, chocolatey beer, with a balancing sweetness, medium body, and rich mouthfeel, creating the sensation of biting into dark chocolate coconut candy. Brewed with real coconut and bittersweet malt. This perfectly balanced porter rides the trade winds for a truly exotic, yet comfortingly familiar pint.

ABV: 5.5%
Best Served: Snifter or goblet, chilled but not lite beer chilled.

Beer Review

First things first; this beer is delicious. However, I am not sure the beer matched the name of the beer. If I were to name this beer it would be associated with Cuba, not Puerto Rico. The first smell was reminiscent of a bourbon porter but with some coconut. However, the flavor really hit me all over. I tastes a bourbon note, some coconut, and (believe it or not) some vanilla tobacco. It reminded me of having a fine cuban cigar on the beach with some whisky or coconut rum.

The pour was quite pleasing to the eyes also. It forms a large dense head and putts out a rich scent of coconut and light malts. The beer was smooth and rich but not as heavy as a stout. It would be a fine summer time beer as much as a winter beer.

My only disappointment with this beer is that it was much less pleasant as it warmed. Many stouts and porters really get a richer flavor and scent as they warm but this one actually looses it’s flavor and a lot of the scents. It turns slightly more bitter rather than sweet and complex.

Aroma: At first the aroma is quite pleasing like on a beach. It’s quite a different story if you let the beer sit out a while.

Taste: Taste is also quite pleasing at first. In fact it’s way better than one would expect for this beer. But the richness and complexity dies as it warms. Drink this cold to get the best of the flavors.

Texture: The texture is light and carbonated for a porter. It’s by no means just a winter time beer.

Finish: The finish is soft and bourbon-like. But like the rest of the flavor, diminishes as it warms.

Comparisons: Nothing really close to this particular porter. But if one mixed Snow Drift Porter with Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, it’ll get close. For something close but even better I would suggest Havana At Midnight from Big Storm Brewery.