Best bourbon barrel aged coffee stout

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by Respect_the_Saaz, Aug 5, 2013.

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  1. Respect_the_Saaz

    Respect_the_Saaz Initiate (0) Jul 16, 2013 Louisiana

    So me and my crew did an expansive tasting last night...all in this category. Here's how it shook out:

    1. Bourbon County Coffee Stout (2012)
    2. 4 Hands Volume 1
    3. Founders KBS (2013)
    4. Bourbon County Brand Stout (2012)-not coffee, I know
    5. 4 Hands BA Bona Fide (2013)

    All were awesome. The difference between the top 3 was small but ultimately Bourbon County Coffee was in a bit of a different class.
     
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  2. VictorWisc

    VictorWisc Maven (1,379) Jan 2, 2013 Massachusetts

    Oh, the irony! "Coffee Stout" used to be a category that had no coffee in it--just tasted like it did. Adding coffee used to be a gimmick, not a feature. It's in the right place.
     
  3. Savage1005

    Savage1005 Initiate (0) Feb 8, 2012 North Carolina

    I am a big fan of alewerks cafe royale
     
    cejaev, KVNBGRY, Bung and 13 others like this.
  4. MaltMilkshake

    MaltMilkshake Initiate (0) Feb 9, 2011 California

    BCBCS
    Alesmith BA Speedway
     
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  5. KevSal

    KevSal Pooh-Bah (2,940) Oct 17, 2010 California
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    50/50 coffee eclipse is extremely tasty.

    What vintage was the coffee? Because I have found while they are all delicious, that batch (different coffees used) and age play a key in its flavor profile
     
  6. vacax

    vacax Initiate (0) Jun 3, 2008 California

    Fresh BCBCS is so much better than drinking last year's now. Some of the best I've had this year: Mocha Wednesday, Lost Abbey Track 10, BA Kopi Speedway.
     
  7. whiskey

    whiskey Maven (1,308) Feb 25, 2012 California
    Trader

    Big Bad Baptist. It smells like you stuck your face in a bag of freshly ground coffee. Love it.
     
  8. shawnp

    shawnp Initiate (0) Jan 15, 2010 Minnesota

    Kentucky Brunch. End. Of. Thread.
     
  9. fishmich

    fishmich Initiate (0) Apr 11, 2013 Michigan

    BBB doesnt get mentioned enough in this category. sure its not a bourbon barrel but its one of the best barrel aged coffee stouts out there in my opinion. while i dont enjoy it more overall ahead of BCBCS or KBS, i enjoy the coffee profile better than both of those.
     
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  10. whiskey

    whiskey Maven (1,308) Feb 25, 2012 California
    Trader

    It says bourbon casks...is that different than a barrel? I have to say I don't get a big bourbon flavor but it looks like it fits.
    http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/22893/73618
    Yeah, I'd love to have access to this beer. I need to trade for some of it.
     
  11. Thehuntmaster

    Thehuntmaster Initiate (0) Sep 2, 2009 South Africa

    De Struise Mocha bomb is pretty damn delicious, as is KBS and CBS.

    I haven't had it yet, but based on the ratings KBBS is the best by quite a way.
     
  12. kzoobrew

    kzoobrew Initiate (0) May 8, 2006 Michigan

    Huh?

    Calling a stout without coffee a coffee stout sounds more like a gimmick to me.
     
  13. MikeReserva

    MikeReserva Initiate (0) May 28, 2013 Netherlands

    Struise Black Damnation II: Mocha Bomb is still my favourite. Although I've got some American competition on my shelve.
     
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  14. TongoRad

    TongoRad Grand Pooh-Bah (3,884) Jun 3, 2004 New Jersey
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I don't have too much experience with it, but I did enjoy the one I had in June better than when it first came out. If anything I found the coffee to be a little more prominent and the bourbon more subdued the second time around.
     
    BlackNote likes this.
  15. jesskidden

    jesskidden Grand Pooh-Bah (3,145) Aug 10, 2005 New Jersey
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Some are, some aren't. See- Michael Jackson's history of Oysters with Stout and Oyster Stout (predating a number of current Oyster Stouts brewed with oysters/oyster shells, in both the US and Ireland).

    Never heard of a "Coffee Stout" without coffee added, although, for a tangential stout sub-style, Brooklyn's Chocolate Stout is brewed without the addition of chocolate ("chocolate [roasted] malt" is used). BCS predates the current craft stouts with chocolate as an ingredient, but Whitbread in the UK did brew a chocolate beer, Fuggles Chocolate Mild, in the mid-'90s. It was seen then as a novelty beer.
     
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  16. 4DAloveofSTOUT

    4DAloveofSTOUT Grand Pooh-Bah (4,064) Nov 28, 2008 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Thats word for word what I was going to say!!!!:grinning:
     
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  17. hopslam11

    hopslam11 Initiate (0) Mar 11, 2010 Michigan

    Abduction Coffee Break is definitely one of my favorites, right up there with BCBCS in my opinion.
     
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  18. VictorWisc

    VictorWisc Maven (1,379) Jan 2, 2013 Massachusetts

    AFAIK both chocolate stout and coffee stout got their names from flavor profiles that included progressively darker malts. Chocolate malt is quite burnt, but patent malt even more so, lending coffee-like bitterness. Introduction of coffee into "coffee stout" was initially a gimmick (at least, in English coffee stouts), but has become almost de rigueur in American versions. Mercifully, it hasn't quite been taken literally yet with chocolate stouts, but some of them do add cacao nibs or even outright chocolate. Oyster stouts were originally named so because they were consumed with oysters, not because oysters were used in brewing (hence the movie clip). But some knucklehead decided if you drink it with oysters, why not put oysters into it. Oysters are associated with fermentation not just for this purpose--traditional kimchi is seeded with raw oysters as well (I've had it with oyster and am not sure it actually contributes anything to the product). Adding oyster shells has a different purpose than adding oysters--the shells themselves are not used for flavoring, but they do change the characteristics of the water, which affects the brewing process.
    Ever wondered why Young's Double Chocolate is called Double Chocolate?
     
  19. Verbl

    Verbl Crusader (469) Feb 7, 2009 Minnesota

    Uninfected Peruvian Morning is very, very good. It's the right price too.
     
  20. velcrogrip

    velcrogrip Initiate (0) Mar 2, 2013 Florida

    what about Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout :wink:
     
    Wiscobrew likes this.
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