Arabicadabra
Bell's Brewery - Eccentric Café & General Store

 

 

As this was packaged October 3, 2019 I was expecting a drain pour. But it not only held up but it is still very good representation of a coffee milk stout. All the additives are present in the taste and the stout still stands tall. Can’t help but be impressed.

Poured a black body with minimal head and lace. Mild coffee aroma with hint of chocolate. Taste is dry coffee, notes of chocolate and dark fruit (something like figs) and finishes heavy.

 

 

poured from a 12oz brown bottle - packaged 10/3/2019

Arabicadabra Milk Stout has a very dark brown almost black body. A small ½-finger tan head was produced that dissipated rather quickly to a narrow collar of foam. Moderate amount of lacing was formed. A good aroma of coffee, and roasted malt dominated the nose. The taste matched the nose with chocolate added and some sweetness from the lactose. The ale is medium to high-medium bodied, and has a smoother mouth feel.

Overall, if you like the flavor of coffee you will like this Milk Stout – so, try it.

 

12oz bottle purchased from the fridge as a single for $2.99. Bottled on 10/10/2019, so this is just over a year old and well past the recommended six month shelf life from the label.

Look: Very dark black color. Chestnut brown and translucent on the edges of the glass. Looks relatively thin in body. Has a very nice compact cafe au lait head. A pretty frothy one-finger head on the pour, but it slowly dissipated to a very thin layer. Nice lacing in the glass.

Smell: I think that this needs to warm up before the nose can be fully appreciated. Once it has warmed a bit, the aroma is very expressive and it smells really nice. I get a lot of roasty, nutty (chestnut, hazelnut, walnut) notes and dark roast coffee. Lots of baker's chocolate and some vanilla in the nose as well. This doesn't really come off as a milk stout based on the aroma. Also a bit of acidity and smokiness on the finish.

Taste: This is not like other milk stouts that I have had before. There is not much perceived sweetness here, but it could very well be that the lactose is helping to balance a lot of the bitter coffee notes. Up front there is the roasty, chocolatey notes, and there is just a touch of sweetness on the finish combined with the predominantly dry, roasty coffee notes that linger. The finish is also a bit acidic, astringent, and charcoal-like, which really works here for some reason. You wouldn't confuse this with a smoked or Baltic porter, but I do see some similarities. It ends up being a very well balanced coffee stout - not too bitter, sweet, acidic, or fruity but you get a different level of each of those things to make the finished product very enjoyable.

Feel: On the thin side in terms of body for a stout, but it makes up for it in drinkability and smoothness. Carbonation is relatively high for a stout and it works well here.

Overall: A really good coffee stout. It's hard for me to say how much of an impact the lactose addition makes for this beer. Whatever Bell's did with the recipe just works really well. I just picked this up from the store and it was the first time I ever saw it. It's a shame that it's already a year old. I would be curious to see how a fresh bottle compares. Surprisingly, this beer has held up well for being a year old and the coffee flavor is definitely still there.

As fine a full, dry coffee stout as can be found. Loved it, deserves blind tastes with all the best.
a) Looks as good as any, perhaps could use a sturdier head, plenty of lace.
s) Fresh coffee, both roast coffee and roast wood.
t) Best part follows smell with silky and eeriely fresh coffee rolling across the tongue, ending smokey. Never too sweet.
f) Thinner than the best. But nicely astringent and creamy at the same time (if that's possible)

This one is really good, perhaps my favorite from Bell's (which is saying a lot given the deep selection, even in my preferred styles). As the name insinuates, this one has an overt coffee flavoring, and not so sweet or heavy that I can't have more than a couple.

12 oz single bottle purchased at Taylor's Pantry, but dated 10/10/19, with a shelf life of 6 months.
Poured into Ploughshare wide mouthed glass.

Pours a deep oil black with a creamy beige head of 2 fingers, receding to 1 and leaving lots of wonderful lace destroying the glass.

Aroma is deep rich coffee beans, reminding me of hazelnut but obviously Arabica coffee. It reminds me a lot of Parish's Reve (which is the measuring stick for all coffee stouts for me now, just amazing). I also get a bit of chocolate cookie.

Again with the Reve comparison. This beer is as close to Reve up here as I think I'm gonna get. Super slick and rich, with lots of roasty notes, chocolate covered coffee bean, and nice hits of milk and more chocolate. Some slight dark fig also to bring complexity.

Feel is creamy and slick, with a nice level of carbonation and a good roasty slick finish.

Overall, this beer is the closest thing I've had to Reve (aside from Saint Arnold's French Press). And Reve - not ashamed to keep name dropping - is the best coffee stout I've had period. So this beer gets mad props.

Price paid : $1.99 / bottle
Would buy again : Yes please

 

 

 

 

Pours dark mahogany with a khaki head. Smell is coffe first with some creamy malts. Taste is fresh brewed coffee with some vanilla and cocoa. Mouth feel was medium with malt and coffee a great creamy finish.

Pretty good! A little more bitter than I like at first tho