Cool Beans Vanilla Coffee Stout
Common Crown Brewing Co.

A- Pours a dark chocolate brown color and shows relatively good clarity and decent carbonation, as I can see plenty of small carbonation bubbles rising to the top all around the inside of the glass. The head is tan in color, but doesn't have much retention, fizzling out rather quickly, and leaving behind a patch of foam that swirls around the middle of the liquid on top. There isn't much for lacing either, with only a watery film coating the glass here. Overall it isn't the most exciting looking stout, but looks aren't everything right?!

S- Definitely a medium heavy aroma of small scale dark roast....fresh French press black coffee, notes of citrus fruit, dark chocolate, freshly ground cocoa bean bitterness, smooth vanilla sweetness, coffee cream, yeasty dark bread crusts, dry oatiness and a finish that is grainy, bold toasty bitter malts and perhaps a hint of hop cone leafiness.

T- The flavors are quite a bit sweeter than the aromas let on, however, in the general sense, they do follow suit. Dark roast coffee beans are upfront, with chocolatey creme, bread yeast, cocoa powder, mocha, smooth vanilla hints throughout, just a mild note of cherry pits, subtle dry grains and oat flake, astringent chocolate and black malt flavors, sweet cream filled Chinese desert buns alongside subtle hints of 90%+ dark chocolate. The finish is lingering with the coffee flavor and the dry Earthy char tones blend well with bittering hop cones too.....stays on the palate for sometime.

M/O- Surprisingly light in body on my palate, and the carbonation is more zesty than I would have imagined it to be too, but these attributes certainly do not take anything away from the drinkability here, which I would find to be quite high. The alcohol is well hidden and as this warms, it gets creamier in texture, which is different from the body, which stays fairly light. I would have no issues enjoying a couple of these in a sitting and find it well balanced between the sweeter, added ingredients versus the classic stout character. Will seek this out again for sure, well done!