Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout from Terrapin Brewing

As I write this, I'm sipping on a seasonal beer from Terrapin Brewing in Athens GA called Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout. I'm drinking it during the wron season, since this is their Winter seasonal, but Florida doesn't have much in the way of seasons anyway. We know it's winter when we have to wear our slippers to get the newspaper in the morning. The four seasons are generally called "Warm, hot, hotter, and hottest". But I digress.

Terrapin's Coffee stout is actually made with coffee, unlike some others that derive their 'coffee' flavor from highly roasted malt. The coffee probably inhibited the head, since there is almost none. The stout poured the color of used motor oil. The coffee flavor is quite prominent, and there's a touch of sweetness as well. Mouthfeel is nice and smooth from the oatmeal. Alcohol is 8.1%, but you wouldn't guess it from the flavor. It does sneak up on you though.

It's interesting to be drinking this because a few years ago I made a coffee Imperial stout as one of my early homebrews, and it was very similar to this. The alcohol level was a little less and the texture wasn't as creamy, but the coffee was just as prominent and flavorful. This is a good beer - check it out.

Homebrewed Spiced Holiday Stout

Each year, I brew a holiday beer for the winter, and I'm always looking to surpass the previous year's brew. For this winter, I formulated a Spiced Imperial Stout, using traditional holiday spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, coriander, allspice and vanilla. I also added a secret weapon - 4 ounces of Jim Beam Bourbon. This is definitely an over-the-top sipping beer that's great for a nightcap. I used twice as much malt as I usually use, and beefed it up some more with 1/2 lb of Muscavado dark brown sugar. Muscavado is the richest, darkest brown sugar available. The beer pours inky-black, with ruby highlights and no head. The flavor is full of molasses, licorice, and dark sweet fruit. It is most certainly not a beer to be had with dinner. It's dessert all by itself. Alcohol level is probably around 12%, so it's very warming. I think this is my finest holiday beer yet. It's exactly what I was working toward.

Left Hand Brewing's Milk Stout

Milk stout (sometimes called sweet stout) is an interesting variation on the stout theme - a stout brewed with lactose to make it sweeter. Lactose is unfermentable by the types of yeast used in beer, so it remains in its sugar form, rather than being processed into alcohol. I attempted to brew a milk stout a couple of years ago, and failed miserably. I'll stick to buying the commercial varieties for now, until I get brave enough to try it again.

Left Hand Brewing Company is located in Longmont, CO, and they produce a lot of different varieties of beer. In fact, when I looked in the fridge tonight, I had 3 different Left Hand brews waiting to be tasted. I had burgers for dinner, so I decided on a dark beer to go along with my red meat. Left Hand's Milk Stout poured a deep brown that was nearly black, with a small tan colored head. Mouthfeel was lighter than I expected, and also more carbonated. The aroma is mostly roasted malt, and the flavor is roasted malt, chocolate, coffee, and a hint of licorice. It had the expected sweetness from the lactose. Some brewers add additional sugar after pasteurizing, to increase the sweetness, but I don't believe that's the case with Left Hand's version. This was a very nice milk stout, and I wouldn't hesitate to buy it again.

Young's Double Chocolate Stout

Fast food was on the menu tonight, and those places tend to have a very short beer menu, so I decided to have a beer for dessert instead. I've been looking at a bottle of Young's Double Chocolate Stout in my fridge for a while, but I didn't think it would be a good dinner beer. It poured a deep brown, nearly black, with a pillowy brown head. The head lasted a good while, and left some nice lacing behind. The nose is all chocolate, like a candy bar. Young's brews this beer with actual dark chocolate along with the chocolate malt, making this beer very chocolaty! I was anticipating a sweeter beer, but was not disappointed. Too much sweetness along with the chocolate could border on cloying. As the beer warmed, the chocolate became even more apparent. The finish had a coffee-like bitterness. Alcohol is at 5.2% abv, which is perfect for an after-dinner beer. This beer is also available in a 1/2 liter can with a nitrogen injecting widget, for a really creamy head.

St. Peter's Cream Stout

I generally like dark ales to go with beef, so I decided on St. Peter's Cream Stout to accompany my pot roast at dinner tonight. St. Peter's is a well-established brewery in Suffolk, England. The stout poured a deep brown, almost black, with a fluffy tan head that lasted longer than most. It's a rich malty roasty beer, with a creamy texture. It also tasted of alcohol and licorice. This was a very enjoyable stout. I'd love to try it from a cask!

Sierra Nevada Stout

I generally like Sierra Nevada's different brews, and their Stout is no exception. It poured nearly black with a tan colored head. It tasted mostly of roasted malt with some coffee and chocolate as well. It was not real hoppy, and had a dry finish. It went great with my burger. This is another fine ale from Sierra Nevada.

