Copper Crow Chocolate Thunder Porter

I ordered a glass of Copper Crow [no website, formerly the General Lafayette Inn & Brewery) Chocolate Thunder Porter while at The Brewhouse in Camp Hill. The beer pours a black color with a foamy tan head. The aroma consists of vanilla, chocolate, milk, and toffee. The taste is big on chocolate with a light vanilla undertone that transitions into coffee with toffee accents. Then comes a light alcohol bite before a finish that is a little dry with toasted malts. The alcohol content is 5.6% ABV. I really enjoyed the sweet vanilla and toffee accents that came through in the beer without overwhelming the chocolate and coffee focus of the beer.

General Lafayette Inn The Phantom

Another beer I ordered on my most recent visit to the General Lafayette Inn was The Phantom, their barleywine. The beer pours a brown amber color with a little bubbly tan head. The aroma is malty with toffee and caramel smells. The taste is toffee and caramel with a good scotch accent. The beer finishes with pine hops and a big alcohol kick. The alcohol content is 12.2% ABV. The Phantom was awe-inspiring and one of the best barleywines I have ever had. It was extremely sweet, but not in a manner that ruined the flavor, and had an amazing alcohol kick that teamed with a pine hop punch. If you are in the Philadelphia area, get to General Lafayette Inn and order one of these beers.

General Lafayette Inn Loch Ness Monster

I visited the General Lafayette Inn following a Union match for dinner and drinks. The first beer I ordered for the evening was the Loch Ness Monster. The beer pours a dark amber color with a thin bubbly tan head. The aroma is sweet with caramel, licorice, and chocolate. The taste is malty and sweet with a chocolate and licorice finish. The alcohol content is 8.5% ABV. The Loch Ness Monster was extremely smooth and delicious and was a perfect starter beer for the evening.

General Lafayette Inn & Brewery

On my most recent visit to Philadelphia, I decided to stop in the General Lafayette Inn & Brewery. I had heard very good things about the place and that they were having some financial troubles recently, so I decided to help as best as I could. I hope that this blog post gets passed around and other people decide to check out General Lafayette.

I will start by describing the décor and feel of the place. It feels old fashioned and welcoming. The lighting in the place is very comforting. I feel that if candles could be used to light the place, they would use them. It feels like being in the old country even though you are in a big city.

This first beer I tried was the Chocolate Thunder Porter. The beer is black in color with no head at all. It smells nutty with a slight chocolate hint. The taste is sweet with coffee undertone. The alcohol content is 6.7% ABV. I thought that the Chocolate Thunder Porter had an excellent flavor. It was a good start for the night, but possibly could have been better ordered for dessert.

I next ordered the Pacific Pale Ale. The beer has a golden color with light head. The beer smells fresh & hoppy with many floral hints. The taste is crisp and bitey, consisting of hops at first before turning sweet and finishing dry. The alcohol content is 5.7% ABV. I thought that this is a very good pale ale, as it focuses on accenting all of the aspects of a pale ale, not just the hops or the malts.

The third beer that I ordered was the Abbey Blonde Ale. The beer is gold in color with a frothy head. It smells sweet and spicy. The taste is sweet and full, with hints of coriander and lemon. It ends with a spicy finish. The alcohol content is 6.7% ABV. I thought that the Abbey Blonde provided excellent balance between spices and sweets. I highly recommend ordering one of these on your visit.

The final beer that I ordered on this visit was the Union Jack ESB. The beer is dark amber in color with light head. The aroma was intriguing and filled with hints toffee. I wanted to smellthis beer all night as it was that enticing. The taste consists of toffee and is slightly bitter and dry on the finish. The alcohol content is not published on the website, but I would estimate it to be in the mid-5% range. The toffee accents to this beer made it the perfect beer to finish the evening on and it took the place of dessert.

My trip to General Lafayette Inn & Brewery was an excellent time and I plan on making a return trip. The atmosphere sets the perfect mood for a great dinner. The beer is top notch and fresh. If you are anywhere near the Germantown Pike, make it a point to stop in and have a few pints.