Zeke's Coffee Brown Ale
Rivertowne Brewing

I am just finishing my morning cuppa joe as the heat & humidity ramp up for yet another hot, humid Summer's day. The CANQuest (tm) rolls on as does the Summer with my return to the classroom slated for next Monday. It has been a fruitful recovery period for me, coming off of surgery in mid-June as I winnowed through the backlog here at Chez Woody to discover a LOT of forgotten CANs! I love my finds.

From the (found) CAN: "Two Pittsburgh powerhouse brands teamed up to bring you this limited collaboration. We added Zeke's Brazil Cerrado bean cold brewed coffee for the perfect nutty chocolate finish to this unique brown ale. Fuel up … It's Go Time!"

The graphic of the fermenter CANnected to the coffee/gas pump dispensing "Cold Brew" into an English pint glass is priceless! I had no idea that was how it gets done! ;=)

I was anxious to follow my coffee with theirs so a Crack! of the vent was in order to get things started. I could think of no reason to hold back, so I beCAN a heavy-handed aggro C-Line Glug into the awaiting glass. I was surprised to see a pseudo-cascade which led to the formation of just under two fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, light-tan head with decent retention, standing up to the day's heat & humidity admirably before falling away. Color was Brown to Dark Brown (SRM = > 22, < 27) with NE-quality clarity. Nose had a subtle coffee presence, but it was, at its base, an unquestionable Brown Ale. Mouthfeel was smooth, full & creamy! I would not have been as surprised had it been an N2 pour, but this was straight CO2. Wow! The taste was café con leche, or PapPap coffee, very creamy, sweetish without being sugary or cloying and definitely of coffee. This was executed really well. Finish was … hmm. I'm going to call it semi-sweet, but only by default since it was not outright "sweet" nor did it really strike me as "dry". The coffee flavor lingered well past the swallow & I found myself in quiet CANtemplation of the day & days ahead. YMMV.

Poured a beautiful clear brown with a three finger milkshake head that dissipated slowly. Moderate lacing present. Weak nose of caramel and coffee. Taste follows the nose with slight bitterness on the finish. The body and carbonation is moderate-light. I am not sure how, but the feel is a bit watery and creamy at the same time. The brew goes down very easy.

This is a nice brown ale with made in collaboration with Pittsburgh’s Zeke’s Coffee. Tasty bite and flavor. The head is a little weak; could be creamier. The mouthfeel is pleasant and not overly strong. Nicely blended but the finish is a little dry and flat. Coffee and toasted nuts in the first sips. Deep red/brown color. I’m a fan of Brown ales and this one is definitely going to be added to my regular stable. Another fine Rivertowne offering!