BATCHES BREW BLOG

WELCOME TO THE OTHER’S BREW REVIEW

Today I’m reviewing Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout (8.29% ABV), brewed with 30 lbs of Hardcore Coffee from Sebastopol, CA. I don’t know how that compares to other coffee stouts on the market, but that’s some serious joe.

Served in a glass mug, from a 22 oz bottle, this stout pours dark with a slight, ruby glow when held to light.  It’s not as dark as one might think for a stout.  There’s a slight head that hangs around for a minute, more so if poured vigorously.

The aroma is sweet with strong coffee character.  Then chocolate and slightly nutty tones linger around the nose.  I’m gonna let this warm up for ten minutes and then give it a taste.  While we wait for that, let’s take a tour of the Lagunitas Brewing Company’s new facility.

Let’s drink.

Upon tasting, the coffee really comes to the forefront.  It’s very smooth, balancing malty sweetness with bitter coffee flavor.  A chocolate character looks to upstage the coffee, but hazelnut and caramel notes keep it in check.  You can get lost in the complexity of this sexy, smooth tasting brew.

At 8.29% ABV, the alcohol is very well hidden.  It’s like a sweet cup of coffee with sugar and a bit of caramel or toffee nut syrup.  The stout flavor is overpowered by the coffee, but it’s still quite malty so you know you’re drinking beer.  The coffee bitterness lingers on the tongue, which you may or may not like.  I do because I love coffee and I think it’s a good reminder of the caffeine buzz that’s imminent.  Be careful because the alcohol effect sneaks up on you.  I can’t help but think that the flavors may marry a little better if aged because the coffee is a little astringent.  I’m going to throw a couple in the cellar for later tasting.

I love this beer but I’m giving it 8/10 because of the astringency, color, and lack of strong stout characteristics.  I will be drinking more, and I think, with aging, this will turn into a 9/10.

Tags: Beer, photo, review

This entry was posted on Friday, December 26th, 2008 at 12:04 am and is filed under Beer, Labels, Other's Brew Review, Photography, Video by lifesabatch. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.