Coffee Stout
Dry Dock Brewing Co.

B- / WORTHY

this was just okay for me. for one, i think it could do without the lactose, there is enough sweetness in the malt profile here that the milk sugar seems superfluous. i get the idea of milk with coffee, but it doesnt really work like that here, and the sugar is a distraction from the coffee, not an enhancement of it. the beer pours pretty flat from the can, there is a decent mocha colored head at first, but its entirely gone within a minute, and the dark brown beer looks tired, even bored in my globe. the aroma is good, strong brewed coffee, earthy and roasty, even ashy and very dark, nice with the chocolate malt thats obvious in the base beer, there is balance there even without the milk sugar. the flavor is fine, a little bland to me, the coffee is there and so is a nice dark chocolate note, but this isnt particularly evolved or dynamic, and seems almost basic to me. the huge sweetness from the lactose really extends the finish past the bitterness of the coffee or dark grain, so the balance is disrupted, and its just sugary at the end. very little carbonation as well, which is a turn off here. overall i like the coffee part of this, but they have not done enough to showcase that and let it stand on its own. too sweet to want more than one of, at least for me, and not as well refined in the details as it should be from dry dock at this point. a little disappointing, but not a bad beer.

 

 

12 oz. Can
Best By: 06/29/2018

Poured into a tulip a pretty nice dark brown color, nice carbonation, with a nice small creamy tan head, which leaves minimal sticky lacing behind. The nose is malty, with a nice touch of coffee, roasty, some chocolate/toffee, slight vanilla. The taste is malty, with some nice coffee notes, chocolate/toffee, some roast, vanilla. Medium body, ABV is hidden nicely, with a nice little dry/bitter finish. Overall, a pretty tasty brew.

 

Poured from a 12oz can with a best by date of 6/29/18; into a snifter.
Appearance- a black abyss with a medium thick mocha head that fades quickly and leaves little lacing!
Smell - milk chocolate and rich coffee notes.
Taste - mimics the nose almost identically, however the milk chocolate has a more defined role in the flavor profile making this quite tasty!
Feel - at 5.5% this is a bit on the light side, but I appreciate it, as I feel this would be a nice beer to have a few of on a cool night camping!
Overall- very solid coffee stout offering that will be a good go to on a ski or camping trip!