City Of The Dead
Modern Times Beer

City Of The DeadCity Of The Dead
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From:
Modern Times Beer
 
California, United States
Style:
Foreign / Export Stout
ABV:
7.5%
Score:
91
Avg:
4.1 | pDev: 8.29%
Reviews:
127
Ratings:
578
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jul 11, 2020
Added:
Dec 23, 2014
Wants:
  30
Gots:
  127
Brewed with house-roasted, bourbon barrel aged coffee.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by MisSigsFan:
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Reviewed by MisSigsFan from California

4.54/5  rDev +10.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Pours jet black with a finger of thick, brown head that leaves a lot of lacing. Smell is huge dark chocolate and coffee. Some smokiness, vanilla, and slight bourbon. Taste is full of coffee. Sweet dark fruits and chocolate. The barrel aged coffee is great and lends very subtle barrel character that I much prefer over the "barrel bombs" that most BA stouts are. Oak, vanilla, bourbon on the back end. Slightly bitter finish. Mouthfeel is pretty full but not heavy at all. Drinks very easily and finishes smooth. Carbonation is low, but where I want it for a stout. Overall, really loving this. A bit expensive at $11 a bottle but worth a try.
May 31, 2015
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.89 by howardnss from Pennsylvania

Jul 11, 2020
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Reviewed by jjboesen from Maryland

4.33/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
It begins with a quick bottle pour; there is a frothy head that shimmers for a moment before it slowly subsides into a filmy crown. The body is darker than a black bear in a cave at night. Very dark. Some minimal lacing abounds. The nose is permeated with plum and candy whiffs. Somewhat heavy on the palate, at first. Take a sip of water. Taste the semi-sweet chocolate notes splashed with rum raisin and a little Concord grape. Nice and lingering sip tells me that this will be a wonderful quaff. Lean body without any flab or residue; a minor crispiness at the conclusion. Review is finished, so now let's get back to it, yet another great brew from those magnificent bastards in San Diego.
Mar 28, 2020
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Reviewed by RaulMondesi from California

4.06/5  rDev -1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
On tap at Playground in Downtown Santa Ana, CA.

This one was served Frosty The Snowman cold, so Ima have to deal with that. That being said, it’s still speaking to me like the first time I read Hemingway in high school. It’s a pretty smooth one with nice coffee notes as if Brahms brewed it. I totally expect it to pop more as it warms. But hey, patience is a virtue that sometimes Raul doesn’t have.

Cheers.
Mar 08, 2020
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

4.09/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bottle from Safeway in Bend. Near black pour, small bubbly head. Roast grains and coffee on the aroma. Taste adds a bit of chocolate and sweetness, drying bitterness. Nice mouth feel, lingering flavors.
Feb 04, 2020
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Rated by evanwoertz from California

4.59/5  rDev +12%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
super dry, like a cigar
Jan 13, 2020
 
Rated: 4.12 by Slongie from Canada (AB)

Oct 15, 2019
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Rated by Oh_Dark_Star from Washington

1.39/5  rDev -66.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.25
Drain Pour.
May 08, 2019
Photo of RyanK252
Reviewed by RyanK252 from California

4.28/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Bottle poured into a Modern Times Beer glass

A: Pours dark brown, nearly black, with a frothy cocoa brown head that settles to a firm layer and laces nicely.

S: Roasted malt, lots of bittersweet dark chocolate, bold coffee, a touch of char, earthy, a little spice, dark sugars, and hints of molasses, bourbon, vanilla, and oak.

T: Roasty, dark bittersweet chocolate, coffee, you definitely get a touch of bourbon from the barrel aged beans, a touch of burnt toast, earthy, slight spicy herbal notes, brown sugar, toffee, slightly nutty, a hint of vanilla, and a touch of oak.

M: Full body, moderate carbonation, creamy smooth.

