Imperial Coffee Stout
Rooster Fish Brewing Co.

 

 

 

Pours jet black with a thin wispy tan head that fades quickly leaving spotty patterns of Belgian lacing. This one is all about the smell... really aggressive heavily roasted coffee bean, no sweetness, malty and milky..lactic.. like warm milk ready for coaco. The flavor ROCKS!! It's quite like Starbucks finest iced dark daily special. I was concerned about the roasted nose but no need. The mouth is slightly understated and maybe that's how you pull off that much roast without it being overwhelming. It lingers faintly instead... really nice. I do like more texture to an imperial or double though. Hard call. Overall...a really nice drinker. At 8% ABV I had to go with the 10 ozer. GOOD EFFORT!! Happy 4th!!

Poured from nitro-tap into a 4oz sampler as part of a flight at the Roosterfish brewpub (officially the Wildflower Cafe).

A: The color of this beer is like the color I like my coffee...dark black. Wonderful color, dark tan head that dissipates slowly leaving strong lacing throughout the glass.

S: As expected, coffee. Strong, fresh coffee aroma, with caramel, molasses and toasted malts.

T: Coffee flavor - again, as expected - wrapped up with a sweet malty taste mixed with some molasses and sugar. I almost felt the need to add creamer to cut the bitterness - which is exactly how I like my coffee! Again, this may not be for everyone, but it's certainly very close to how I like my coffee - in beer form.

M: Heavy body, low carbonation serious mouth coating with lingering aftertaste.

O: This is a nice coffee stout - right up there with my favorite coffee stout from the Cortland Beer Company. Solid effort here that I would love to revisit.

Review from notes taken on 8/27/10.

On tap at the brewpub served in a pint glass from the nitro tap. Pitch black in color with a thin red ring of color around the edges of this brew. A thick creamy tan head appears more than a finger srong and completely coats the glass like only a nitro delivery can.

The nose of this brew is sweet and milky with a backing of roasty grains with a lot of dark fruity character.

The taste is roasted grains, lightly bitter with a flavor of coffee, chocolate an some alcohol character that is a bit fruity like raisins.

Medium to light feel with a moderate level of carbonation. Quick drinkable and enjoyable. Well rounded overall but a bit too fruity for my liking. However, the roasty malt flavor is to be noted as quite pleasant and there are no problems finishing the glass and ordering another. A lasting taset of burnt grains is left in the mouth with out ever really becoming bitter.

Nitro tap at the brewery, into a pint glass.

Appearance: Extremely dark and nearly opaque if not opaque with a creamy-looking mocha-colored head that leaves nice thick clumps on the glass with each sip.

Smell: Pretty intense, with sharp, fresh, rich, bitter coffee being the dominant part here. And as I always say with brews like this I enjoy, "As a non-coffee drinker, what gives?" That said, there's a nice burnt richness from the malt that balances out the coffee, yet they're both pretty visceral and raucous.

Taste: You can almost taste the coffee grounds it's that infused, but there's a wonderful sweetness from the malt that balances out the coffee, making it like a cold coffee with cream and two sugars. Yet there are also the roasted and charred malts, along with some caramel, and a long, lingering, charred, coffee sweetness that stays around. For all the huge flavors going on, it's wonderfully balanced.

Mouthfeel: Wonderfully creamy and rich. When I asked the waiter what the deal was, he told me it was a nitro-tap, so that explained most of it for me. A velvety feel through and through, handling the big-bodied brew extremely well.

Drinkability: I was kind of blown away by this. This apparently is a one-off, but I could see this doing very well if tasted this good in a limited-edition bottling. Try it if you can.

The beer pours a dark brown/black color with a thick frothy tan head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is good. It has a dry, roasted scent that boasts of patent malts and coffee. It's bitter and huge on coffee character. The taste is decent. It has a bone dry black malt and coffee flavor. It has a killer, roasted character and an over the top bitterness. It's a bit too bitter, in my opinion. It could use some chocolate malts to balance it out. The mouthfeel is fine. It is a full bodied beer with adequate carbonation. This is a decent coffee stout. It has excellent coffee flavor and aroma. It just needs more balance. The black malt/coffee bitterness is overwhelming.