Stout of Morning Destruction. (What the Hell does that mean?) Staple Mills Brewing Company, (formerly Stillwater Brewing Company). this is in the Destruction Series, apparently, with Holiday above it, Limited Release. Coffee Bourbon Stout. bottle 303 of 1000. Or is it 809, I can't tell, it's smudged. ABV 7%, brewed in Stillwater, MN.
Let's look at the copy: "Craft Beer from the birthplace of Minnesota. We are a small-batch, craft brewing company in Stillwater, Minnesota, brewing 10 barrels at a time. We strive to create Old World beers using New World techniques, utilizing waste minimizing brewing equipment and state of the art, one-way kegs which are made of 100% recyclable material. Our brewery is in Historic Downtown Stillwater in one of the oldest billings in the area, the Isaac Staples Sawmill. We have worked to preserve the aesthetic of the Sawmill building within our brewery and proudly display the Sawmill in our logo."
All right, I'm in it, I'm drinking it, here we go, off with the cage and cork!
damn, this is one of the toughies, one of those tight ones! not much longer…here we go…
Dark appearance, no head…starts out, but it's gone in a sec. Eh, not too pretty.
Let's sniff 'er. Coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee. Maybe something else, not so sure, let's go in again…well. There may be other darker delights lurking below, but it's all smothered by the coffee.
Drinking it: Some whiskey notes, a bit of vanilla, some roast and char. Bourbon? Swallowed up by the coffee, which reigns supreme over everything here. Very little joy, and hardly any dimension on this one.
Who are these people? What are they doing? I know they have a brewpub out there, and this may or may not be their first bottled offering, but…what are they thinking? It seems a matter of, "shove enough over it, and no one can tell if it stinks."
I am trying to be polite, but …it's a mess. It a caffeine bomb over an unremarkable stout. Well, maybe it might be remarkable, but I can't tell on it's lonesome, when it's surrounded by all this nonsense. I can't even detect any bourbon. Eh. That's all I can say. Eh……….
Every time I pour, I hope the head is better, but, n'ah...
I regret dropping the $12 on this, but I also wish them the best on selling the rest of these. And more luck on doing better next time.
3 comments:
Around 20 years ago, I had a stout with Starbucks coffee (Red Hook?) Ask anyone, beer hardly ever goes to waste around me. I poured the 22 oz bottle, after about 3 oz of coffee over the head and over the top, down zee drain. There may be a "good" coffee beer, but I avoid them. Here is where I am with adding coffee. It is like cinnamon, too much in chili or on ham, is when I can differentiate it. Chili and ham are not candy and it fucks with my brain to try and make it taste that way. Beer is beer and a cup o' joe are both great. I do not drink beer in the morning (have) and I do not drink coffee into the wee hours of the morn(unless necessary and beer is just a far off thought).
I love coffee stouts, but just not this one. And I've long ago learned my lesson about drinking them late at night. Ruined many a day with late night consumption of Town Call Coffee Stout or Porter growlers.
I noticed after I read through your blogs, your love of coffee in beer. I am sure it can be good. That whole pac-west Seattle/Portland scene and the Starbucks, just got me wrong (it was 20 yrs ago). The only other beer I ever dumped was Old Fezwig by Sam Adams. I do love most beer though.
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