Avery Barrel-Aged Series

It was a different kind of coffee (it was more assertive, IMO) and it wasn't barrel aged. The new one is still great, but I just have a soft spot for the older one.
Personally, I'm growing a little tired of tossing everything into spirits barrels, and the old one was phenomenal as-is.
I'm sure there are plenty of people that like the new one better, too.

 

I preferred the old version, but am a big fan of both.

 

Somewhat of a side-track, but I really did like (new) Tweak when I tried it recently. I love coffee too. But I have had several highly rated coffee beers like Surley Coffee Bender and OB Hotbox that tasted thin and stale to me. Not sure what it is, but apparently I only enjoy coffee flavored beers if they have substantial body. I think since brewed coffee is a perishable product it would be possible for the flavor to detriorate. Probably too much of a sidetrack.

 

The reason you found Hotbox and Coffee Bender thin compared to Tweak is because Tweak is an 18% ABV imperial stout and the other two are 5-6% ABV porters.

 

I am well aware of that. But not all 5-6% beers necessarily taste thin to me (such as Guiness 4.2%, or Winter Warlock 6.0%). Hotbox is 6.5% and Surly Bender is 5.0%. My biggest complaint was the stale coffee flavor I was getting from them. I did also enjoy Sad Panda but that's a little higher at 7.6%.

 

I don't think there's any doubt that coffee flavor changes and/or falls off with time in the bottle. I am not getting anywhere near the coffee presence when I open a Tweak now, as opposed to ~ a year ago.

 

I had one or two bad coffee beers last year, and I'm pretty much done with the entire concept. A six pack of Santa Fe Java Imperial Stout pretty much killed the style for me. Coffee flavors definitely stale quickly, and the green pepper flavor some of those beers has is just gross imo.

 

BCBCS for some reason holds up though.

 

Weird. Never gotten a green pepper flavor from a beer before. Could be one of those things that only certain people get. Like onions/garlic from hops or soap from cilantro.
To me, coffee beers over 2-3 years old taste like an old person's house smells

 

All this tweak talk got me to pop a bottle. Still lots of coffee, still really hot and boozy.

 

Ugh I have... O'so Convenient Distraction - it was an unpleasant, experience. One of the few beers I've ever drainpoured...

 

I hadn't either until a share the other night. Aged coffee beer (can't remember the name) and it tasted like biting into a bell pepper. It was unmistakeable.

 

Hopefully you guys haven't jinxed me. Kind of like the first time I heard summit hops being called oniony and Little Red Cap smelling like a wet dog.

 

...love that beer. the BA version...not so much.

 

Now I'm wondering if it was the BA version I had...

 

Green pepper is a common vegetal off flavor in coffee beers when they oxidize, and a major reason why breweries are experimenting with different ways to add coffee (i.e. soaking whole beans vs. cold water extraction) and urging the consumer to drink them fresh. No one wants their coffee stout tasting like fajitas!

 

ISO: Fajita Stout

 

anyone tried big choice jamacian stout?

 

Not a stout but this one definitely had the bell pepper flavor down. Nnnnnot very good...

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/26850/130740/

 

Oh ATG. When they go off the rails, they go all the way. They make DFH and Denver Beer Co look like calculated tacticians when it comes to experimentation.