Arriba Grande Mexican Coffee Stout
Smartmouth Brewing Company
- From:
- Smartmouth Brewing Company
- Virginia, United States
- Style:
- American Stout
- ABV:
- 8.4%
- Score:
- +2 ratings needed
- Avg:
- 3.92 | pDev: 6.12%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 4
- Status:
- Inactive
- Rated:
- Sep 10, 2020
- Added:
- Jan 05, 2018
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 1
NO SCORE
-
-
We’re kicking off 2018 with Arriba Grande, a tasty new Mexican spiced coffee stout, brewed in partnership with Charlottesville cold brew gurus, Snowing in Space. This brew is a balanced stout with bold coffee flavors and a hint of heat from our unique blend of cinnamon and Mexican chile peppers (Ancho, Guajillo and Morita).
Recent ratings and reviews.
Reviewed by brentk56 from North Carolina
3.81/5 rDev -2.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.81/5 rDev -2.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Appearance: Pours fudge brown with a one finger tan head; decent retention with streaks of lacing
Smell: A lot of char and cinnamon in the aroma; the coffee is also bold
Taste: Char and coffee flavors swirl together on the front end with the cinnamon building, trough the middle; the chile blend brings some heat and green pepper flavor into the finish; moderate heat in the aftertaste
Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with moderate carbonation
Overall: This beer screams for more malt and chocolate flavor to balance out the other elements
Thanks, Slack, for the opportunity
Sep 13, 2018Smell: A lot of char and cinnamon in the aroma; the coffee is also bold
Taste: Char and coffee flavors swirl together on the front end with the cinnamon building, trough the middle; the chile blend brings some heat and green pepper flavor into the finish; moderate heat in the aftertaste
Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with moderate carbonation
Overall: This beer screams for more malt and chocolate flavor to balance out the other elements
Thanks, Slack, for the opportunity
Reviewed by avalon07 from South Carolina
3.84/5 rDev -2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
3.84/5 rDev -2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
L: Poured from a tallboy can to a pint glass. Had a dark brown color and a thick, opaque consistency. There was a quarter inch of foamy, tan-colored, fairly long-lasting head. Pretty good, but not great, lacing.
S: A decent aroma of roasted malt, chili peppers, chocolate, and coffee.
T: Tasted of a moderate amount of roasted malt, a bit of coffee (less than expected), some cinnamon, light chocolate notes, lots of chili peppers, light hops, and a hint of vanilla. The flavor is a bit uneven at first, but levels off after awhile. The chili peppers kind of dominate everything, but you do get a good taste of the other ingredients.
F: A fair amount of carbonation with a lively (courtesy of the chili peppers) finish. Medium-bodied.
O: This beer has its flaws, but is somehow still likable. Drinkable.
Feb 23, 2018S: A decent aroma of roasted malt, chili peppers, chocolate, and coffee.
T: Tasted of a moderate amount of roasted malt, a bit of coffee (less than expected), some cinnamon, light chocolate notes, lots of chili peppers, light hops, and a hint of vanilla. The flavor is a bit uneven at first, but levels off after awhile. The chili peppers kind of dominate everything, but you do get a good taste of the other ingredients.
F: A fair amount of carbonation with a lively (courtesy of the chili peppers) finish. Medium-bodied.
O: This beer has its flaws, but is somehow still likable. Drinkable.
Reviewed by cjgiant from District of Columbia
3.67/5 rDev -6.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
3.67/5 rDev -6.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Can dated January, 2018:
The beer pours with a decent cap of tan head of loose bubbles that holds for a short period. These bubbles end up as a fishing wire ring of tiny bubbles around the glass wall. Clarity is noted as the edges of the glass betray the blackness of the midsection of the glass.
The nose is a nice blend of coffee, cocoa, and a hint of spice. It does leave me with a cake-like impression. Nothing is screaming for attention, everything is smooth and mellow, but an earthy cinnamon bark note catches my nose as the most interesting aspect. Warmth increases the blend, and lightens the nose a tad.
