Intensified Coffee Stout
Brooklyn Brewery

 

Tastes like a weak expresso. Needs sugar

 

Wow, roller coaster of a beer. The pour and look is inviting, the scent makes you drool. You taste it and it's just......good. A complex mix of coffee, hops, a hint of chocolate? A few sips and you realize that although a great experience it's not all thst sessionable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brooklyn Intensified Coffee Stout, 32-oz growler filled at New Beer Distributors in Manhattan for five dollars.

Odd to see it tapped now, as this beer was released in March 2009 and has not been around for almost a year. Maybe an aged batch?

Appearance: Served in my Sierra snifter, a rather aggressive pour produces a perfect one-finger mocha-colored head that dies soon, leaving a rim and a mantle. Carbonation is low and lacing is nil. Color is black at first glance and brown as the beer swirls on the glass.

Smell: Pungent, penetrating aroma. Brine, black olives. Olive oil, hummus. Bitterness, stale coffee. Smoke. Umami. Weird! Not bad, but not great either. Uncommon for sure.

Taste: More coffee, this time grounded and disposed of all over a dirty sink. Again that savoriness, like a charcuterie plate. More olive, in tapenade form this time.

Mouthfeel: Thin and watery, with more of that brine detected in the nose and an outrageous roasted bitterness that bites the tongue. Finishes dry and incomplete, kind of a coitus interruptus beer. Medium-to-low body and carbonation.

Overall: At first I was taken mighty aback by the pungency of this beer. But I had it the next day and didn't feel it was so offensive. It drinks real good, never boozy or uncomfortable. And yet the coffee bitterness is overpowering and makes me unwilling to seek this again. Reminds me of the first time I had Founders Breakfast and ended drowning in coffee.

This is a pitch black brew with some significant creamy-brown head that had some real longevity as I finished the glass. Smelling this one I got a lot of burnt malts and a quick whiff of coffee beans. At first I thought it was a pretty standard stout but then the bitter coffee flavors really started to show their stuff on the back of the tongue. This is a pretty dry stout with an extra helping of coffee and a little bit of chocolate to round things out. I have to admit that towards the end of my glass I started to loose the coffee as the stout characteristics really took over. There was also a healthy kick here from the alcohol which left a lingering warmth to keep me happy. I do wish that the coffee flavor had been a little more complex though, I don't need it to be overwhelming but I was hoping it would have lent more to this beer. Still a fantastic stout but didn't feel the "intensity" they seemed to be striving for.

Had this on-tap at the Brick Store Pub. Very, very nice coffee stout. Poured black with a thick tan head, very creamy. Smells just like a cappucino! I really enjoy coffee stouts that exhibit a cream element and not just black coffee- those can work as well, but too often the combination of the coffee roastiness and the grain roastiness can be overwhelming. This one demonstrates beautiful balance. The taste is a bit more bitter than the aroma, but still has nice balance. Thick and viscous in the mouth, this is definitely an intense beer.