And the Valley Drinks: Tin Roof's Parade Ground Porter

Tin Roof Brewing opened in Baton Rouge around 2009 or so, and if I'm going to be completely honest, I've always been a little bit iffy on their offerings. For one, I just don't go for hoppier beers, and their standards -- Perfect Tin Amber and Tin Roof Blonde -- tend to lean a little that way.

That said, their fall/winter seasonal offering is a fantastic pickup. Parade Ground Porter (seriously, tough to beat that name, right?) is so good they should probably consider expanding it to the year-round rotation, much like NOLA did with their Irish Channel Stout.

Parade Ground is available on draft and in six-pack cans, and has 7-percent Alcohol By Volume:

Robust Porter brewed with a special blend of New Orleans Coffee Company mocha and French roast coffee. This smooth brew is full of coffee and chocolate flavor.

Review

The description really nails this, as you get that French-roasted coffee flavor on the front end of this brew, and all through the bouquet. Just that slight coffee bitterness, but it slides easily into the maltiness of a thick porter. It's a very smooth beer, with just a little kick of chicory flavor. And while it's got the appropriate thickness for a porter, it's not so filling as to be out of the question as a session beer. Five stars. In addition, a shot of some Buffalo Trace Bourbon in a pint of this makes for a fantastic boilermaker.

On another note, Tin Roof's brewery, located off of Nicholson Drive in Baton Rouge, will be hosting a pretty cool event to benefit the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank: the Iron Brewer Festival. The event will be from 2-5 p.m. (Ed. Note: 2-5 p.m. this Saturday, February 15) and feature a competition from Brasseurs a la Maison, a local association of homebrewers that will do some amazing stuff with awesome ingredients. And admission will just cost you one non-perishable food item.