Coffee Burnside
Foundation Brewing Company

16 oz. can. Brown body, big khaki head. Smells of coffee, metallic notes, light toasted bread. Tastes of coffee. Not a rich coffee, but also, thankfully, not an acidic coffee in any way. Lightly roasted coffee with a light toasty malt backbone. Medium body, medium low carbonation. Pleasant enough, but can't say I need to drink this again.

 

16 oz can poured into a snifter.

A: deep mahogany brown on the pour. Two fingers of a very light khaki colored head form up. It slowly falls into a thin slip throughout the session. Scraggly but thin rings of lacing.

S: Lots of brown cocoa powder, bread crust, brown molasses sweetness, nuttiness, and some toasty grain. Golden raisin. Definite medium roast coffee presence drapes itself over everything. Faint kiss of smoke. Touch of piney, earthy hopping in the background.

T: Lots of brown cocoa and brown molasses up front. A bit of treacle sweetness, nuttiness, and a dose of toasty grain. Grain. Bold flavors of nutty medium roast coffee take hold soon after the malty attack, and don't go anywhere. Perhaps some vague suggestions of fruit skins or golden raisin. Little bit of earthiness thrown into the mix with some balancing hops. A soft smokiness rides up into the finish in lingers with coffee and toasty grain.

M: Medium bodied. Texture is round and a bit firm, with a nice creaminess. Carbonation is somewhat aggressive; it provides a lot of prickling lift.

O: Really just a pleasant beer from start to finish. The coffee very nicely complements what's going on in the base beer and elevates the whole experience. I would be shortchanging it to call it completely hedonistic, but on balance it really does seem more straightforward and enjoyable rather than deeply complex. For those who find brown ales to be a little boring, the coffee addition here provides an another point of interest that should keep anyone happy. I will enjoy drinking my way through this whole four pack.

 

 

 

 

malty brown ale refreshing taste

 

 

 

 

 

A- Deep brown basically black pour from the tall can into a goblet. The head is a toasted nutty brown and it has a thick and creamy consistency. Head peaks at an inch high before falling to a thick ring leaving tons of lacing webs.

S- A ton of coffee right up front with a moderate dark roast coming to mind. The brown ale and all of the malts are right there with toasty, nutty, caramel, slight roast and chocolate notes. Hints at a decent amount of sweetness but mostly about the coffee here.

T- As if the aroma didn't suggest it, the coffee beans are front and center just as you would expect with those medium to dark roast coffee flavors. The malts are the next thing in line with the light brown to just about black flavor spectrum with toast, caramel, brown sugar, light cocoa, toasted nuts and vanilla sweets. A touch of dried dark fruits.

MF- Medium bodied overall with a slightly low end carbonation and just a tiny bit of a foamy frothy texture.

A whole lot of coffee on top of a really good base brew in Burnside. The two play fairly well together but in the end the coffee is just a bit too strong and the carbonation a bit too low.

 

 

 

 

On tap at Arcadia