Coconut Stout
Zipline Brewing Co

Zipline Coconut Stout, 5.7% ABV, 25 IBU. Pours black with one finger tan head. Nose is...nothing, not picking up anything. Taste is roast malt, a hint of coconut, and a moderate bitter close - more bitter than expected from the 25 IBU. Mouthfeel is OK, overall good.

Got in a trade with The-Adjunct-Hippie. 12 ounce bottle into pint glass, best before 3/28/2018. Pours slightly hazy very dark reddish brown color with a 2 finger dense and rocky khaki head with amazing retention, that reduces to a large cap that lasts the whole glass. Thick soapy lacing clings down the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coconut, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, and toasted dark bread; with lighter notes of smoke, charcoal, dark fruit, herbal, pepper, and roast/toasted earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malt, coconut, and light earthy hop/fruity yeast notes; with solid strength. Taste of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coconut, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, and toasted dark bread; with lighter notes of smoke, charcoal, dark fruit, herbal, pepper, and roast/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate roast/char and herbal/peppery hop bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coconut, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, toasted dark bread, smoke, charcoal, herbal, pepper, and roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, coconut, and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; with a nice roast/hop bitter/sweet balance. Touch of lingering acrid/astringency through the glass, but not overwhelming. Light-moderate increasing dryness from hop/char bitterness and carbonation. Medium-high carbonation and medium body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/silky/bready, and fairly sticky/chalky balanced mouthfeel that is nice. Zero warming alcohol for 5.7%. Overall this is a very good flavored American stout. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, coconut, and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; very smooth and easy to drink; despite the over carbonated and bitter/drying finish. Nicely rich stout malt complexity for the ABV, nice solid coconut presence, not overdone; balancing earthy hops. A very enjoyable offering, and spot on style example.

12 ounce bottle into a snifter. Had 1/21/18.

Pours dark, somewhat opaque, with a one and a half inch foamy head with good retention and a good amount of foamy lacing. Aromas of light roast malt, cocoa, chocolate, coconut, vanilla. Similar taste- chocolate, malt, some vanilla, light coconut. Smooth, pretty creamy, a good medium body, highly carbonated.

A good stout, the coconut shows more in the aroma, the higher level of carbonation is a slight negative.

 

 

 

Poured into a Irish-style pint glass.

The beer is more ruby-hued and lighter shades of black than I see most stouts, it looks like a porter in that regard with a thin khaki head that recedes to a wisp, leaving little or no lacing.

The aroma is an immediate punch in the nose of coconut suntan lotion, deeply charred malts, and light cedar wood.

The taste is oily coconut notes followed by bitter black coffee and toasted grains, burnt black toast.

The mouthfeel is thin, porter-ish.

Overall, despite the constant porter-stout comparison, this beer needs more body, but the coconut is certainly present without being overpowering. It’s not perfect but I will certainly not mind drinking the six pack.

Pours a good amount of head @ about 3 fingers, and has a nice & shiny burnt brown to black color to the body.

Quite a bit of dry bread and grain dust on the nose along with some coffee and dry cocoa. Mild, mild coconut provides a somewhat crisp beach-like vibe to the beer.

Flavor is quite earthy with dark metallic chocolate and hints coconut shavings and burnt toast.

Feel is medium-light. Sorta watery, definitely more Porter territory.

Overall, it's a pretty shabby beer. The coconut doesn't quite pop as it should here, it's more of a roasty stout with the faintest echoes of coconut, so if you go in with that mindset, you won't be terribly disappointed.

 

 

 

Look - very pretty dark brown almost black the edges against the light show off a very appealing amber. Very small tan head. Little lacing.

Smell - This might be a product of the beer's dwindling 5.70% ABV, but there isn't much smell. From a beautiful dark stout I want the aroma to come out and punch me in the face. The smell is mostly roasted malt. There's a slight coconut smell, but its very far away. Coffee, vanilla, smoke, fruit. Smells like someone is baking a chocolate cake in a different apartment.

Taste - The flattest dimension of this beer. I would defend the statement that this beer has literally no top notes. As soon as it hits your lips you think you might be drinking a very old Guinness.The heart notes are weak too, obvious malt, the alcohol comes through at a certain point. This beer might benefit from being twice as alcoholic. The bottom notes are definitely fruity, coconut bordering on banana. Deep roast flavor espresso and sweet. Baked goods.

Feel - Flat and smooth. A little creamy.

Overall - I wanted to like this beer. I settled down on a cold fall night, the windows open, Tom Waits on and memories of a woman that left me. If there’s a better time to drink a stout let me know. Maybe it’s because the beer didn’t match my disposition, it was weak felt like a cop out. Zipline has succeeded in creating something most people will drink without a second thought and tell their friends that its “good”. It’s far from it though. A little bit like cardboard lingers like cigarettes.