I used to drink coffee a lot. The smell of the ground beans every morning was intoxicating, especially the variety of styles I could have every day. While the taste of coffee was just fine, it was always the smell that kept me coming back.
But eventually, I decided to give it up. The only time I now have any coffee is through my beer.
Which brings me to Schlafly’s Coffee Stout, a beer heavy on smell and lacking elsewhere. It’s got an 86 on Beer Advocate.
To add a coffee kick to their stout recipe, Schlafly brewers used a cold extraction process with Kaldi’s coffee, essentially taking the characteristics of coffee without adding any harsh bitterness to the beer itself. There’s no mistaking this beer for what it is – my nose was bombarded with aromas that made me think mocha coffee.
There’s really no acidity to the flavor, despite the fact that the beer tastes like coffee all the way though. My bottle had very little carbonation and a super-thin mouthfeel, which made me think I was drinking an iced coffee. This is odd, since the brewers used oat flakes in this beer. Something that typically enhances and thickens the body of a brew.
Any residual flavors from Caramel malt or Marynka hops are lost on me. I can’t detect anything aside from coffee. This beer offers an uncomplicated taste ideal for coffee lovers.
Coffee Stout stats:
- Malt: 2-row and caramel malted barley, roasted barley and oat flakes
- Hops: Marynka
- Adjunct/Additive: Kaldi’s coffee using a cold extraction toddy
- ABV: 5.7 percent
- Brewery: Schlafly Brand, via St. Louis Brewing Company of St. Louis, Missouri
+Bryan Roth
“Don’t drink to get drunk. Drink to enjoy life.” — Jack Kerouac
