Dino S'mores - Coffee
Off Color Brewing

 

The Pretentious Glass Co. Imperial Snifter showcases the blackness of this RIS against a dark mahogany halo. 1/4” of chestnut foam slowly fades to a vail, leaving thin spots of lace to mark its past presence.

Sweet, dark roasted malt immediately grabs the nose, followed by an equally prominent partner of dark chocolate. Vanilla extract and alcohol fumes hold it back. Slight warming brings out lack coffee that continues to build with warmth. After several minutes, there is a charred, almost burnt sensation of graham cracker, and possibly a hint of marshmallow.

Sweetness is surprisingly low, with roasted malt being dominant. Burnt malt and chocolate lead to bitter black coffee. The is no trace of marshmallow or graham cracker. The finish is long, elevating the bitterness of the malt and the coffee, while adding baker’s chocolate.

The full body works well with the texture of felt. This can is labeled as 9.4% abv, and the stout certainly seems all of that and more. There is no heat, however there is a light bite of alcohol. The carbonation is ever present, a bit high in my opinion.

Coffee and baker’s chocolate are a bit overpowering for the other aromas and flavors to be enjoyed. Setting my expectations from the label aside, this is a good RIS. The original version of this beer was unquestionably a more enjoyable experience.

 

 

 

 

My fourth in Off Color's line of Dinos, I think this coffee makes two improvements to Dino's evolution.

First, the coffee makes the finish drier and longer. When you consider that the only appeal of marshmallows is sweet, the coffee's bitter is a smart balance consistent with brewing.

Second, the coffee moderates the sweetness and lets some of the darker malts do more talking... which usually results in genuine flavor and is better than stout's stylistic default of roasting malts too much.

All those positives said, I still prefer the original Dino. It is a better substitute for dessert on a cold, cloudy day. And Coffee, well it mixes the dessert and coffee; but, I don't drink coffee anytime before bed. So, Coffee Dino has limited use for me.

I enjoy many of Off Color's experiments and I most-repeatedly enjoy their beers... to be precise, over four times more servings than the #2 brewer for me on this planet. That highest praise made, Coffee Dino is not one experience I need to have again.

3/18/22 Despite my foreswearing Coffee Dino, I bought another can and while I still prefer Daddy Dino... his son Coffee is a perky offspring. I'm counting @ UnTappd.

A - Solid black pour, short tan head, quick fade. No lacing.

S - Booze and wood nose. Chocolate and coffee.

T - Delicious graham cracker and chocolate mocha malty goodness, strong sweetness, bourbon, and a char-bitter finish, with coffee acidic highlights.

M - Prickly carbonation on the open, sticky heavy weight. Mildly dry finish, avoiding cloying experience.

O - Surprisingly this works, quite well. Superb.

 

16 oz can, poured into a goblet at 40 degrees F.

L: Pours an utter and impenetrable black, as one would hope for a stout with coffee in it. Forms a fizzy dark brown head that vanishes completely before one (read: I) can even pull up the camera function on their (read: my) phone.

S: Coffee dominates the nose, over black bread, dark chocolate, loamy earth, wet bark, and vague campfire ash.

T: Not unlike the nose in most respect, but with extra elements in play. Medium roast coffee lands right up front and remains throughout. Behind that, there's a melange of graham, marshmallow, chocolate, and campfire ashes, atop a distant backbone of damp loam and wet bark. Here and there a tinge of vanilla slips in. The coffee lingers long after the swallow, alongside the ashes and chocolate.

F: Thick and full-bodied, as one expects from a stout. Used engine oil indeed.

O: Not too shabby, though I daresay I prefer ordinary Dino Smores (which I enjoyed while living in Chicagoland and not active on here, alas).

Appearance: Pitch black with a two finger beige head that slowly but surely fritters away until it settles as a film; strands of lacing turn into squiggles

Smell: Coffee and chocolate tones intermingle with marshmallow, vanilla, graham cracker and molasses elements

Taste: Milk chocolate forward with marshmallow and vanilla adding sweetness; the graham cracker flavor emerges, along with the sweetened coffee, through the middle while there is a hint of molasses in the finish

Mouthfeel: Full bodied with the carbonation quickly fading from medium to low

Overall: A pleasant imperial sweet stout - not sure why this is considered to be a Russian Imperial Stout

A - Pours pitch black with a fizzy tan head. No real lacing.

S - Aroma is big black coffee, roasted malts and dark chocolate.

T - The taste is dark chocolate, coffee, vanilla, marshmallow, molasses and roasted malts.

M - Medium body with medium carbonation. Creamy mouthfeel with a soft dry finish.

