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C4 Double Coffee Brown Ale
8 Wired Brewing Co.


- From:
- 8 Wired Brewing Co.
- New Zealand
- Style:
- American Brown Ale
- ABV:
- 8%
- Score:
- 88
- Avg:
- 3.95 | pDev: 10.13%
- Reviews:
- 28
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Jan 22, 2020
- Added:
- Jul 13, 2012
- Wants:
- 8
- Gots:
- 9
Notes:
In my opinion, coffee rivals beer for the title of "greatest beverage in the world". I often say that I would rather give up beer than coffee. So it is only natural that we would attempt to make a beverage that incorporates both. If we were to succeed, surely this would then become the greatest beverage in the world? After years of research and trials in the garage, I have come up with what I think is the perfect marriage of coffee and beer: A hoppy double brown ale, that compliments both the roasty and fruity aspects of the coffee without putting up too much of a fight. The coffee was selected in collaboration with the Christchurch institution C4 Coffee and consists mainly of lightly roasted, delicate and floral, Ethiopian beans. Worlds are colliding and, in my humble opinion, greatness is achieved on the other side.
50 IBU
50 IBU
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by SerialTicker from Michigan
4.32/5 rDev +9.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25
4.32/5 rDev +9.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25
Picked this up in Ohio back in June when stopping in Cleveland on my way back from Firefly in Dover. I had never heard of this brewery before, but I was intrigued by the specific style, and the fact it was from New Zealand. Naturally, I had to give it a go.
Appearance: Gorgeous. Not as dark as I had anticipated. Copper colored with excellent clarity. Two finger, creamy head on top that dies down to half a finger that lingers, leaving a lot of lacing on the glass.
Smell: Strangely fruity, with plums and dates/prunes actually being somewhat prominent. Underneath that there's a complimentary light roast coffee that really fits in well. There's a slight "dirty" aroma to it that I tend to pick up in brown ales as well. Doesn't SMELL like it's 8%, but it does smell very nice.
Taste/feel: Like the nose almost perfectly, but with a little more coffee, thankfully. Starts with plums and dates/prunes with some sweetness, before there's a really clean and pure coffee flavor with just a bit of bitterness. The finish is bittersweet, tasting of malt, light roast coffee, and dried fruit. The feel is silky, but with a great prickly carbonation at the same time that opens up the taste buds -- the mouthfeel may be the best part of this beer, and it's a pretty damn good beer already. I don't taste or feel the 8% at all on this... I feel like it could very well be 6% and I'd have no idea.
Very, very good... I didn't know what to expect from a craft beer from New Zealand, but I was pleasantly surprised, and would definitely buy this again. I don't remember what I paid for this, though... but still, it's good enough that I'd say it probably warrants a slight premium price. If you happen to see this around, give it a go.
Aug 28, 2016Appearance: Gorgeous. Not as dark as I had anticipated. Copper colored with excellent clarity. Two finger, creamy head on top that dies down to half a finger that lingers, leaving a lot of lacing on the glass.
Smell: Strangely fruity, with plums and dates/prunes actually being somewhat prominent. Underneath that there's a complimentary light roast coffee that really fits in well. There's a slight "dirty" aroma to it that I tend to pick up in brown ales as well. Doesn't SMELL like it's 8%, but it does smell very nice.
Taste/feel: Like the nose almost perfectly, but with a little more coffee, thankfully. Starts with plums and dates/prunes with some sweetness, before there's a really clean and pure coffee flavor with just a bit of bitterness. The finish is bittersweet, tasting of malt, light roast coffee, and dried fruit. The feel is silky, but with a great prickly carbonation at the same time that opens up the taste buds -- the mouthfeel may be the best part of this beer, and it's a pretty damn good beer already. I don't taste or feel the 8% at all on this... I feel like it could very well be 6% and I'd have no idea.
Very, very good... I didn't know what to expect from a craft beer from New Zealand, but I was pleasantly surprised, and would definitely buy this again. I don't remember what I paid for this, though... but still, it's good enough that I'd say it probably warrants a slight premium price. If you happen to see this around, give it a go.
Reviewed by biboergosum from Canada (AB)
3.86/5 rDev -2.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
3.86/5 rDev -2.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
500ml bottle, so named after the local coffee shop from whence they procured the java - got it.
This beer pours a clear, dark orange-brick amber colour, with two fingers of puffy, rather loosely foamy, and pretty bubbly tan head, which leaves some random snow rime lace around the glass as it swiftly abates.
It smells of rich, dark-roasted earthy coffee, bready, grainy caramel malt, brown sugar-ensconced nuts, and fairly bitter weedy, leafy, and mildly piney hops. The taste is likewise led off by the heady African coffee, with a gritty, somewhat biscuity caramel malt sweetness, oily bar-top nuts, a fading dark sugary character, and more leafy, earthy, and faintly citrusy hops. No real sign as of yet in terms of the 16-proof booze.
The carbonation is decently active in its alternatively fizzy and frothy presets, the body a solid middleweight, and mostly smooth, just a wee coffee and hop-borne acridity stepping a little too firmly on the roses here. It finishes off-dry, the base malt parrying the artisanal java well enough, as the hops keep on keepin' on, whatever it is they are doing.
A pleasant melding of the cuppa joe and hoppy brown ale worlds, overall, and with an expertly integrated big ABV. Full-flavoured, and robust, yet not letting any particular essence run away with things. That said, the more you like fancy coffee, the more you're gonna like this.
Sep 04, 2015This beer pours a clear, dark orange-brick amber colour, with two fingers of puffy, rather loosely foamy, and pretty bubbly tan head, which leaves some random snow rime lace around the glass as it swiftly abates.
It smells of rich, dark-roasted earthy coffee, bready, grainy caramel malt, brown sugar-ensconced nuts, and fairly bitter weedy, leafy, and mildly piney hops. The taste is likewise led off by the heady African coffee, with a gritty, somewhat biscuity caramel malt sweetness, oily bar-top nuts, a fading dark sugary character, and more leafy, earthy, and faintly citrusy hops. No real sign as of yet in terms of the 16-proof booze.
The carbonation is decently active in its alternatively fizzy and frothy presets, the body a solid middleweight, and mostly smooth, just a wee coffee and hop-borne acridity stepping a little too firmly on the roses here. It finishes off-dry, the base malt parrying the artisanal java well enough, as the hops keep on keepin' on, whatever it is they are doing.
A pleasant melding of the cuppa joe and hoppy brown ale worlds, overall, and with an expertly integrated big ABV. Full-flavoured, and robust, yet not letting any particular essence run away with things. That said, the more you like fancy coffee, the more you're gonna like this.
Reviewed by aquazr1 from California
3.83/5 rDev -3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.83/5 rDev -3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
500ml bottle served in a tulip. Pours reddish brown with light lacing. Nose is weak with hints of coffee. Taste is coffee and caramel. Mouthfeel is a bit thin.
Jul 25, 2015
C4 Double Coffee Brown Ale from 8 Wired Brewing Co.
Beer rating:
88 out of
100 with
111 ratings
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