Heavy Seas Peg Leg Imperial Stout

I went looking for a rich dark beer to go with my burger tonight, and found Clipper City Brewing's Heavy Seas Peg Leg Imperial Stout. Clipper City is based in Baltimore, MD. I haven't had an Imperial Stout in a while, so I was looking forward to it. It poured a deep dark oily black with a small tan head. It had a creamy smooth mouthfeel, and tasted of chocolate, coffee, dark fruits and licorice. There was a lot of sweet roasty malt too. At 8% alcohol, it fits easily into the Imperial Stout category. This was exactly what I was looking for tonight.

Young's Oatmeal Stout

Young's is a well-established (since 1831) British brewery that makes a wide variety of ales. Tonight's beer is their Oatmeal Stout, which poured almost black, with ruby highlights, and a tan-colored head. The head was not as large or as long-lasting as I expected from an oatmeal stout. In fact, oatmeal is frequently used by brewers for head retention. This was a very roasty-flavored stout, and was pretty dry. It had a lot of coffee and some dark chocolate in the flavor. I have had this same beer in a 16 oz can with a "widget", and the canned beer has a much creamier texture. I guess that's due to it's nitrogen-injected goodness. Young's also makes a Double Chocolate Stout that actually has chocolate bars in the mix. It's an excellent stout, which I'd recommend buying it in the "widgetized" can, for the reason mentioned above.

Bell's Kalamazoo Stout

This is the second beer I have tried from Bell's Brewery, in Comstock, MI. The label describes it as a "stout brewed with brewer's licorice". I'm not sure I tasted any licorice, but there was a lot of dark roasted malt, some chocolate and some coffee flavors. It had a creamy smooth texture, with moderate carbonation. It poured nearly black, with a 1-inch tan head, and was a perfect accompaniment to my burger tonight. So far, Bell's is 2 for 2 in my book. Their Oberon Wheat Ale was also enjoyable.

Cooper's Best Extra Stout - Australia

Cooper's Brewery is in Regency Park, South Australia. This is their "Best Extra Stout". An Extra Stout is in between a regular stout and an Imperial Stout when it comes to alcohol strength. The first Extra Stout was made by Guinness, but othe brewers followed. This is a roasty, chocolaty stout wilth a creamy texture. It looks nearly black in the glass, with a smallish tan head. I think this is a bit dryer than many of the stouts I've tried, and finishes dry as well. I'm a big fan of stouts and porters, and I highly recommend this one.

Guinness Stout Ice Cream Float

If Miller High Life is the "Champagne of Bottled Beers", then Guinness Draught is the Milkshake of bottled beers. I have not found a beer with a creamier texture than the Guinness bottle or can with the nitrogen filled widget in it. It's just like drinking Guinness from a keg. With that being said, I decided to try something I have been thinking about for a while - a Guinness Stout ice cream float. My family looked at me like I was nuts - ruining perfectly good ice cream by pouring beer (ugh) over it. People do it with coffee all the time, which is just another dark bitter drink, so why not Guinness? So I tried it. It didn't turn out as I expected. It seemed that the two flavors just didn't meld together like I suspected they would. The beer still tasted like Guinness, and the ice cream still tasted like vanilla. Hmm - not bad, just not exciting. So, it's back to the drawing board, looking for a beer-inspired dessert.

Lakefront Brewery Fuel Cafe Stout

I got this beer in a variety pack of 8 different beers created by Lakefront Brewery. Fuel Cafe Stout is a stout brewed with coffee. It was originally brewed for the Fuel Cafe, a coffee/sandwich shop in Milwaukee. It poured nearly black, with no discernible head. One thing that surprised me was the yeast sediment I found in the bottom of my glass. Being a homebrewer, it didn't bother me, but I didn't expect it in a commercial brew that wasn't advertised as "bottle-conditioned". One of the problems associated with making beer with coffee is that the oils in the coffee beans tend to kill head production. That was definitely true here. I enjoyed the stout, although I felt it was more like a Robust Porter than a stout. It just wasn't chewy enough to be a stout. The coffee showed through nicely, and it went well with my meatloaf.

Orkney Dragonhead Stout

A new wine and ale store opened up here in Clermont, FL, so I had to stop in and see what they had to offer. I was a little concerned that their emphasis on wine would cripple their ale selection, but I was pleasantly surprised. They had a decent selection of domestic microbrews and imports - without a single bottle of Coors, Miller or Anheuser Busch in the store. The best part - they'll sell any of their beers as singles. So I picked up a six-pack of singles plus 1. Orkney's Dragonhead Stout was the odd one because it was the only 16 oz bottle I selected. The Orkney Brewery is on an island off Scotland. This stout is dry and roasty with some coffee and chocolate in evidence. It also has a tangy flavor in the background, very reminiscent of Guinness. I like stouts almost as much as porters, and this one was very good. It poured a nearly black color with a small deep beige head. I also liked Orkney's Skullsplitter ale, which I sampled a year ago.