- Joe Porter
Everyone who knows me knows I love coffee. Like, loves coffee. I make it in the morning and late into the night. I’ve made for young and old, rich and poor and just about everyone in between. In fact, chances are if you’ve been to Philadelphia in the past nine years I have made you a cup of coffee . . . and you loved it . . . finished it, licked the inside of the cup and came walking back over and begging for another one. But enough about you, on to the beer.
Philadelphia Brewing Company has done it again! This time with their seasonal autumn/winter porter Joe. The beer tastes like carbonated coffee beer. In that order. Not a porter or stout with notes of espresso, or an aftertaste, or even a coffee mouth feel. Just coffee. And legend (or the website) has it that they use 50 pounds of locally roasted fair trade coffee in each batch of this fantastically delicious brew. You don’t have to love coffee the way I do to appreciate this beer. If you just like coffee you’ll flip over it. It is like nothing I have ever tasted before in a beer, truly unique. Check your local listings for carriers of this seasonal delight. Your life may never be the same.
Speaking of my friend Joe,  after a particularly bustling First Friday, my friends and I were done with the Northern Liberties art galleries and off to find a place grab a beer and peel off the layers of the day. Since there are only a few places to drink in NoLibs, and they all seemed packed already, we headed East to Frankford Ave., where the bar we set out for was no less packed than any in NoLibs, Atlantis: The Lost Bar.
The Eye Opener
The Lost Bar has all of the Philadelphia Brewing Company‚Äôs beers on tap, and while some of me friends chose the delicious BiBerry, I had to go straight for the Joe. Every sip was better than the last. And then it happened. I don‚Äôt remember who saw it, or when they did; but up in the corner was a chalkboard and on it was one of the most genius specials I‚Äôve ever seen: ‚ÄúThe Eye-Opener‚Äù. Genius for a few reasons — firstly, let me give you the ingredients: Joe porter + a shot of espresso vodka. Awesome! And secondly — other than the Irish Car bomb, I haven‚Äôt really heard a beer being the successful base for a mixed drink. I know they exist, but they are not really in common drinking practice. Joe has the goods to back it up, or base it on.
This “eye-opener” cocktail was so freaking good, you could swear you were at your favorite coffee shop; and at a $6 price tag, you may also feel like you are at your favorite coffee shop. We all loved the eye-opener so much I don’t think anyone has been able to stop talking about it since that night, and I plan on making many more of these mixtures at my house, perhaps even adding some different flavors. So I thank you Philadelphia Brewing Company and Atlantis: The Lost Bar for this brilliant and inspiring drink!
Atlantis: The Lost Bar
Frankford & Hagert