Coffee Shop Vibes - Kenyan - Barrel-Aged
Side Project Brewing

 

 

 

This was outstanding. Dark brown appearance with a tight foamy tan head that recedes slowly, and provides really nice lacing. Chocolate, vanilla, bourbon, date. Thick body, medium carbonation.

 

 

 

 

Needed some time to warm, but the profile on this is good. The coffee comes on fairly bitter, with a good warmth from the barrel. Lots of dark fruit as it opens up. Finishes smooth & warm. Had huge expectations that fell a touch short. Still great.

 

 

 

 

 

Batch 2 is thick chocolate fudge with just the right amount of malt and coffee behind it. Good body, has a bit less coffee than prior batches, barrel aged or not, but I think the OWK/Derivation stout base shines very well here when expectations are adjusted appropriately.

 

Poured from a 750ml wax topped bottle into a stemmed glass. Pours thick like motor oil. Small brown head. Big roasted chocolate aroma. Smaller bourbon nose, I have a hard time picking up the coffee itself. The flavor is more smooth roasted chocolate, fudge and brownie. I, again, can't tell where the barrel, the base beer and the bean intersect. They all blend wonderfully. The feel is thick and silky with legs that hang on the glass well past the next sip. Awesome.

 

poured from a 750mL bottle into a snifter. pours like black motor oil with fizzling chocolate brown head that fades away almost immediately. smells of cocoa and whiskey with maybe a touch of coffee spice. not an incredibly strong bourbon barrel presence for side project / shared standards but also not an incredibly strong coffee aroma either. it’s pretty well integrated and works in a cohesive manner. taste is much more chocolate than bourbon or coffee but they’re also there. again, it’s well integrated and balanced. nothing really dominates. mouthfeel is incredible. thick, full sludge with almost no bubbliness to it at all. overall, it’s not the coffee bomb 2017 was but then again the non-BA CSV of recent have been trending to a more balanced coffee aroma and taste so not super surprising here. this reminds me more of a coffee derivation with its excellent barrel integration and chocolatey stout blend.