Just as you were beginning to think that it would be a balmy 45° until March, Old Man Winter rents out a Fantasy Suite with a Polar Vortex. The two are having quite a time and it is officially butt-cold. Luckily, 612Brew is releasing The Outfit, an Oatmeal Porter, as a winter seasonal to keep us warm. The Outfit will be available in 12 oz. cans and on draft.

The Past

In the past, 612 Brew has been hit and miss for me. They occupy a great space and their taproom has every aesthetic that makes me want to camp out and have a beer. However, until about a year ago, their beer was often inconsistent and muddled to me. I am happy to say that it seems like the misses are in the past.

The Outfit

The Outfit Porter is a shining example of how things have changed at 612 Brew for the bet ter in the last year. The beer is a throwback to how Porters originally were in England. Instead of a pitch black and thicker body, the original porters were dark brown in color and you could see through them. The Outfit has a fantastic dark brown color with a tan head that dissipates slowly. The roasted malts in the aroma are distinct and bold.

The initial flavors of roasted malts. There is a nice dry bitterness at the beginning. This gives way to some sweeter toffee and toasted bread flavors. This is a balanced beer with a lot more complexity than your average porter.

The Outfit has a nice smoothness to it. Thanks to the oats in the beer, there is a decent body to it despite the fact that it does not appear as thick as a Porter that we are more common in the US.

The Can

I also love the can art by Adam Turman as it depicts a gangster bathed in the light of a streetlamp with the Minneapolis skyline as a backdrop. This will defin itely class up the aesthetics of your beer fridge.

The Future

Head Brewer Austin Myhran is playing a major role in shifting away from the perception that 612 Brew is all about the location and not the beer. He is tweaking recipes and creating new beers. The result is a better articulation of 612’s narrative and vision.

So, as Old Man Winter and the Polar Vortex continue to ransack each other’s erogenous zones, seek out The Outfit Oatmeal Porter. The Outfit will please your palate with a malty balance between roasty and sweet while we wait for Spring.

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