Java Jolt Coffee Amber
Freedom's Edge Brewing Co.

really cool idea to put coffee in an amber, not enough playing around with amber, its so often just the accessible beer in a brewery, nobody every plays with it or gives it any life, so this was cool to see and i liked that they used local coffee in it, a little extra local flavor. i must be getting the last pour off an old keg or the first off a new one, its rather cloudy, no real reason for that in a beer like this, makes it seem kind of unrefined and sloppy, but it tastes right, so im not sure, still holds a bit of a head and looks on the deeper side of amber in terms of color. this was also only listed at 5.4% abv when i was in, quite a bit lower than what is posted here, must vary over batches. anyway its got a great nose, the coffee is fresh and seems like cold brew to me, its concentrated like that and has zero acidity, although there is a little twang to the ferment, suggesting it was done just a touch warmer than this strain is comfortable. i get light smoke, hazelnut, almond, and raisin in the coffee, and i love that there is no dark roasty grain in here for it to contend with, so it really stands out, and the toffee and caramel sweetness in the malt that this amber is built on is super compatible, not sugary but balancing, and this is layered and rich. i can tell the coffee is excellent on its own, i cant quite say the same for the base amber ale here, i dont love the ferment and reckon its just a little amateurish overall, but the combination of the two works well enough for me. digging the coffee profile here a lot, like how robust it is, and even though the carbonation is a little light, this is a pint beer. an appreciable caffeine boost kicks in for me as well, nice!