Tuned Chocolate Cherry Porter

Tuned is an effort to pair beers from the Minneapolis/Saint Paul Twin Cities area with bands from the same area.  If you buy the beer, you get a code on the cap that allows for a free song download. There is also then a concert at the brewery. This release's song is "Onward and Over" by Rogue Valley, and probably my favorite song of the three releases so far. The beer is by Northgate Brewing of Northeast Minneapolis.

The beer pours black as anthracite coal, even when held to the light. There is about an inch of light brown head that quickly settles down to half, but then lingers. The aroma is at first char, then cherry, both with chocolate underlying. There are nice dark roast, dark chocolate, coffee notes, and char. The taste follows the aromas, with the char coming first, all the dark roasted malt flavors, including dark chocolate, and the sensation of dark cocoa, with the cherry being very subtle, but underlying all those dark roasted notes. The beer drinks medium bodied, a touch smooth, well-carbonated for the style. The finish is dry as chalk, with a moderate and appropriate bitterness. I am always leery of “flavored” beers, in this case the chocolate cherry, but it is well done and well incorporated into the porter style.