Brewery: Boulder Beer Brewery
Beer: Shake Chocolate Porter
Style: American Porter
ABV: 5.9%
Character: Brewed with five different grains, including Chocolate Wheat, and added cacao nibs
Ratings at time of Review: BA: 89 | RB: 97
Metal Connection: F.K.U. – Stomp and Shake (Crystal Lake)

Rating: 4.5/5

I have seen a lot of different bottles from Boulder Beer Company for quite some time now on the internet, but they are unfortunately, not sold in Texas. The first time I had a beer from this brewery, my friend Halie brought me a huge box of Colorado beers when she used to live there and would come visit San Antonio. I actually reviewed the first beer, which was Hazed & Infused. Shake is only the second beer from Boulder Beer Company that I have had, and the one I have always wanted to get my hands on. The day came when I was able to get a single 12 oz. bottle. Damn, was I excited to taste this beer.

Before we get to the tasting, let’s talk about the other best part of craft beer, the beer labels. I have always been intrigued by the tie-dye colors that make up the labels from this brewery. They really stand out. This particular bottle has a tie-dye pattern with tan and dark brown colors, with a dark brown oval crest in the middle. These colors just scream chocolate porter! In typical Boulder Beer Company fashion, the font used to make up the name of the beer is eye catching, and just looks like a lot of fun. I really give them credit for making such simple, yet fantastic beer labels that keep people like me interested in their product just by looking at it.

For this session, I used a recently acquired pint glass by Bayou Teche Brewing Company from Louisiana. Shake Chocolate Porter poured a very dark brown, near black color. It looked very nice when holding it up tot he light, as the brown color had a nice glow to it. This beer was topped with a large 1.5 inch dark tan foamy head. Great head retention, leaving a sheet of sticky lacing down the glass, as I drank this beer.

Right up front, there was a blast of sweet cocoa powder in the nose. THis was quickly followed by milk chocolate, vanilla, robust roasted malts, and a tail end of light grains. The aroma was mostly dominated by the chocolate malts. Smelled equivalent to a chocolate milk shake. Good job!

The taste followed the nose. Sweet cocoa powder, milk chocolate, vanilla, robust roasted malts, and a hint of grains all hit the taste buds with each sip. Again, just as the aroma, they nailed the chocolate milk shake with the flavor. The lingering cocoa powder aftertaste was a nice touch, as well.

The body was a bit lighter than expected. It is on the lighter side of a medium body. The mouthfeel is slick and creamy with good carbonation present. Shake finishes dry, which works great with the cocoa powder aftertaste.

Overall, I was impressed by this beer. I do wish it had a heavier body, which would have given this beer a perfect score, but 4.5 out of 5 is still amazing. Please go out and try to find yourself a bottle of this, as the colder times are right around the corner for us. Texas craft beer drinkers, find yourself a Colorado connection now, and request this beer in a trade. You will, most definitely, not be disappointed.

Metal Connection: Metal Moshing Mad is the name of the album that this Metal Connection comes from. That being said to start off the Metal portion of this interview, I am hoping that you are lacing up your sneakers, or boots, and preparing yourself to mosh around your living room, destroying everything in your path. Just kidding, you might not want to do that! F.K.Ü. is the band, oh and by the way, F.K.Ü. stands for Freddy Krueger’s Ünderwear. Yeah, this band is  lot of fun. I remember the first time I was shown this band by one of previous band mates. I was blown away by the amount of energy this band puts in to their music. That energy blasts out of the speakers, making you feel like a kid again. The band has only put out two full length albums in their career so far. Metal Moshing Mad is their first, and was released back in 1999. The appropriately titled “Stomp and Shake (Crystal Lake)” is the song chosen here. Obviously, this song is about Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th movie franchise. Perfect fit here, don’t you think?

Author: BeerMetalDude

Owner of Beer Metal Media. Creator/Host of The Beer Metal Show Podcast & It Came from the Cellar Podcast View all posts by BeerMetalDude