Black House - Nitro with Coffee, Coconut And Cocoa
Modern Times Beer

 

 

 

5 oz nitro pour. Plenty of dark roasted malts, coffee, and dark chocolate with a hint of coconut. Decent amount of bitterness and char, not very sweet. Solid across the board.

 

On tap:
Typical nitro pour with an extra thick creamy mocha head. Nose hits on roasted malt and some sort of flavored coffee, with the coconut evident as well.

Taste has a little sweetness up front, similar to a milk stout actually. The coffee quells this and the dark chocolate strengthens the coffee. A bold mocha coffee gets a little extra from a nicely included coconut flavor.

Typical nitro feel, there’s a roasted malt bitterness in back. A nice lingering lo-sweetness mounds bar reminds me of the additions without the beer ever being fully about them.

 

Welcome to my New Nitro (N2) CAN Mother's Day Beer Sunday (Week 742)!I have been meaning to make these a part of The CANQuest (tm) for some time & today seemed apropos.

From the N2 CAN: "33 SRM/Black[,] 30 IBU[,] 1.019 Final Gravity 75% Ehtiopian * 25% Sumatran Coffee[,] Two Row * Kiln Coffee * Munich Flaked Barley * Pale Chocolate * Roasted Barley * Crystal 60 * Midnight Wheat * Oats Malts"; "This is Black House - our beloved oatmeal coffee stout - nitrogenated and packed to the gills with coconut and coca nibs. The result is a decadent symphony of chocolate and coffee laced with luscious notes of coconut and a mouthfeel so luxurious it's like drinking a velvet painting. It's a stunning display of liquid elegance best enjoyed while wearing your sauciest smoking jacket. Pour vigorously for a proper head."

The CAN's instructions read, "For Best Results, POUR VIGOROUSLY" & so after some gentle in-CAN agitation & a Crack! of the vent, that was exactly what I did. This time, the cascade was not as intense as in the Belhaven Black Nitro, but the head was bigger & creamier. I ended up with just under two fingers of dense, creamy, light-tan head with great retention. Color was solidly Black/Opaque (SRM = 44), allowing ZERO light penetration. Nose was prevalently coffee with hints of chocolate & coconut. Mmm. Mouthfeel was medium, but VERY creamy, thanks to the N2. The taste was initially very much of coffee, but when allowing it to warm in my mouth, the cocoa & coconut became more assertive. It was another instance of the N2 adding to the mouthfeel, but muting the taste. Finish was semi-dry, still more coffee-driven than anything else, but tempered with the cocoa & coconut. It was kind of a dessert beer, but imprecisely. YMMV. I am still pondering this one.

 

Hard to find in this one: coconut. Cacao nibs. It's a plain nitro coffee porter not worth the price tag. Great ingredients don't always mean great beer.

 

Very average beer with nitro body and smooth mouthfeel. Seems to give more body than the malt bill would have produced. Not unlike able but very disappointing lack of any coffee; coconut or cocoa. What gives? Price point was high... but nothing to show for it.
Avoid.

 

 

 

Call me crazy, but these black house series of beers go super light on everything in them. Pours a mixture of black and dark brown color, thin beige head 1/5" on the top. Aroma lacks any significant amount of chocolate, coffee or coconut. Aroma wise its just a tick above Guinness.

Taste comes off like most nitro beers do: minimal. There just isn't a lot in terms of the substantive base aspects of the beer, i.e. where is the roasted malt? From there, the adjuncts like cocao, coffee or coconut are underplayed. The mouthfeel continues the mild and unimpressive gauntlet for the beer. Undercarbonated, watery, thin, not what I go for in a stout. I enjoy a mild stout, have gotten away from the Chicago pour mega sludge double digit abv imperial stuff, but this makes you harken back to a wish that such a beer was more like Dark Lord or whatnot.

This is a big avoid for me. Did nothing well. Drank more like flat cola.

 

As far as nitro beers go, a straight inverted can pour produces only about 1 - 1.5 fingers of dark tan foam. Body is jet black and inviting. Head retention is, of course, excellent.

Aroma, surprisingly, really features everything advertised: plenty of coffee, and milder notes of coconut and chocolate, along with caramel and cream.

Smooth and delightful on the palate. Mild metallic note, but otherwise very creamy, with the nitro treatment giving it far more body than a 5.8% brew can normally manage. Red grapes; smooth, earthy roast, with the sumatra carrying the load; caramel, chocolate, and very mild coconut; cream and vanilla.

One of the more smooth coffee beer's I've had, where the coffee is present without dominating.

This beer is a looker. Opaque, pitch black. Poured aggressively with a wonderful cascading Nitro pour. Thick, light brown head. No visible carbonation. Tons of thick lacing.

The aroma starts with a moderately roasty and coffee forward stout with soft notes of coconut and chocolate. I also get cinnamon. Quite noticeably. None of the additions are overpowering on the nose. Everything is in unison.

Up front sweet milk chocolate and smooth cold brewed coffee with a cream and sugar. It’s slightly roasty, a touch toasty, and a little bitter. Some espresso and nutty influences. Dry cocoa and cinnamon powdery finish. I don’t think I’d pick out the coconut without knowing it’s there.

The feel is exactly as expected for a Nitro Stout. It’s rather luscious. Velvety smooth. Lingering dryness.

Overall, I’ve had Black House before and I think this version is wonderful. It elevates the beer in a tasteful manner. It drinks like a dry, Irish Stout to me, with some really nice enhancements.

Exceptionally smooth stout, drinks like coffee ice cream. Coffee stouts have become popular with U.S. craft brewers as an alternative for non-IPA beer lovers and Black House has managed to stay at the top of the pack. Have not been disappointed with any of their coffee infused brews, but this one is the best.