At Pub 27 in Pompeii
Beers that got us through the winter: Medusa Activate Coffee Porter; Hudson, Massachusetts.
Date: April 27, 2019
The Story— Medusa’s been around for four years, but you won’t find their beers far from their Hudson, Mass. home. A large taproom is clearly the foundation for the brewery’s viability, but they’ve started to distribute in the state and we’ve been impressed with their ability to deliver a good product — and one that will hold up more than a few weeks.
English porter brewers of the 19th century would be shocked to see the number of variations on what was then something of a variation in itself. Americans are nothing if not creative, though, and in this market a coffee porter seems almost staid compared to the Banana Jalapeno Imperial Kolsch you’re likely to find in your beer journeys.
The Beer— The coffee is in your face from the start, but there’s lots more to it. By the end the coffee and dark roast are doing a fairly polite two-step with some slightly woody vanilla standing by. Some brown sugar and some unexpected dandelion join in as it drinks.
Value — Good to very good. Nice beer at a pretty common price point.
About these posts: We taste and evaluate over a thousand beers every year. The beers posted here rank in the top quarter of those tastings. Values: “fair” is a good beer at an above market price, “good” is worth the money, “very good” is a bargain, and “excellent” is a steal.
Next week we’ll return to visiting fun places to explore beer — and much more–a different destination each week. Our beers of the day will feature beers from this wonderfully wet destinations. For this week, though, we’ll take a quality break and give a shout out to brewers from all over that made the winter a bit warmer. The upside is that some of these beers may be available in a good beer store near you.
A caveat as always: the vast majorities of craft breweries may have a few beers that are usually available, but their most interesting beers are usual season or one-off brews that we may rave about, but you can’t find. Our specific beer descriptions, can tell you what sorts of beers the brewery does well; if you don’t find the exact beer on tap, you’ll probably find something similar.
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