Coconut Cavatica
Fort George Brewery + Public House

 

 

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing nearly opaque in the glass with a thin khaki head that dissipates to sparse patches with slight lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, cocoa, coconut, vanilla and graham crackers. Flavor is dark toasted malt, bakers chocolate, vanilla, light coconut, licorice and a little coffee bitterness in the finish. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. The basic Cavatica profile is here; a rather dry toasted malt stout with decent chocolate. Reminiscent to me of a bigger bodied dry export stout. Coconut is subdued, but present and mellows the finish a bit. A nice roasty stout with a touch of coconut and interesting flavors.

16oz can from Boise Co-op. Near black pour with small creamy beige head. Roasty aroma, dark chocolate, light coconut. Coconut comes out more in the taste, no suntan oil here, more like a Mounds bar. Sweet, coconut, light chocolate and a clean finish.

a real neat addition to the original, which stands as a total beast, yet an approachable one, of a stout, sturdy and without frills. the coconut doesnt even feel like a frill, thats how grounded it is, bitter and full and no nonsense, and its identity remains fully intact here despite the addition. the coconut is fresh, only a touch sweet, natural as can be, and fits into this effortlessly of course, they have enough other dessert stouts, this doesnt need to be transformed into one, and i feel like that mindset was front and center when designing it, its still so roast forward, and everywhere the coconut flashes into the aroma and flavor its an accent, obvious as it is, it never takes over, and it doesnt change the pace of it either. deep black in color, abyssal yet inviting, a dense inch of light brown foam. the nose on this is natural coconut, coconut water, a toasted coconut element too but maybe from all the malt in this, nicely layered of course as is the base beer, roasty and bitter and intense but not intimidating, mocha, good espresso, dark leather, licorice. i love the way the coconut isnt just persistent but rather ebbs and flows, flashes more or less intense in different places, and plays differently with each malt nuance, its very long and evolved but still dry and fast at the end, which is definitely uncommon for coconut beers. bitter with some smoke at the end but clean too, the coconut makes it regal and tropical, and its so tastefully done. this is filling and big but not because its sweet, because normal cavatica is. not boozy, not forced, seems totally organic and its a wonderful addition. as good as it sounds like it would be...