Wake Up Call
Indigo Reef Brewing Company

my first ever beer from these guys, coffee blonde ale, and its solid, if not amazing, but there is a lot to like about this, how light the whole thing is for one, but also how the coffee is integrated, its very cohesive, a natural fit with the light sweetness of the base beer, the technical side is decent too, good carbonation, some body for a light style, and without much acidity from the coffee addition. this is a real light amber or deeper orange colored brew with nice white head on it and good brightness overall, looks light for a coffee beer, which is immediately appealing. the nose has dry cocoa and vanilla notes, along with raisin and leather from the coffee, but also its got some of that just black coffee grounds that have been left in the machine a few days character to it, bitter there and maybe just a touch stale to me, nice malt support though, not overly roasted on the coffee, and i think its relatively well dosed, a hint of honey and also of hazelnut in the mix too. the flavor is a little less of the coffee nuance, a little more of the spent grounds, still nutty with a cocoa note, but its a little less distinctive and nice, good malt support for this though in just a simple blonde base beer, and a tidy ferment, along with excellent carbonation, so this is good even before the coffee i assume. its not overdosed and so the more polarizing parts of the java dont make a big impact, this is drinkable and sort of gets me feeling alert, i would think some caffeine certainly. late nuttiness and some brown sugar and burnt drip coffee on the recall. ten years ago this would have blown my mind, now i think others do this blonde coffee beer thing better, but i like the concept and the execution both, well done. would love to try a few more from these guys after enjoying this one...

 

12 oz undated can from the Wall of Beer in Clemson SC ($2.39).

Appearance. Hazy amber colored body with a good white head accompanied by ample lacing.

The aroma suggests used coffee grains more than a fresh brew but I suspect hops in the mix are responsible for this impersonal. The flavor carries a modestly more pleasant coffee note plus some hop and baked bread notes but lacks harmony.

The color is a little strange and hard to describe on this one. Very tiny coffee grounds can be seen. The smell on the other hand is awesome. It has great coffee notes with hints of malt. The taste is a crisp blond ale with notes of coffee bean. This is not an espresso like taste, this is more like the taste of a chocolate covered coffee bean minus the chocolate.

I really enjoy both blonde ales and coffee. This beer combines them in a really unique way. This is very much worth a try.