At first blush, beer and coffee may not seem like natural companions. Beer has alcohol, and coffee has caffeine — two very different substances that have undoubtedly contributed to making each beverage among the most important and popular in the world.

Coffee rose to prominence as an alternative to alcohol, notes Tom Standage in his book "A History of the World in 6 Glasses" (Walker & Co., $25). But more recently, brewers have recognized the affinity between roasted coffee beans and roasted malts (the grains of which actually look like little coffee beans), most often experimenting with flavoring dark beers, such as porter and stout, with coffee.

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One of the best examples I've tasted was formulated by Brian Buckowski of Athens-based Terrapin Beer Co. using Costa Rican coffee. Buckowski's Wake-n-Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout debuted in 2005 as a high-gravity, limited-edition winter seasonal, brewed to kick off the company's yearlong Monster Beer Tour.

Though available only on draft, it quickly became a big hit — giving new meaning to the term "buzz beer," with its black color, bold, roasted-coffee flavor and aroma and discernible presence of alcohol and caffeine.

This year, Buckowski went back to the drawing board to make a very good thing even better. He went to Athens' Jittery Joe's Coffee Roasting Co. to create a special blend of coffees to add to his beer.

In a creative co-branding partnership, Jittery Joe's is now selling the coffee in 12-ounce cans as Terrapin Wake-n-Bake Coffee Blend, and for the first time Terrapin is selling Wake-n-Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout in four-packs of 12-ounce bottles.

"It's just been an exciting union of two companies that have a lot of similarities, from attitude to quality control to vision," says Keith Kortemeier, who founded Jittery Joe's in 1994.

"But to be able to put the art and craft into the product was really exciting, because it just doesn't happen that often."

For his part, Buckowski says he learned a lot more about coffee as he sampled beans from around the world and experimented with a variety of blends.

"It blew my mind how Mexican coffee tasted different than African coffee and different than Hawaiian coffee," Buckowski says. "And it was amazing to taste all these different flavors. But I basically approached it like I approach brewing: You take different ingredients and blend them together to make a particular flavor profile."

What Buckowski finally settled on was a mix of coffees from Costa Rica, Guatemala and Zimbabwe. Kortemeier admits that the combination was somewhat surprising, from his point of view.

"On the coffee side, that's not a typical blend," Kortemeier says. "There's a little caramel and cocoa in there, but what really jumps out is the smoky flavor from the Guatemala beans, and that really sits in with the stout and accents its flavor profile."

• Look for Wake-n-Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout on draft in Athens and Atlanta and in bottles at beverage stores later this month. Look for Terrapin Wake-n-Bake Coffee Blend at Jittery Joe's locations in Athens and online at store.jitteryjoes.com and www.terrapinbeer.com.

Terrapin Jamfest Tour

With their music-themed labels, Terrapin beers have been favorites of the jam-band crowd, so it's no surprise that Terrapin and Georgia-based Hittin' the Note magazine would team up to present the second Terrapin Jamfest Tour, headlined by Georgia jam band Moonshine Still.

The show comes to Variety Playhouse in Little Five Points (1099 Euclid Ave., Atlanta, 404-524-7354) at 9 p.m. Jan. 14. Earlier that night, Terrapin hosts a Wake-n-Bake tasting party just up the street at Euclid Avenue Yacht Club (1136 Euclid Ave., 404-688-2582). And both events will feature prize giveaways and contests.

Beer and Chocolate tastings

There are limited tickets available for this month's Beer and Chocolate tastings at the three metro Summits Wayside Tavern locations, with a selection of barley wines, Belgian beers and chocolate from around the world.

• 7 p.m. Monday at Summits in Cumming, 525 Lake Center Parkway, 770-886-4374; 7 p.m. Tuesday at Summits in Snellville, 3334 Stone Mountain Highway, 770-736-1333; and 7 p.m. Wednesday at Summits in Sandy Springs, 5830 Roswell Road, 404-257-0735.