Taste brings the coffee forward a little more than expected. I think that "earthy cinnamon" from the nose might have been influenced by a charred coffee aspect that comes out more defined in the taste - which seems like it could be more from the malt than the coffee itself. Initial impressions are that there is barely a sprinkle of spice here, and it does take that form of an expired container of ground cinnamon. There's actually a woody bitterness that comes from under the charred coffee. This itself gains an aspect pepper flesh - bell pepper - with warmth,
After a few sips and a moderate warming, the dull spice livens a tad. It becomes a little more biting after about a dozen sips, leaving a little tingle left on my tongue after each sip fades, layering with each sip until there's a light sting. My palate eventually gets used to this. There's a near chalky feel to this - as if there is actually a little cocoa powder disguising itself well in the depths of the beer's body.
The bitterness from the coffee and/or malt and/or hops is a little stronger than expected. The feel is medium light with that chalkiness, countered by that little spice bite. I wish whatever spice sneaks up on the back of my palate were more pronounced and brought a more distinct flavor to the middle of the taste. Definitely suggest letting this one warm a tad to get the most nuance from the beer.
Jan 28, 2018The beer pours with a decent cap of tan head of loose bubbles that holds for a short period. These bubbles end up as a fishing wire ring of tiny bubbles around the glass wall. Clarity is noted as the edges of the glass betray the blackness of the midsection of the glass.
The nose is a nice blend of coffee, cocoa, and a hint of spice. It does leave me with a cake-like impression. Nothing is screaming for attention, everything is smooth and mellow, but an earthy cinnamon bark note catches my nose as the most interesting aspect. Warmth increases the blend, and lightens the nose a tad.
Taste brings the coffee forward a little more than expected. I think that "earthy cinnamon" from the nose might have been influenced by a charred coffee aspect that comes out more defined in the taste - which seems like it could be more from the malt than the coffee itself. Initial impressions are that there is barely a sprinkle of spice here, and it does take that form of an expired container of ground cinnamon. There's actually a woody bitterness that comes from under the charred coffee. This itself gains an aspect pepper flesh - bell pepper - with warmth,
After a few sips and a moderate warming, the dull spice livens a tad. It becomes a little more biting after about a dozen sips, leaving a little tingle left on my tongue after each sip fades, layering with each sip until there's a light sting. My palate eventually gets used to this. There's a near chalky feel to this - as if there is actually a little cocoa powder disguising itself well in the depths of the beer's body.
The bitterness from the coffee and/or malt and/or hops is a little stronger than expected. The feel is medium light with that chalkiness, countered by that little spice bite. I wish whatever spice sneaks up on the back of my palate were more pronounced and brought a more distinct flavor to the middle of the taste. Definitely suggest letting this one warm a tad to get the most nuance from the beer.
Reviewed by Dewsby from Kentucky
3.77/5 rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.77/5 rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
L) Pours a lovely espresso dark brown with a khaki head. The head does not have as good retention as I would like, and lacing is minimal.
S) Subtle coffee, vanilla, and some chocolaty notes are present in the nose, juxtaposed by a pleasant fruitiness by the hops and the peppers. There is a smidgen of spice on the nose from the peppers, the cinnamon seems to be bogged down though.
T) The taste is lovely, definitely one to let warm up. The vanilla can be picked out with ease, as well as the coffee. The spice from the peppers lingers on the end. There is a bitterness though from both the patent malt used and to an extent, the hop profile, that I think would have been better if traded for more maltiness.
F) Has a lovely mouthfeel, good for a stout. Carbonation is slightly in excess, but once it warms it drinks fine.
O) This is a good beer, it would drink better as an imperial stout though. With a bit more body, maltiness, and a slight booze boost, this would drink with the best of them completely harmonizing the flavors at play.
Jan 24, 2018S) Subtle coffee, vanilla, and some chocolaty notes are present in the nose, juxtaposed by a pleasant fruitiness by the hops and the peppers. There is a smidgen of spice on the nose from the peppers, the cinnamon seems to be bogged down though.
T) The taste is lovely, definitely one to let warm up. The vanilla can be picked out with ease, as well as the coffee. The spice from the peppers lingers on the end. There is a bitterness though from both the patent malt used and to an extent, the hop profile, that I think would have been better if traded for more maltiness.
F) Has a lovely mouthfeel, good for a stout. Carbonation is slightly in excess, but once it warms it drinks fine.
O) This is a good beer, it would drink better as an imperial stout though. With a bit more body, maltiness, and a slight booze boost, this would drink with the best of them completely harmonizing the flavors at play.
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