Another visit to Dave's BrewFarm last Sunday, but, alas, no new growlers to take home because the St. Paul Homebrewer Club bought them all out the day before, damn their eyes.
But a trip to Wisconsin is wasted without bringing back new beer that we can't get here, so I stocked on some New Glarus.
New Glarus Brewing Company Coffee Stout, New Glarus, WI
"Hearty and satisfying, our Coffee Stout is the ultimate full-bodied brew. Wisconsin water, roasted malts and imported hops are the natural ingredients we use to brew this bier. Then cold pressed organic coffee from Just Coffee Co-op is infused into the brew.
…and more, blah, blah, blah…
Enough, let's drink it!
Full ebon appearance, showing some reddish clarity at the bottom, with a big, cream, cocoa-toned head.
Soft and subtle aromatics, cherry notes mingle with espresso and oak, rich chocolate malt dominates.
Taste: chocolate malt comes up first, with fruity notes after. Rich and full, but never thick or intense. Very mellow coffee stout. Just right. Cherry and vanilla flavors keep up with the coffee. Medium finish, tends to leave the palate lightly.
A very different coffee stout from those with more massive mouthfeel, such as Bell's Java Stout. "Ultimate full-bodied brew"? Not at all. But definitely tasty and enjoyable. An easy-drinking coffee stout, a pleasant tipple.
Edit: It turns out that I'd reviewed this one on BeerAdvocate before, eight years ago, April of 2003. I'm going to give you the old review in it's entirety. I was disappointed then, as I am now...
The label recommends consumption at room temperature, which I have done, and I wonder if it suffered from that. Other things on this label are less than true, but we'll get to that later.
I like this brewery, I've liked the other beers I've had, but I also love stouts, and live for coffee stouts. I'm pretty demanding that way. It had better be coffee, or someone's gonna be sorry!(Probably me)
Color is a dark brown/black, with a big tan head atop that soon crumbles into nothingness. Nose: sweet,..and dry...and bitter. But nothing else. Coffee's there, a little, but none too pronounced. Mild, if any, hops, big, full malt, full body, but as for texture and taste, I'm left searching. It drinks down fine, it stands in nicely as a run-of-the-mill stout, but as a coffee stout, it's a rather weak example. A decent drink, but there is no "spectrum of extravagant flavor" as the label boasts, nor are there any really "deep coffee flavors." Sorry, New Glarus!
I'm having a Lakefront coffee stout next (thanks, jeffboo!) and if that fails, there's still my cache of Bell's Java Stout!
No comments:
Post a Comment