Sunday Brunch 2017 - Kane Brewing Co
Last year's Sunday Brunch was an absolute beast of a beer. What was very well my favorite porter of 2016, returns in 2017 with new labeling an a variation of the Brunch formula from the year before. At 750ml, this is a big bottle for just one person, so make sure this is shared or sipped upon over the course of a few hours. There's nothing wrong with letting this bad boy warm up either, it gets better as it goes.
First and foremost, if you aren't a fan of coffee beers, you might be wasting your time with this one. I'm not sure if Sunday Brunch followed the formula of Morning Bell where the coffee is now used differently in the brewing process... but as soon as you get the top off and breathe it in, it's ALL coffee. Last year I noted some cinnamon and vanilla notes in the nose, this year it's just a huge punch of coffee. I'm pretty sure my first reaction was a Keanu Reeves' classic, "WHOA". I did not expect that much coffee to come at my nostrils that quickly.
But with that first nose, comes the first taste and I'll be honest, this isn't the same beer as last year, but it doesn't make it any worse - just different. The coffee and chocolate are immediate and the cinnamon comes through just a bit. Last year I had a lot more hints of the sweetness of the maple syrup blending in together with the cinnamon, not this year. I still love this beer. Standing in 95 degree weather doesn't change my palate and having a new batch means I just get to appreciate a new version of Sunday Brunch. But again, if you're not a huge fan of overwhelming coffee flavors, you might want to age this a bit and let the coffee simmer down a bit. I'll be keeping another bottle to try later down the line and compare to this one and see how it changes. Otherwise, the Night King approves.