O - Decent coffee stout.

great malty sweet coffee flavors come out in every sip . smooth stout

Not bad but not better than any other coffee stout you’ve had. All the special ingredients boasted on the label are lost in the malt. For 20$ a four pack I would be lying if I said I didn’t expect something much better. Either way, if you’re dying to try another coffee stout you could pick this one up.

 

 

Good all around, I wish it was a hair thicker but I do like the coffee version better than the regular. Try it fresh if possible!

 

Dark brown, black color. Foam is coffee crema color, coarse and realities thin. Smells very nice, it’s Vietnamese coffee smell mixed with a strong caramel/toast candy notes. It taste like a cold Mocha latte drink to me, it’s slightly sweet and have a latte like creamy mouth touch. It’s so delicious that I can’t stop drink it. The beer is not as complex as expensive imperial stout. The beer shows dark chocolate nibs, light citrus peel, medium roast coffee (not smoky), light soybean sauce, vey light vanilla bean, caramel aromas. Sorry I can’t sense marshmallow, that must just dissolved in the beer to balance the bitterness of hops. I can’t find the hops aroma that much, I guess the “nugget” hops are just used for bitter. The bitter is definitely well balanced by the sugar, I love those sugar residual! The balance flavor is like a good latte, the extraction is sweet and the lactose in a well frosting milk is perfectly light sweet. What a lovely desert beer!

Not worth $6.

Doesn't have the marshmallow vanilla sweetness of regular dino smores. The coffee taste terrible like crappy instant. The feel leaves you with a lingering metallic acid.

 

 

Hissssss. The sound I hear as I slowly crack open the Coffee Dino S’mores stout by off brewing. The hiss reminds me of happier times. The beer pours gracefully and leaves a thin head, the color of a damp tree. The beer itself is dark and effervescent, yet lively and vivacious. If made into a solid material, it would successfully prevent any light from passing through it; just the way I like my beers.
But enough with the surface level detail, how does this stout taste, you may be asking? The odor it gives off is nearly undetectable, but it could be do to the turquoise plastic container I choose to enjoy this beverage from. The most prominent scent I achieve from this liquid delicacy is that of malt. And is that a hint of barley perhaps? My untrained nostrils can’t detect much more past this, unfortunately, or perhaps the marshmallow and coffee flavor this beer boasts is just not quite detectable enough for the olfactory receptors my genetics gifted me with. Unashamed and determined, I power on to my first sip.
Perhaps my taste buds have been overloaded with the previous beers I have been drinking today, but the taste is nothing to boast of in this drink. It is reminiscent of a stout, and what more could one ask for from an outing such as this? The malt of the beer is first to hit my pallet, and one could argue it may over power any other flavor this delicacy boasts of. Another sip i administer this time to my awaiting tongue, but still no marshmallow or coffee blesses my taste buds. Alas, this is no reason to despair. A stout is a stout is a stout, they say, even if the more intricate details escape one’s time with it. It is a valiant effort, nonetheless, and i applaud off color brewing’s ambitious attempt at creating a beer as elusive as their pun they named it after.
The legs of this beer are something to be proud of, that I must admit. The beer sticks to the side of the glass longer than any important bits of history my 6th grade teacher hoped to embed in my mind. The viscous beer coats the sides of my wonderfully colored (yet plastic) cup and it brings a pleasant feeling throughout my young yet fleeting body.
As I continue to sip this perfectly adequate stout I can’t help but wonder if my enjoyment of it is tarnished by the excellent quality beers that have preceded it. Is this what the nation felt having to follow the excellence of the movie “Ted” by something as mundane as the Avengers movie? One cannot dispute the flavor profiles and character this beer has to offer, but one cannot also question whether it has been done by someone else more successfully, and where this beer ranks among the canon of flavored stouts among American history.
If i were forced to give a numerical rating to such a beer, I’d give it a. 4.25/5. Perhaps in another life, it could receive a higher rating, but the circumstances surrounding my consumption delegate it to a slightly lesser than excellent status.

Nice beer! 16 oz can poured into a traditional pint. Should have poured it harder into the glass to get better head.

L: Not a lot of head and no real head retention like other imperial stouts I've had. Saw "Cara II" so I figured retention would be better. Pitch black and pours really thick into the glass

S: Smell is not overwhelming. Having trouble picking up all of the scents listed on the can. Coffee and vanilla/marshmallow are definitely there. A good amount of roasted malts as well.

T: Big on taste. Vanilla, marshmallow, brown sugar are the first things I tasted. Follow that up by a nice bitter finish of roasted malts, which I wish there was a little more of. When the beer warms there is more coffee, caramel, and malty sweetness that comes through. There is definitely a lot going on and the flavor only improves. Alcohol is hidden pretty nicely.

