Latte
Finback Brewery - Glendale

Finback is back at it again, this time with a flavored stout, which is something pretty far outside of their typical hoppy pale ale wheelhouse. These guys are usually really creative with their recipes, and their treatment of adjunct ingredients tends to be rather solid most of the time. Don't think I've had a flavored stout from them, though, so let's see how they do with such an idea.

This pours a thick and dark, oily black color with a thin, tiny ring of mocha-colored head atop the body. There's a deep, garnet-like hue to the first few millimeters of sub-surface beer in my glass if I hold it up to light, but it's pretty much impenetrable darkness below that. I was kind of surprised by how pathetic the head was here, though, to be honest. Even with a rather intense pour, I was unable to get it to build up more than a half-finger, which is a little disappointing. In essence, however, it's kind of like a coffee pour... so if I think of it that way, it's not that bad.

The nose is spot-on with what's written on the label, and nothing overpowers anything else. My initial fear was that the cardamom was going to be a bit too intense compared to the comparatively-delicate element of coconut in this coffee stout. Of course, the cardamom is layered on rather thickly here, but it doesn't really crowd out the coconut and roastiness as much as I figured it would. Slight notes of dark fruit, vanilla and baker's chocolate round the whole thing out. Well constructed, for sure, especially if you're a fan of the added ingredients!

The flavor profile is nice and roasty with strong flavors of lightly acidic coffee (notes of blueberry and raspberry in there) combined with the full-bodied, almost savory spice of cardamom. The coconut is likely more of the "toasted" variety than, say, coconut milk or flesh, and it seems to lend some surprising smoothness to the backend as well as its signature nutty and somewhat tropical element. I'm well-versed in Finback's use of coconut thanks to their amazing coconut IPA, Smooth Beats Miami, and this is somewhat like a colder weather version of that beer. Great stuff! Glad I got another.

The feel is fairly creamy, though it overall seems to sit on the medium side for the non-imperial stout category. It's not "light"-bodied, of course, but the strong roast characteristic is a little "porter"-like at times. That said, the flavorings alone give it a thickness that classes it out of that style, for sure. Carbonation is on the light-medium side; detailed but not overbearing, with a sweetness toward the end that never feels cloying. Well done, but I would prefer this to have a grainier profile... in a sense, I wish it were a little stronger so the flavors were better supported on the whole. That said, it's still an awesome, enjoyable beer with a lot of uniqueness points awarded.

 

 

neat beer, thanks to my brother for procuring and sharing! great early in the day brew, coffee driven as the name suggests, but with coconut and cardamom too, cool can, pretty pour, close to black, fairly viscous, short thick mid brown head, not super carbonated, good body for its modest abv in this style space. the nose on this is bitter dark roasted coffee brewed well, not acidity or acrid character, but depth like burnt wood and bitter baking chocolate, coconut might be toasted, adds nuance with the coffee but is well behind it, and cardamom is even further back, wrinkles of dark leather, licorice, and raisin in here too, not sure of there is lactose in this or not, i would think so being called latte, but it doesnt smell sweet, and it doesnt drink sweet or too creamy either. nice roast from both barley and coffee in the flavor, the coffee has some warmth to it, and the coconut factors in a bit more than it does in the aroma, great with the coffee, coconut milk latte vibes i suppose, light sweetness with it but only for a second, cardamom is really faint, floral and late, more of this would not be unwelcome, the beer overall is certainly not overly complex, its cohesive and smooth and drinkable, with decently high finishing bitterness and nice palate coating body. dark chocolate in the coffee for sure, trace smoke, maple, and permanent marker. this is listed as pastry stout but it really isnt like that, its a good robust basic stout thats not overly adjuncty and desserty, so credit these guys for keeping it beery. coffee is strong but the rest is nuance. nice beer, wintery and good, subtly clever mix of flavors.

 

 

11/05/23 can @ home

L - poured black with a dark chocolate colored head which dissipated quickly. Minimal lacing.
S - coffee with some slight roast.
T - sweetness, but tasty.
F - full mouthfeel and pretty smooth. Semi-dry finish.
O - a bit disappointed by the look but otherwise an impressive beer.

Pours a dark brown, 1" brown head that slowly recedes with minimal lacing. Nose is black coffee, light cardamon, and roast off the bat; sweeter notes come through more as it warms; no trace of coconut. Taste is very sweet, like ultra-sweetened black coffee; there's a suggestion of roast and bitterness underneath, but it's pretty paved over by one-note artificial sweetener flavor. Subtlety of cardamon and coconut not present either. Mouthfeel is nice and drinks smooth without much alcohol heat at all. This really seems like sweet stout given how it drinks like Saturday morning cereal, and it shows no malt or roast character whatsoever save in its color.

 

 

 

Pours a deep brown, nearly jet black color, looking quite opaque. A modest head quickly dissipates and leaves rings.

Aromas of coconut, coffee and cardamom stand out. Notes of dark chocolate, toffee and butterscotch. The aroma is sweet overall.

Sweet and malt forward with notes of caramel, toffee, and buttery biscuity malts. The coconut and cardamom go well with the milk and dark chocolate flavors, while the coffee compliments the lightly roasted malts. A touch of earthy hops add some modest bitterness for balance. The finish is smooth.

Full bodied and smooth. It feels mouth coating on the palate. The carbonation is moderate to gentle.

This was a nice stout overall. It has some robust strength yet is not quite an imperial, making it easy to drink.

Dark tan colored head. Fairly small, but still dense. Oddly, it dissipates quickly and completely. No lace. The liquid is nearly black and no light passes even along an edge.

Strong black coffee aroma. There are some notes of very dark chocolate and graham crackers. No chalk.

High carbonation with a thinner body makes this beer feel thin. The flavor, on the other hand, is very strong. The taste is a little less coffee and more unsweetened Baker's chocolate. There's some booziness but it's without the warmth. The coconut is present but subtle. Do I detect some cinnamon? I do not get any cardamom.

 

 

 

 

 

Can from Vinyl Beer on the UES NYC. Pours black with two fingers of foamy mocha brown head that dissipates, minimal lacing, smell is dark roasted malts, coffee grounds, coconut, hints of charcoal, milk chocolate, dark fruit leather, and maybe some spice from the cardamom, taste is dark chocolate and sweet coconut finishes with dark roast coffee and rich chocolate milk, hints of musty spice, feel is full bodied and thick, velvety carbonation. Like drinking dark chocolate covered macaroon dipped in chocolate.