Maui Imperial Coconut Porter

Review Date 6/17/2017    By John Staradumsky

It was the last beer of my first night in Hawaii: Maui Coconut Hiwa Porter. Now, if you know anything about me, you know that I love coconut, and nothing disappoints me more than a coconut beer without any coconut flavor. I had heard nothing but good things about Maui Coconut Hiwa Porter, so it was on my radar as beer I most wanted to find. At the Relish Burger Bar they didn’t have it on tap, but they did have cans, so I forked over $8 and brought one back to my room.

Hiwa Coconut Porter was wonderful, I truly enjoyed it and really should have tried to bring some back home on the plane. Maui Brewing does distribute to many states in the US; sadly, Georgia is not one of them.

This is a beautiful beer, and you really, really get the beautiful toasted coconut here. I expected that even more being a Hawaiian beer, and Maui Coconut Hiwa Porter delivers the goods. One of our sight-seeing ventures on Maui was a tropical plantation where we saw pineapples, papayas, passion fruit and of course coconuts growing. I half expected to see cans of Maui Hiwa Coconut Porter sprouting from the coconut trees….

The only downside here was that, on only day one of our trip my Holy Grail of coconut beers was already mission accomplished. Wait, my Lyft driver is telling me something…what’s that? Maui Brewing makes an Imperial Hiwa Coconut Porter? The chase is on!

And so it was that when we stopped at the Maui Brewpub near Ka'anapali Beach, I saved the best for last and ordered up a fresh draft glass of Maui Imperial Coconut Porter. This one edged out Kohola Mean Bean Coffee Stout as the best beer I drank during our entire stay here in Maui, and we drank some very good beers indeed. I had been drinking sampler glasses all day to try as many beers at Kohola and Maui as I could, but for this wonderful beer, Maui Imperial Coconut Porter, only a full glass would do.

From the label:

A deeper, more intense version of our Coconut Hiwa Porter, this Imperial Coconut Porter is brewed with nearly double the amount of coconut, creating a bold, authentic island flavor that cannot be matched by artificial flavors or extracts.

The experience begins with strong notes of toasted coconut, shifts into rich chocolate and roast malts with layers of cacao & mocha, finishing with rich, toasted nutty sweetness.

Maui Imperial Coconut Porter is sold in bottles and draft and from what I was told is not sold outside of Hawaii. It has an alcohol content of 9.4% by volume with 32 IBUs and I paid a reasonable $6 for a 12-ounce glass.

My glass of Maui Imperial Coconut Porter arrived a jet black color with a medium sized head of creamy foam and intense toasted coconut in the nose. Taking a sip, I got dry roasty chocolate and explosive toasted coconut notes, a thick full mouthfeel, and a rich roasty finish with even more lingering coconut notes.

I love the waves and waves of coconut flavor in Maui Coconut Hiwa Porter, but the imperial version simply screams coconut with every fiber of its being. It shouldn't be missed if you have the opportunity to try it, and I want to go back to Hawaii just to drink more of it. Like anybody needs an excuse to go to Hawaii.....

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

 

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