Espresso Martini Stout
Boulevard Brewing Co.

(review from February 2025) Javaheads rejoice (sorta)! Very well balanced & smooth fooler of a 12%er imp milk stout w/good mouthfeel; nice aroma; lots of coffee/choco/roasty/malty flavor; a lighter lactose/milky sweetness that wouldn't phase a diabetic at 5 paces & a lovely lingering aftertaste. Oats & wheat add softness and palate heft & it gets slightly stronger as it warms up, the only quibble? All the flavors fade fast as it warms up too. Now, if'n this had been bourbon/rye/scotch barrel aged......just sayin.....

Poured into a glass. Beer is almost pure black, with a 1/2" tan head. Scent is definitely cocoa, malt, vanilla and espresso-- all in a pleasant aroma, not overpowering at all. Taste is in 2 parts, front end is espresso, and the back end is the malt, cocoa, vanilla but it is smooth, and ends with a pleasant aftertaste with no alcohol burn detected. Mouthful is even, lightly carbonated, oily, and is not sticky. Beer is very good IMO.

12 ounce bottle, enjoy by 15JAN2026 stamped on the label. Thanks to Brutaltruth for this brew! Served in a BeerAdvocate chalice, the beer pours dark brown/black with about an inch tan head. Head retention and lacing are both good enough. I like the aroma, the brew smells mostly like espresso along with some roasted malt, dark chocolate, wheat and some caramel. I think the taste is similar to the aroma, but there's also some caramel and bready/grainy flavors noticeable too. Mouthfeel/body is medium/full, it's creamy and a bit coating with a moderate amount of carbonation. I thought this was a good overall imperial stout, would definitely like to have this one again sometime!

Very good imperial stout. Pours dark black with khaki head. Stocky lacing. Nose coffee and chocolate. Taste follows the nose. A little char. Mouth feel medium viscosity.

 

 

12oz bottle poured into a snifter.

A: Very dark mahogany brown. Three fingers of light brown, bubbly head. Superb retention. Thin and sticky sheets of lacing.

S: Deep woody and roasty espresso notes up front. Licorice. Fudge sauce. Green and grassy hops. Sugary lactose. Suggestions of stewed prunes and red fruit.

T: Thick fudge and fudge sauce vie with bitter, woody, and roasty espresso on the attack, and it's a dead-even fight for the palate's attention. Bracing acidic coffee bitterness. Salted caramel. Some background hop bitterness and barely a green and grassy flavor pulling through. Perhaps flashes of currrant and prune. Sugary lactose builds middle to end and almost threatens to overthrow the dryness. In the end, bitter espresso and a twinge of raspy hop bitterness dry it out again on the finish.

M: Full bodied with a sense of heft that presses into the mouth gently. Chewy and almost coating. Carbonation is ample but even-keeled.

O: To call this an espresso martini stout just seems like marketing got a hold of the beer and kinda forced it. It's a milk stout with espresso in it. I don't know where the martini is supposed to come in. They were not shy, at least, to put real espresso front and center. The sweet lactose base strikes a tenuous balance and in the end it does not end up too sweet, too dry, or too bitter. It kinda just feels like a beer that started at odds with itself and finished with a compromise by the time you hit the swallow. It's ok; not much to complain about, but nothing really to write home about either.

Black body with virtually no head. Sweet aroma: lactose, roasted malt, it smell like a milk stout with some coffee & chocolate. Mildly sweet : lots of lactose, milk chocolate, smoke, tobacco, caramel, roasted grain & a very strong coffee finish. Thick & Silky smooth, not much carbonation but plenty of alcohol. Overall: it’s more of a cappuccino than an espresso but it’s still plenty delicious.

 

12oz bottle, best by 15JAN2026
L: inky black body with a foamy brown head
S: sweet aroma with notes of dark cocoa, espresso, lactose, vanilla, roast, anise
T: ribs and sweet: roast, espresso, lactose, dark cocoa, vanilla, lactose, anise, tobacco leaf
F: fuller body, ample carbonation, sweet yet balanced; semi-dry finish with earthy hops lingering with espresso
O: delicious sipper. Hope I’m not awake all night!

 

 

 

 

 

5/17/25 - (Bottle - Home) (Chicago, IL) Bottle Notes: Purchased May 6, 2025 at Beer on the Wall for $4.55 including tax. Wheated imperial milk stout with espresso. Made with Oddly espresso. Limited 2025 release. 12 oz bottled 1/25/25, best by 1/15/26. Brewed & bottled by Boulevard Brewing Company, Kansas City, Missouri.

Appearance: Poured all but the last two ounces into a smaller snifter, yielding a dark black with pitched dark brown hue impenetrable base, and brief tan white head that retreats to form a creamy ring around the rim and razor thin cover over about a third of the base. Very nice. 4.25

Aroma: Let warm for 15 minutes, yielding a very strong and quite excellent dark roast espresso aroma, with strong green pepper notes and faint dark chocolate. I like this to some extent, though not the complexity I expected, plus not sure if the pepper is due to storage over four months or intentional. Scoring higher for the intensity and espresso. 3.75

Taste: Espresso and green pepper continue their Spy vs. Spy battle. Bakers/dark chocolate follows with vanilla and milk weighing in. Much more complexity than the aroma yielded, still more green pepper notes than I imagine many would like, but I'm digging as is. 4.25

Mouthfeel: Body light and easy consistent with marking the milk stout vs. imperial stout. Green Pepper, lots of it, so if you don't like it, pass on this selection. A little spicy, digging the coffee notes, both of which balance out any milk stout / chocolate sweetness. Green pepper finish as this warms further, the ABV starting to kick in as well. 3.75

Overall: This drinks more like an aged coffee stout that turned to pepper. It is fresh, within the first four months of bottling. Not sure if storage prior to my purchase impacted, but this is not what I expected. While I enjoy, I'm deducting for the green pepper notes, but still a good score because I enjoy the espresso and other flavors which pop from time to time. 3.75

12oz bottle poured into a snifter

A- pours black in color with a one finger foamy khaki head that reduces to a ring

S- aroma is dominated by earthy herbal espresso, with notes of dark chocolate, vanilla cream, milk sugars, mocha & brown sugar

T- rich herbal and earthy espresso up front is complimented by mocha cream and dark chocolate. Mid-palate brings out some milk sugar sweetness that adds a creamy vanilla note. The finish gives more rich espresso and chocolate that continues long into the linger

M- medium body with moderate carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel that continues into a warming finish

Best by 1/15/2026. Appears to be bottled 1/15/25. Drank 5/10/25.
Pour is black, a half finger of light cinnamon colored foam with good retention.
Nose is a big wave of espresso, as you might expect.
Taste is espresso, vanilla, some chocolate, mocha.
Smooth, creamy body. Full mouthfeel.

Overall a very good coffee stout - perhaps my favorite style. Not up there with the best of them. Over even the best from Boulevard. That I've tasted, that would be Magic Drip.

 

Best By: 1-15-26

A - Pitch black pour with a dense, creamy caramel colored layer resting on top that looks almost "nitro-like".

S - Roasted chocolate, coffee, and light liquor aroma with some creamy aspects.

T - Toasted coffee beans, cream, a little bit of spicy astringency, mocha, and some lightly roasted chocolate.

M - Big silky body with some warming in the back of the throat, a tad thin around the edges.

O - This one is starting to grow on me as I work through the bottle.