O: Not exactly sure how old this bottle is, found it hiding in my cellar and I can't seem to find a date on it, but it's held up very nicely. Really cool unique beer. You get a little nice barrel character and a wonderful mouthfeel, all wrapped up with a very approachable ABV.
Mar 28, 2019
 
Rated: 4.38 by Shantzak from Pennsylvania

Dec 19, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by Antwon616 from California

Aug 07, 2018
 
Rated: 4.13 by grapeshops from California

May 19, 2018
Photo of sulldaddy
Reviewed by sulldaddy from Connecticut

4.49/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
Sampling a cellar temp 16 oz can poured into a snifter. The beer pours cola to dark chocolate brown color. A creamy beige head of 2 cm foams up and fades slowly to a sturdy edge layer.
The aroma is all malt on this brew. I get lots of coffee bean and espresso, hints of dark chocolate and a little bit of brown sugar with hints of the toothpick woody note from the barrel. No hops, no booze, also not really any bourbon. Coffee stout it is.
First sip. creamy textured beer with very gentle carbonation almost cask like in feel. Very nice, actually awesome physical traits here.
Flavor is roasted malt and coffee with some dark chocolate notes and again a bit of that oak/toothpick flavor on the finish. I also find some brown sugar sweetness and again no hops nor booze here.
This is a hella drinkable beer!
Im glad to have tried this and enjoyed it, a lot! Very drinkable and malt forward brew. Nice.
May 18, 2018
 
Rated: 3.84 by taospowder from New Mexico

May 14, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by CAcker from California

May 05, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by Irrationalist from California

May 03, 2018
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Reviewed by jakecattleco from California

4.16/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
1+ year old bottle into a tulip glass.

L: Pours black with a brown hue, 1+ finger of medium density khaki head with moderate retention and left limited lacing.

S: Nose is boozy and chocolatey. Coffee undertones increase as the beer warms.

T: Follows the nose but with more prominence of the coffee. Chocolate comes across as semi-sweet. Finishes with moderate bitterness that hangs on the palate a bit.

F: Low-medium bodied, medium carbonation, slight tongue tingling from the ABV and carbonation, slick finish.

O: A solid coffee stout, that for my preferences was probably best cellared to let the booze mellow a bit. Won't go out of my way to find another bottle, but would grab again if our paths crossed.
Apr 15, 2018
Photo of hreb
Reviewed by hreb from Washington

3.95/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
22oz bottle from 12/2017 served in a chalice. Beer is black, tinged with brown, not terribly thick as it pours, but smells strongly of brewed coffee. The front of the labels says "read the back" but "coffee stout" would have been dead-on so far. First sip provides an initial oakiness not at all present in the aroma. It's rich, but it's not vanilla... Roasted coffee flavors pick up the tail end of my palate and linger there. I can't remember if I've ever had bourbon barrel aged coffee (not beer) before, but it seems to me what this beer picks up is entirely oak barrel flavor, the way wine picks up oak barrel flavor, and not the distinct bourbon flavor of other BB aged brews. The coffee and malt flavors themselves are good, but where this beer really excels is that it's so full flavored and *smooth*. The mouthfeel is just so rich, and without feeling heavy, it feels substantial.
Apr 02, 2018
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Reviewed by thebeers from Pennsylvania

4.08/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Even with a vigorous pour, City of the Dead has a very slow-rising head, but it eventually develops into a half-finger of lush, creamy-looking tan foam on top of a straight-black body. The head lasts the entire pint, leaving relatively little lacing in the form of clingy sheets that slide back down as you drink.

Chocolate malts and a touch of sweetness stand out most in the nose. Maybe a hint of ocean, too, although I may be imagining it.

It has a very interesting, roasty, semi-sweet taste. There are layers of chocolate here. The lightly toasted, almond nuttiness is refined but plays nicely against them. There's a touch of coffee in there, too. Once again, a distant hint of the sea salt comes in as well.

It's medium bodied with a silky feel.

This is a really tasty stout and one of the better beers I've had from Modern Times. I'm enjoying it quite a bit.
Apr 01, 2018
 
Rated: 3.84 by Tazmon from Hawaii

Mar 27, 2018
City Of The Dead from Modern Times Beer
Beer rating: 91 out of 100 with 578 ratings