Café Royale
Alewerks Brewing Company

Café RoyaleCafé Royale
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From:
Alewerks Brewing Company
 
Virginia, United States
Style:
Sweet / Milk Stout
Ranked #54
ABV:
8.4%
Score:
95
Ranked #1,303
Avg:
4.3 | pDev: 8.6%
Reviews:
194
Ratings:
793
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jun 24, 2022
Added:
Aug 21, 2010
Wants:
  274
Gots:
  165
Imperial Coffee Milk Stout

Brewed with locally roasted coffee and aged in VA & KY Bourbon barrels anywhere from three to twelve months. Each barrel is tasted individually to determine the vintage's unique blend; the sought profile is a palatable booziness softened by a dense, creamy sweetness with loud notes of coffee, chocolate, and vanilla.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by stakem:
Photo of stakem
Reviewed by stakem from Pennsylvania

3.89/5  rDev -9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Thanks to Kegatron for sharing this bomber. Heard nothing but good things about it, excited to get it into my snifter. The brew appears black in color with a thin tan head. Sone spotty lace sticks to the glass and tan clarity is seen around the edges.

The aroma for the most part is quite muted but as it warms and the glass is swirled notes of chocolate, coffee, bourbon and an oatmeal sweetness like freh grain emerge along with some caramel. This boasts an overall sweet fresh graininess about it and the other expected character is downplayed quite a bit.

The tastes includes plenty of oaky bourbon. Some coffee and burnt chocolate. A little raisony with dark fruity alcohol blending to something more along the lines of molasses. Caramel and toffee are noted more towards the finish.

This is a medium bodied brew with a modest amount of carbonation. It was decent but not as good as I was expecting. All the advertised flavors are present in equal levels but nothing really stands out to make it memorable.
Dec 11, 2013
More User Ratings:
Photo of howardnss
Rated by howardnss from Pennsylvania

3.9/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Strong coffee/ espresso taste overpowered the bourbon barrel.
Jun 24, 2022
 
Rated: 4.16 by sd123 from Georgia

Sep 29, 2021
 
Rated: 4.18 by tdm168 from Pennsylvania

Aug 12, 2021
Photo of trevormajor
Reviewed by trevormajor from Ohio

4.49/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
500ML bottle, born on 2/11/20, poured into a snifter at 50 degrees F:
L - dark with a hazelnut head that mostly faded
S - coffee and bourbon
T - bourbon, chocolate, coffee, a bit of vanilla
F - thick mouthfeel with medium carbonation
O - probably the best milk stout I've ever had, very nice with balanced flavors and not too sweet
Jul 06, 2021
Photo of hman43
Reviewed by hman43 from North Carolina

4.41/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Look: It pours very dark brown with a brown head. Head retention is low.

Smell: It has a strong coffee aroma to start with vanilla and bourbon. There is a low level of sweetness in the nose with some roast and chocolate.

Taste: It has bold flavors of coffee and chocolate. There is a bit of sweetness in the initial flavor and throughout. It has low levels of vanilla and bourbon. There is a very low level of wood in the background. There is some subtle roast.

Feel: It has a silky, creamy texture with a lightly sweet finish.

Overall, the bold flavors really make this a flavorful beer with some nice alcohol warming.
Jun 18, 2021
Photo of EnderFett11
Reviewed by EnderFett11 from Virginia

4.48/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Poured moderately hard from a large bottle into a snifter glass, forming a couple fingers of light brown head before soon fading to light lacing. Deep brown color, effectively opaque. Smells of bourbon, but gently and not in-your-face. Taste is malt background, slightly sweet coffee, and bourbon. Not boozy or extreme bourbon. Very yummy. Just shy of medium bodied with light carbonation. Overall a really great coffee/bourbon stout, probably need to find another.
Jun 07, 2020
 
Rated: 5 by 1971bernat from Virginia

Apr 19, 2020
 
Rated: 4.25 by BEER88 from North Carolina

Mar 27, 2020
 
Rated: 4.25 by mflamar from New York

Feb 08, 2020
 
Rated: 4.43 by warrendietrich2001 from Nevada

Oct 04, 2019
Photo of akaizer
Reviewed by akaizer from Virginia

3.94/5  rDev -8.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pour has a luxurious 1/2 dark foam head that quickly settles down to leave a dark black-brown that beckons. The scent is deep with bourbon with a hefty bit of sweetness. The taste follows with a full bodied and smooth bourbon and vanilla flavor profile that is pretty equally balanced. A bit surprisingly, nothing lingers too long, leaving plenty of room for another sip.
Aug 13, 2019
 
Rated: 4.62 by JamieDuncan from Maryland

Jun 30, 2019
 
Rated: 5 by Blueskyac from North Carolina

May 31, 2019
Photo of Oh_Dark_Star
Reviewed by Oh_Dark_Star from Washington

4.35/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
I've had six Virginia brews and they've all been a hit. What are the chance? Do the brewers in VA really know what's up?
This treat in particular I would trade for again!
Apr 21, 2019
Photo of 2blikehim
Reviewed by 2blikehim from Virginia

5/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
I’m new to the whole beer thing, but this is a sweet(?), creamy stout, with a very pleasing aroma and a wonderfully smooth flavor. Bitterness isn’t even in the vocabulary here; totally nonexistent. I do love my stouts and porters and this definitely ranks right at the top.
Apr 10, 2019
 
Rated: 4.25 by Griffith from Connecticut

Mar 22, 2019
 
Rated: 3.93 by Unclevince from West Virginia

Mar 17, 2019
Photo of LifesAnesthesia
Reviewed by LifesAnesthesia from Virginia

4.45/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
L - Deep, opaque black with a dark tan head that dissipates somewhat quickly leaving behind minimal lacing
S - a solid amount of roasted coffee notes along with roasted malt and sweet chocolate
T - Follows the nose: roasted coffee and roasted malt followed by sweet chocolate and a sweetness from the lactose. Slight hints of nuts and vanilla as well. Not really getting too much bourbon - maybe a little extra sweetness from it.
F - Medium to full bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Creamy, smooth
O - A really nice coffee stout, but I'm not really sure this one needs the bourbon barrel aging as it doesn't really enhance the flavor profile.
Mar 17, 2019
 
Rated: 4.52 by Fusion7777 from Virginia

Mar 16, 2019
Café Royale from Alewerks Brewing Company
Beer rating: 95 out of 100 with 793 ratings