Minute After Midnight
ColdFire Barrel House

 

Can at annual RIS tasting (2019). Black pour with cap of beige head. Aroma nad Taste feature roasted malts and big coffee notes. Some light fruity notes throughout.

 

16 oz. can purchased from Lifesource Natural Grocers in Salem OR.
$3.89
Lovely looking beer black body and large creamy and thick tan head..just a work of art.
Aroma is of medium roast coffee with cream.. mm mm mm
Taste is similar really great coffee with cream..so decadent. Also some dark sea salt chocolate and strawberries for soe reason. Just great.
Great smooth mouth feel creamy and thick and luscious no sign whatsoever of the 10% alcohol.
A great coffee stout perhaps one of the best!

16oz can

Pours a finger of tan head into my nonic. Retention is about average, but it leaves a nice thin layer of foam on top of the body. Body is Black. Initial lacing is nice. Looks good so far.

The coffee aroma here is quite unlike most I’ve had in recent beers. It’s a somewhat soft, mellow variety of coffee bean, not spicy or too in your face, while still smelling wonderful and prominent. Hard to put my finger on it because I’m not a coffee nerd. Either way it smells really good. Deep roasted notes. Pretty strong notes of vanilla as well. Faint cocoa. Has a mild desert aspect to it. Smells clean and fantastic.

Wow the flavor hits very differently, has much more earthiness, more tang and more bite. Definitely not deserty like in the aroma – instead very earthy. Tastes good, a tiny bit rough for me, but I’m sure some would love that. Does start to sweeten up as the beer warms, balances out a bit.

Mouthfeel is pretty nice here. Carbonation is maybe just a little below medium. Body isn’t thin, but definitely not thick. On the drier side to be sure, but it does have a few sugars here and there, pretty well balanced for a style that usually leans to the sugar side. Bitter as well, which shares a fair amount of stage time with the dryness. Overall quite nice.

Drinkability is no problem here, this is tasty, and it hides the alcohol with perfection.

Appearance turned out ok - lacing was mediocre, film dissipated.

Overall a really nice beer, but I feel like I’m evaluating coffee more than I am beer, though I suppose that’s true with most coffee beers.

 

 

 

This version was listed at 10.5% ABV.

Poured in a pint glass, this brew was deep brown, nearly black, thick, but not motor oil, with a light tan head that was less than a centimeter tall and quickly faded.

Aroma was slightly sweet and malty, but lacked depth.

Flavor was rich with dominant coffee and chocolate flavors. Slightly sweet with very brief bitter notes. Depth approaching a barrel aged brew but overall more balanced.

Feel was thick but not heavy.

Overall a very good stout.

 

 

Really well done ! Spot on with everything, doesn’t disappoint

 

2018 release from a can. This year labeled as 10.3% abv.

Another pitch black coffee stout. Sinister looking as the thin tan foam quickly becomes non existent leaving nothing but nothingness. A glimmer of deep chant flickers from the top when light catches it just right.

Light roast coffee is heavy handed, and there is a sweet cola spice. Toasty sweet bread and a dark berry puree lie a vast and deep foundation. Milk chocolate adds a decadence to the aroma.

Molasses comes into play in the flavor. Other than that, the aforementioned ingredients are all once again present, but make a clearer picture altogether. A cherry chocolate truffel with a coffee dusting coat. Finally, those cola like spices seal the deal. Once it warms, it shows a bit of a metallic side.

Smooth and rich but this quickly fades into a dry and lightly roasted finish. All in all, this is on the sweet side which masks the alcohol warmth well.

A great coffee stout. More decadent overall with the coffee being just a part of the equation rather than the sum.

Cheers.