Festival Only - Cherry Coffee
Cycle Brewing

 

 

Got this one from desp59 a while back. Cheers!

From a bomber into a snifter
Imperial stout with coffee and cherry

APPEARANCE: Syrupy black pour yields a two finger, fizzy, dark tan head with okay retention. Fizzy and foamy head recedes down to a full wisp and then to a splotchy wisp and ring. Pitch black body with no real carbonation evident. A ring remains and leaves some falling dots of lacing down the glass. Great pour but lousy head.

SMELL: Definite coffee, vanilla cream, milk chocolate and butterscotch aromas on the nose. A light hint of cherry behind the coffee and roasted malts.

TASTE: Roasted malts, coffee flavors, vanilla cream and some definite sweet cherry flavors up front. More roasted flavors and sweet cherry at the swallow, along with a good dose of alcohol as well. A bold and lingering finish of roasted coffee, sweet cream, vanilla, milk chocolate, butterscotch and cherry sweetness, as well as some alcohol. Flavorful, and the cherry sweetness fits right into the mix. Quite a dose of alcohol as well.

PALATE: Medium body and medium levels of carbonation. Creamy and silky smooth on the palate, goes down fine with a bit of a burn and finishes somewhat sticky. Some definite heat lingers.

OVERALL: Really good stuff. This might be the first Cycle beer I’ve ever had that wasn’t barrel aged, and to be brutally and unfairly honest, I rather miss it. Make no mistake, this is a good beer and is really enjoyable. The coffee and cherry additions are great, as they’re measured and really well balanced, but something tells me this would be a whole other-worldly better if it’d been in a barrel. Call me spoiled. Anyways, this one won’t disappoint if you’re a fan of subtle fruit in your stouts. I surely am. Thanks again, desp!

 

 

This one pours a fairly dark and inky looking black color, with a small head, and not much lacing.

This smells like cake batter and brownie batter, light dried sweet cherry, with frosting, marshmallow, sweet milk chocolate, and bourbon.

There's a lot less cherry here than I expected- it's almost a dried cherry flavor, a bit bittersweet, and not the cherry cordial/cough syrup I expected and dreaded. That's definitely a nice surprise. There's a little bit of sweet creamy coffee, and a huge sweet marshmallow type flavor, with some molasses, and just the slightest hint of bourbon. I don't get much oak, but that's pretty common with Cycle stouts.

This is a bit thicker than the usual Cycle stout, and it's very creamy and silky, with a lower level of carbonation.

This was pretty fantastic- it's definitely one of the best beers that Cycle has done.

 

 

On tap at the brewery. Black with a thin collar. Smells of whiskey, chocolate, oak, and sugar. Lots of coffee and I guess I get cherry. Tastes of cherry all over. Coffee too. Chocolate. Whiskey. Tasty, really, but super sweet. Vanilla. Cream. Aftertaste is cherry. Heavy and tough to drink. Intense and too sweet, though it's a good combination of flavors, just too much. In the end, I couldn't finish a 10 oz. pour.

Sample at Mikkeller Beer Celebration Copenhagen 2018, Blue Session. Aroma is spicy with chocolate, rum, a bit fruity and vanilla extract. Taste is sweet and spicy with dark chocolate notes. Well balanced and tasty.

 

Surprised by how much this didn't suck. I thought the coffee/cherry combo was going to be weird, but I actually enjoyed the flavors. Not very thick like normal, but that's cycle these days.