Holiday Reserve Coffee Stout
2SP Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

16 oz can poured into a pint glass

A- Black with a three finger mocha head

S- Cinnamon, nutmeg, roasted coffee, hints of chocolate, some caramel malts, touch of cloves and ginger.

T- Roasted coffee, some chocolate, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, touch of ginger, touch of slightly acidic coffee.

M- Smooth, medium body.

O- Another well done Wawa coffee collaboration, honestly reminds me of nice spiced coffee I would make at Wawa.

 

16oz can purchased from the fridge as a single for $4.49. I could have bought a 4-pack for just $12.49, but I was already buying a lot of other beer so maybe next time. Canned on 11/12/20, so this exactly 3 weeks old. I wanted to leave this out of the fridge for a while before I drink it; it's acually been out for almost 4 hours and it seems to be the right temperature - just cool but not cold.

Look: Pours a rich dark brown bordering on black. It has chestnut brown highlights on the edges that you can see through, so it's not a super dark stout but dark for a 6% ABV coffee oatmeal stout. Not thin but doesn't look particularly thick either. Poured with a nice tan colored head with medium sized bubbles that slowly retreated. Touch of head clinging to the sides of the glass that regenerates for a short time when swirled.

Smell: The aroma is definitely coffee and holiday spices. Smells like a medium to dark roast coffee - lot of roasty notes that smell very warm and inviting. Lots of cinnamon for sure. Some nutmeg on the backend. I find that the other spices of ginger and clove are harder to pick out in the nose. The beer has a nice sweet aroma to it with everything working together nicely, that is of course balanced by roasty and bitter notes. I also pick up some mild astringency. Lots of nice nutty aromas also. Even though the ginger and clove are hard to distinguish, the entire beer has this lovely gingergread aroma, even down to the graham cracker. I'm even convincing myself that I am getting brown sugar and molassess notes.

Taste: This beer is a coffee stout, for sure. It's not shy about the use of coffee. At the same time, this stout is nicely balanced and I find it to be very drinkable. Interestingly enough, the flavors of the holiday spices are not nearly as strong in the taste as in the nose which could be a positive. Most people don't like spices to overpower the flavor of the beer (myself included), and 2SP did a good job with their recipe here. Up front there is a lot of sweetness along with some winter spices, which quickly transitions to roasted malt and slightly bitter coffee flavors. I suppose that there is some hop presence here in the finish, but it is mild. Some flavors of spices also linger, especially after becoming accustomed to the flavors in the can. As in the nose, there is a very nice nuttiness on the finish - chestnut or hazelnut notes perhaps.

Feel: Mouthfeel is really nice - thicker than I was expecting. The oatmeal has given this a very silky body, and it seems thicker to me than I remember the coffee oatmeal stout from last year was.

Overall: A very enjoyable festive coffee stout. I love that the use of spices was restrained yet not too subtle. The nose gives you the preview, and the taste brings it home without hitting you over the head with it. A nice seaonal treat - they did a good job with this variation for this year. I enjoyed last years, but I think that I enjoy this one more as I find it to be more complex and interesting.