Dusk Til' Dawn Coffee Cream Ale
Higherground Brewing Co.

been loving coffee in blonde beers lately, and i like this because its not too sweet, the coffee seems to be roasted to profile, not cooked right through its character, so this comes across as modern and intentional. its a little richer looking than straight golden and takes just a splash of color from the coffee it looks like, short white head on top, some lace as it drinks, enough carbonation. the nose is great, a bit more substantial base than just a blonde ale, i think cream ale at the core of it is smart, and the coffee hits with notes of cocoa powder, hazelnut, and subtle vanilla, trace malt sweetness is real compatible with the coffee, simple in a good way, a little coffee goes a long way here, the balance is there too. the coffee is there from start to finish, still nutty but almost more almond or even amaretto now, dry slightly bitter cocoa character offsets the middle malt sweetness and this does have a somewhat drier finish, certainly not all milk sugared to oblivion, more milk type chocolate as this warms a little though, and a caramel note too, perhaps from the coffee, which seems relatively high end, nicely dosed in here, no acid and very low bitterness from it. the base beer would be fine on its own without the coffee too, and it seems like overall the quality of all their stuff is pretty high. enjoyable brew here, nice use of good coffee in an all season drinker.