F: Super sweet, thick mouth feel. Almost feel like your just swallowed some syrup. Can feel the sweetness on your teeth and lips after a couple sips which is a little much. Would prefer a little more bitterness to cut the sweetness. Slightly warming.

Good beer, and nice on a cold day!
F

 

Off color is one of the first breweries I attached to during my craft beer journey. Dino S'mores and it's two variants, barrel aged and coffee, opened me up to imperial stouts in 2015.

Recent years have been tough on the OC stouts, but this year's offering is a redemption beer. The 2020 release is sweet, malty, and fruity. The coffee doesn't overpower like it did in prior years. I am happy to say that this beer is, again, fantastic.

@firesidewithphil

 

 

16oz can. Poured out an opaque, jet-black color with a small, light brown head of foam. It smelled of coffee, chocolate and roasted malt. Bitter black coffee taste with dark chocolate, toffee and toasted caramel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I've never bought beer in a 2pac before, so that is something. Anyways, $14/2pac, a little leery of the price, but I dug regular dino smores, so why not I thought.

Pours black, brown head, 1/2", no problems thus far, standard look for a good stout. The coffee was present, but it wasn't big. There's been an arms race in the coffee beer game, I remember when Coffee Bender was just huge on the coffee, but by 2019 standards, it isn't anymore.

Taste was largely the same as regulare Dino Smores, slightly more bitterness prolly due to the coffee. Shit man, I'm starting to wonder if I like coffee dinosmores less than the base. I mean, its good, but I paid a lot more for it. Still hides the alcohol very well. Has all the chocolaty vanilla adjunct smoothness going on. All in all its still enjoyable, it just isn't worth the significant increase in price, I'd rather bang the base version at almost half the cost. Some damn expensive coffee I guess. Still have the other bottle, will revisit after consumption.

Kegged 01-27-19, on tap at Loosa Brews, Tuscaloosa AL.

Pours a deep brown, almost black, with a nice thick head of ivory foam that laces heavily as it settles.

Loads of sweet, mildly bitter chocolate and coffee aromas, with really nice vanilla undertones that soften the overall profile perfectly. A subtle malt backbone helps bring it all together. A little of everything.

Roast forward, coffee really comes to the forefront. A little bitterness, but a cocoa presence helps combat it and play off that naturally bitter cacao quality. Baker’ chocolate flavors linger, but I would have liked for the flavors to hold on just a bit longer.

Great softness and viscosity to the beer... it fizzles put a tad prematurely for me but the initial mouthfeel is really great, and goes down with a very mildly boozy warmth.

 

12 ounce bottle into snifter, 2018 vintageg. Pours murky opaque dark brown/black color with a small dense and rocky tan head with good retention, that reduces to a thin spotty lace cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a light amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, dark roasted coffee, caramel, molasses, brown sugar, vanilla, marshmallow, graham cracker, fudge, brownie batter, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of licorice, dark fruits, smoke, char, leather, tobacco, herbal, wood, grass, pepper, pine, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/black/roast/bready malts, cocoa, coffee, flavorings, light-moderate earthy hops, and light fruity yeast notes; with great strength. Taste of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, dark roasted coffee, caramel, molasses, brown sugar, vanilla, marshmallow, graham cracker, fudge, brownie batter, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of licorice, dark fruits, smoke, char, leather, tobacco, herbal, wood, grass, pepper, pine, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Light pine, herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery hops; and roast, char, coffee bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, dark roasted coffee, caramel, molasses, brown sugar, vanilla, marshmallow, graham cracker, fudge, brownie batter, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, licorice, dark fruit, smoke, char, leather, tobacco, herbal, wood, grass, pepper, pine, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/black/roast/bready malts, cocoa, coffee, flavorings, light-moderate earthy hops, and light fruity yeast flavors; with an awesome roast/hop bitter/sweet balance; and no cloying, acrid, astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from hop/char bitterness. Light-medium carbonation and fairly full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/bready, and fairly sticky/chalky mouthfeel that is great. Mild increasing warmth of 10.5% after the finish. Overall this is an awesome coffee/flavored Russian imperial stout. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/black/roast/bready malts, cocoa, coffee, flavorings, light-moderate earthy hops, and light fruity yeast flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV, with the mildly bitter/charred/drying finish. Awesome balance of rich malts, flavorings, and fruity/nutty coffee complexity; with nice earthy hop presence, and restrained fruity yeast notes. Not overly sweet/heavy from lingering dryness. A really enjoyable offering, and spot on style example as expected. Did not prefer it over the base beer.