Espresso Stout
Dark Star Brewing Company Limited

 

 

 

 

no BBE 4.2% ABV 500ml bottle from ales by mail


Appearance (Look) = 6%
brown black. persistent head

Smell = 24%
like instant coffee.


Taste = 40%
like carbonated instant coffee. bitter. nothing else.


Mouthfeel (Feel) = 10%
carbonated


Overall = 20%
not good. I couldn't detect the beer here. I generally like coffee stouts. dumped it.

 

BOTTLE: 500ml. Brown glass. Branded pry-off crown cap.

Reviewed live as a coffee beer per the label. Served cold into a mason jar. Expectations are average; I haven't really encountered this brewery. Purchased at a Prisma supermarket in Kuopio, Finland.

4.2% ABV.

HEAD: ~3 inches wide. Nice khaki colour. Creamy and frothy, with nice thickness and fullness. Robust, with a good overall consistency. Appears soft and inviting. Retention is quite good - ~8 minutes. Leaves light lacing on the sides of the glass as it recedes.

BODY: Opaque dark black. No yeast particles can be seen.

It's a nice looking coffee beer. Definitely seems like a stout.

AROMA: Lovely roast - both from espresso/coffee/java and roasted barley. Cream helps tame any harshness or bitterness you'd normally get from coffee. Hints at dark malts, but overall it suggests such a drinkable beer that it doesn't "feel" dark - or at least it doesn't seem heavy.

A very pleasant aroma which nails the titular espresso. I'm really looking forward to trying it.

Aromatic intensity is average.

TASTE/TEXTURE: It's simple and a little shallow, sure, but it nails the eponymous espresso note, and the balancing creaminess is lovely. The malt backbone is pretty timid, and I would like some more chocolate malt presence, but by deemphasizing the malts, the espresso is allowed to shine. It doesn't quite bring the roast as much as would be ideal, and more roasted barley in the grain bill could only help. Milk sugars are present, but it's not too Whopper-y and never comes off too sweet.

Smooth, wet, well-carbonated, medium-bodied, and aptly (moderately) thick. Soft and approachable, with a pleasing presence on the palate. The creaminess of the mouthfeel accents the espresso nicely, running counterpoint to it.

A gestalt build, though it leaves a lot of room for further intricacy and nuance. The fantastic balance alone makes this beer work, and the complementary texture is a bonus. Well put together, and very likable. I find no overt flaws - just opportunities for improvement.

As it warms, more and more milk chocolate emerges, making it still more appealing without ever being too sweet.

OVERALL: Highly drinkable for a coffee ale. This quality beer will please the discerning drinker by sheer virtue of its remarkable balance, but its wanting complexity and shallowness will prevent it from impressing. Well worth trying, and a beer I'll enjoy finishing.

B- (3.39)

 

 

One of the blackest beers I have ever seen. Poured practically no head.
Predominant aroma of roasted coffee.
Flavor of fresh roasted coffee, earthy and herbal hops with a spicy kick from its Challenger hops. Hints of cocoa powder. Quite dry and bitter aftertaste with its residual taste.
Medium body with low carbonation.
Very assertive beer, go straight to the point as promised: coffee, and fortunately non sweet. You could even drink it at breakfast; it has low alcohol content and it sure can substitute your fresh iced coffee.

500ml bottle from Peckham's, Glasgow (£2.39):
Black with a 2cm foamy head that is a medium to dark tan in colour and holds pretty well.

Coffee & roasted malts too. The espresso is very apparent and there is a dryness to the beer with some milky cocoa coming through as well. There is some barley too and a touch of bitterness.

Coffee & espresso upfront but there is more milkiness than from the nose, Medium strength chocolate & some roasted malts with some bitterness follow. Some faint background fruits make an appearance towards the end too.

A dry taste with medium bitterness and a medium body. Carbonation is light medium and there is a nice, well balanced bitterness to the finish.

Strong coffee & espresso flavours that thankfully don't overpower too much. Surprisingly well balanced and enjoyable offering. Quite a nice beer overall.

 

 

 

 

 

The body looks to be on the thin side for a stout and is pretty much black in colour. A wispy, bubbly cover of beige head is maintained for the duration of the session.

The coffee scent found here is more of the drip-brewed variety than of a fine espresso. Smells like your standard cup of convenience store stuff along with some thin dark malt, muscovado, slight minerals and a hint of smoke. Not bad necessarily, just a little disappointing when you're expecting espresso (as advertised).

I don't think I would be let down at all here if they would have just called it coffee beer. I can't really make any comparisons to espresso here, though the coffee flavour isn't of too bad a quality. Quite a lot of cherry jumps out at me, a pleasant if unexpected finding. For my taste it is on the thin side flavour-wise but this stuff does only weigh in at 4.2% ABV, and adjusted to scale it's not all that bad. Decently balanced, coming off as neither too sweet nor too bitter. Soily hops take over on the finish, leaving more drying than would be expected. Minerals blend in well amongst a lightly sparkling carbonation. Malt could be beefed up a bit; but then it wouldn't seem as English, would it? A bit bland but decent nonetheless.

At 4.2% ABV I was expecting something on the thin side, so in that sense it's not too far off the mark. Medium-thin body with a strange carbonation which is somehow light and prominent at the same time. Pretty English-feeling.

If you're into it, this would be easily sessionable. I'm not sure I'd pick this one up again, mostly as a result of better, similar options which are readily available. I'd say it's worth a try, though, if this is a style you know you enjoy.

Caramel-tinged black with lumpy beige head that's loose but holds and trails.
Nose is straight up oily espresso beans.
Burnt sugar, milky hot cocoa, a hint of blackberry and cold strong coffee followed by faint woody hops. Kola finish and tight roasty leave.
Medium, chewy, soft and round.

Coffee is prominent, but there is a solid stout underneath. Very much espresso rather than coffee, so a bit of conceptual thing that way. Far better than cask.

cask
(3.6; 4.00 4.00 3.50 3.50 3.50)
02/12/2010
On cask at the Belfast Beer Festival.
Viscous black with a collar of white froth. Pure oily espresso bean nose. Earth, ash and coffee up front, a tight plastic/band aid (but not phenol) hit in the middle, and roastiness to end. Chewy, medium, dry.
Are there any nice beers with coffee added directly? Not a great example of the style (coffee beers, that is. Why this is an American Stout, I have no idea.) and not up to Dark Star's usual standards. This rating is even probably generous, but gotta follow the notes. Disappointed.

 

Pours black with a large, light tan head.
Nose show overwhelming chilli/capsicum character... wierd. Underneath is dark chocolate malt.
Flavours include unroasted coffee, capsicum and a little roasty character.
Rather light body and carbonation.
Pretty different.