The Kenyan
Ruhstaller - BSMT

i liked this better than others obviously, but im not sure i would call it a pale ale as a base, its at least red if not amber, short of the stout or porter range for sure, but pale ale might not be right. i love the packaging, the burlap around the neck gives it a fair trade organic sort of feel, off the boat, cool packaging! the beer is a little lighter than i want it to be, the coffee has a slight bit of green pepper to it, not oxidized but getting a little stale, and the whole thing is a tad bitter and astringent, although i still like it quite a lot, and think it does good justice to the kenyan coffee in particular. is this a series? i would love to try some other origins in here! the flavor is deeply roasty from the coffee but not from the grain, which provides more of a toffee sweetness to the middle, cooked and rich like barleywine, but this is low alcohol and dry, it just has that kind of depth without being dark, which saves plenty of space for the coffee to make this earthy and roasty and even charry, raisin and tobacco notes too, not all black, really compelling coffee profile even past peak freshness. good carbonation too, and relatively dry for what it is, flavorful beer, really rightly coffee driven, i wish more beers would use coffee in this way. i had fun with this, a little below expectations, but maybe more do to age than overall quality. my first beer from these guys is quite inspired!

 

 

 

Reviewed from (long-standing) notes. Poured from a 22 oz., neck-wrapped-in-burlap bottle into an unmarked pint glass.

A: Hazy chocolatey brown, average visible carbonation, and a two-finger tan head that lasts for quite awhile.

S: Roasted coffee, grassy and citrus rind hops, and fruity green coffee beans. Toasted malt body.

T: Cold-pressed coffee, orange and grapefruit hops. Toasted biscuit malts, but with essentially no caramel flavor. More coffee with a hop bitterness hit, then some residual citrus bittersweetness from hops.

M: Medium body, average carbonation sensation, and low alcohol presence.

O: I wasn't real sure about this one in the store, but I'm actually kinda digging it. I don't know if there's extra citrus elements added as adjuncts or not, but there's a big citrus sweetness that balances out the coffee. It's different, and kinda weird, and wouldn't be an everyday drinker. But it's interesting, and certainly worth the experience.

Nice creamy coffee and bready thing going on, but still refreshing.

 

Ruhstaller The Kenyan, pale ale brewed with coffee. 6.2% ABV.

A: Reddish amber. Yellow in the dimple.

S: Wow. That smells like straight up coffee house. Like, Pete's Coffee, to be specific.

T/MF: The taste is like a combination of green coffee beans and lighter bodied, dark roast coffee. Very slight hazelnut note. Just a light hop quality.

I'm not a big coffee fan, but I like it.

Poured from a 22 oz. bottle, into a Belgian tulip glass.

A: Deep berry-citrus coffee like aroma with a light, clean malt sweetness.

A: Orangeish-brown, opaque, with a thin head that quickly recedes into a ring around the glass.

T: Big berry-citrus like coffee flavor with a clean light malt sweetness. The beer is crisp with a light bitterness, and finishes semi-dry.

M: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Pretty refreshing and easy to drink.

O: Delicious; this beer really lets the coffee bean shine. The pale malt provides a touch of sweetness and allows the bean to highlight its berry, citrus like aroma and flavor.

I don't understand why this beer is rated so low. It's a coffee ale that's taste like a coffee ale. If you don't like coffee this isn't for you. Cheers

I've never drain poured a beer faster in my life. I spat out the first taste to quickly to describe how much it sucked.

I found it odd that the reviews were so extreme - some hated it, others loved it. So, I decided to try this beer. The good and bad reviews have their points, but overall, this is quite a remarkable beer. If you like coffee and can appreciate a non-imperial stout or porter, you'll appreciate this example.

LSTFO (A):

Look: Good looking beer, good color and nice head. If too much is poured, you'll find white yeast flakes.

Smell: Bitter coffee - light.

Taste: Ale backbone, but a solid coffee bitterness. The coffee bean really shines through. If you appreciate a good, dark roast coffee, you'll find this beer utterly amazing. It lacks sweetness, but that's not necessarily bad. It reminds me of espresso shot cups... but better tasting as it has a crisp and effervescent taste.

Feel: Mouth feel is good. Despite its darker reddish color, it's quite light and fresh. The bitterness counteracts the smooth mouth feel and leaves you quite satisfied.

Overall: Quite a nice beer and unlike most coffee-style beers. If you like crisp beers, but also like those imperial coffee stouts or coffee porters, you'll find this as an excellent combination of each. If your pallet is unrefined, you'll probably find this beer offensive - which accounts for many of the bad reviews. (yes, I'm saying the bad reviews of this beer are from poor taste buds).

(A) for Aftertaste: I add this category because it's undervalued. The aftertaste is similar to taking a shot of espresso or drinking a dark roast cold-brew coffee.

 

 

 

This beer is lovely to look at with a deep amber color and a lovely thick pillowy white head (albeit fades fast.) However, the smell is herbaceous cooked broccoli and most unpleasant. Unfortunately, the taste is worse than the smell. Tastes like burnt red and green peppers with a green bitter finish. Completely out of balance and overly carbonated. Not my "cup of tea."