Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Tasting: Coffee Brown


After giving this beer a couple weeks to really mature, and hopefully get better, it's time to do a formal tasting.

Aroma: Bitter, rich, iced coffee. A bit of ripe strawberries and a touch of green apple. Little to no malt or hop notes; the coffee is quite dominating.
Appearance: Almost pitch black with a small mahogany, dark brown highlight towards the bottom of the glass. A half inch of well supported, light tan head lasts throughout.
Flavor: The iced coffee feel is starting to fade and the remaining beer comes across as hoppy mild ale. There's a vague maltiness to it without a definitive flavor and a citrusy, hoppy finish. I don't sense any off flavors, nor a significant contribution by the yeast.
Mouthfeel: The body and carbonation on this beer is just fantastic. Its low alcohol and medium body, combined with the moderate carbonation provide a creaminess thats spectacular. It really bumps up the drinkability despite the warm weather.
Overall: I'd say, overall, I'm not too impressed with this beer. It's overlly one dimensional with the coffee really dominating the beer. Its low gravity (low alcohol) give it great drinkability, but it's just a bit too boring for me, and not thirst quenching (to no fault of being a coffee brown). If I had to repeat it, I'd go for more of a coffee stout rather than a brown with more darkly roasted malts to compliment the coffee flavors.
Recipe and notes.

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