One of the most infamous bits from the ’90s sitcom “The Drew Carey Show” had buddies Carey, Lewis and Oswald inventing Buzz Beer, a home-brewed blend of beer and coffee that worked out a balancing act of alcohol and caffeine.
Of course, coffee stout has been a longtime favorite among the raters at beer sites such as Beer Advocate and RateBeer, with the likes of Founders Breakfast Stout, Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast, and Terrapin Wake-n-Bake getting high marks, while making the Buzz Beer connection.
Recently, another wave of coffee stout (and porter) releases have hit the market, with long-running craft breweries such as Boulevard Brewing and Boston Beer Co. offering takes on the style.
As part of its new Nitro Project, which also includes IPA and white ale styles, Boston Beer is producing Samuel Adams Nitro Coffee Stout, packaged in pop-and-pour 16-ounce widget cans.
Brewed with Caramel 60 and Special B malts, roasted unmalted barley, East Kent Goldings hops, and Sumatran and Indian Monsoon Malabar coffees, it’s a smooth black beer that cascades below a billowing tan head.
The coffee aroma and flavor are quickly evident, released in a voluminous flow of nitrogen bubbles. There’s even a new Nitro Project glass, with a wide, outward turned lip, designed to concentrate the aromas while keeping drinkers from getting a face full of foam.
Boulevard’s first new beer of 2016 was Early Riser Coffee Porter. As a precursor to stout, porter is an English style evolved from a blend of beers, and its less pronounced roastiness, often layered with chocolate and caramel notes, makes it a good match for similar coffee flavors.
Early Riser features Colombian Cauca Cajibio Estate beans custom roasted and ground at Maps Coffee in Kansas. A blend of pale, caramel and chocolate malts, with a bit of wheat, and Magnum and Bravo hops offer a bittersweet balance to the coffee, which is unmistakably present from the nose to the strong finish.
Building on the popularity of Wake-n-Bake, Terrapin has debuted a mixed four-pack showcasing four different single origin coffees from around the world, each paired with the same base stout.
The malt bill includes flaked barley, flaked oats, chocolate, Blackprinz, Midnight Wheat, and roasted barley, which give the beer a black coffee color, and deep roasted aromas and flavors. A modest amount of Nugget hops add mild, spicy bitterness.
The true test of the experiment comes down to judging how each of the cold-brewed beans from Athens-based roaster Jittery Joe’s works with the beer. I’m not a coffee connoisseur. Those who are may favor the beans from Ethiopia over the beans from Guatemala, or Hawaii over Sumatra.
Overall, I’d call the experiment a great sensory success, ready made for a cupping session-style tasting party of beer and coffee lovers. Just remember to ask someone to bring the doughnuts.
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