To Øl Goliat Imperial Coffee Stout

Back for another gunning run on the To Øl coffee cache, fresh from a pretty successful campaign debut.

It's a good looking pour again, and at a solid 10.1% these guys are serious. Big coffee again delivers beguilingly on the nose - draws you in for a taste. The body and palate both back it up beautifully but it's important to note it is not just about the coffee .. it's a beautifully rounded, heavy, satisfying cudgel of a stout this with all the creamy complexity this style deserves.

I love it when these sorts of beers have a development of flavours, and it's no wonder these guys learned the dark magics of Mister Mikkeller in sampling this one. If I had to nitpick I'd say maybe just ever so slightly too sweet - but that's really drawing flaws in what is another excellent beer. 8.5

To Øl / Mikkeller Sleep Over Coffee IIPA

A mouthwatering combination brew here between young start-up To Øl and their past master Mr Mikkeller himself.

As mentioned previously, coffee plus IPA just sounds like a brilliant combo to me, though I'm yet to be wowed by one. This of course ups the stakes - at a remarkable 10.5% it's well and truly in imperial territory.

It's good looking too, heavy amber colour and strong lasting head. Aroma is just what you'd want here, malt driven, hops not evident to allow the coffee character to shine through. It's double percolated coffee castoff style aromas here rather than fresh beans but it works in nicely with that malt backbone.

Delicious malty imperial flavours up front, which meld into a lovely coffee finish. Despite its mighty heft, there is no alcoholic bang to it - instead it is smooth as you like, and delicious. It's hard to call it a definitive IIPA as such as the hops are bit-part players, but the label does acknowledge that it is the hybrid spawn of a strong ale / barleywine / IIPA and to me, I'd prefer to see boundaries broken for the sake of the beer experience rather than slavish adherence to styles.

All in all great beer: a concept proven. Any beer that has me looking forward to trying it again like this one has to be highly recommended. 9.0

Hitachino Espresso Stout

Back to Hitachino, with a bit more optimism here based on their last performance.

Hmm, big nose here, not bad but intimidating. I had thought this to be, well, not quite a gimmick but a beer very strongly based on the 'stout with coffee in it' trope and little else. Instead it's 7.5%, based on a russian imperial stout by the sounds, and definitely not your typical coffee stout. It's a solid RIS body for a start, pure inky black, with a loitering tan head. The nose settles into a coffee sort of mode with depth and complexity once it's had some time.

Tastewise too this is lovely stuff, a fine performance, and the depth of taste belies the abv in a way in that it could be symptomatic of a beer 1-2% higher. This is full on flavour, mostly coffee but with the notes you'd like from an imperial stout also, a beer that really indicates brewers here who know well what they're doing.

Really impressive stuff again. Maybe slightly sour first up, maybe slightly dry aftertaste as well but gee I'm picking faults in what is a very good beer. Recommended. 8.5

Epic Epicurean Coffee & Fig 2011

A special bottle this and had been incubating for some time in the fridge as a result. Finally cracked it open with good company one recent evening and immediately felt thankful for the decision.

The coffee on this is really quite extraordinary - it comes through stronger and more appetizing on the nose than any other beer I have tried, sharp espresso notes rather than the more general ground coffee elsewhere. It's got an enticing presence all round, and for good reason.

Alongside the massive smooth coffee presence this beer has also been racked over roasted figs, and coconut and both provide excellently balanced counterpoints to the main action. This was a beer brewed from a concept born from collaboration with a food critic by reports and it's both a highly successful dalliance and an example of beer as art.

I generally check ratebeer after completing each review, just to get a sense of where things sit in the wider community and the broader public sentiment. In this case this beer has been marked pretty harshly and I can only conclude it's the lack of really 'imperial' flavours going on. Whatever the reason it's a travesty - do yourself a favour and go grab a bottle while it's still around. Then thank me. 9.5

Rogue Double Mocha Porter

A special bottle, this one, presented in inimitable Rogue-like fashion. So, what does the blue potion do?

Well, it pours a svelte, attractive looking opaque black body with a sticky tan head for a start. Looks fantastic, and gives off a nose that tends more toward imperial raisins, dark fruits and heavy malts than coffee as such at first, despite the mocha badging.

For a porter at 8.2% this delivers a relatively light mouthfeel, but is nevertheless full of lipsmacking levels of flavour. Dark chocolate is definitely a component here as is coffee, which lingers beautifully after you swallow. Very nice stuff. It's relatively simple compared to a lot of big 'imperial' dark beers, but does what it's trying to do well.

Looking at the bottle you can see they've used their own micro hops and malts in this, along with 'pacman' yeast.. all of which sounds very pleasing. "Free range coastal water" on the other hand .. well, while I have to say I'm relieved the water wasn't forcibly bound in a cage without room to scratch, feed or dustbathe, this could be interpreted as, let us say, total wank.

Regardless - fine, highly enjoyable beer likely to appeal to all sorts of people. 8.5

Mountain Goat Seedy Goat Coffee IPA

I have to admit, I positively salivated at the sight of this one up on the specials board.

I mean, coffee.. and IPA? Brilliant plan, can't wait to try it. And indeed it turns up looking quite attractive with a pillowy cloud of frothy head (crema?).

Time to bury the sniffer in for a blast of the good stuff then right? But from the outset the coffee is not incredibly evident, with the nose delivering mostly the standard pine / fruit / light sweetness bill. Drinking it is a similar experience in a way - the coffee is only really there is you go searching for it and while it does add a nice rounded note to the mid carbonation and otherwise fine flavours, it's really not the star of the show, and that is somewhat disappointing.

I'm not sure what to say about this. My initial thought is to raise the frankly baffling suggestion to dial back the hops to let the coffee shine. But .. dial back the hops? In an IPA? Defies the point, really. I'd like to see the talented crew here keep having a crack at this idea in any case as there's the kernel of a truly delicious and innovative brew starting here - just short of the mark at present. 7.0

Haandbryggeriet Costa Rica Coffee Porter

Straight into a rather more refined (ie sane) effort from the Norwegian rogues at Haandbryggeriet.

Coffee porters can turn out a little bit watery in my experience but this is a good solid effort that delivers on flavour. The coffee is of course evident from the aroma with a pleasant roasty character coming through. In fact the aroma puts me in mind a bit of a discarded coffee filter, and the first taste gives a bit of that husky character too.

The mouthfeel is excellent - velvety and smooth, which brings a nice drinkability to the beer. The taste itself is not overly complex, just slightly sweet coffee and roast porter notes, but that's probably all you want from this particular beer, and it's all well executed. There's something about the Scandinavian nations (Scandinations? Scandinations.) that really seems to lend itself to great dark beer production and this is another fine example.

It's a slight shame about the flat head delivery and appearance but this is a top beer that's well worth considering if you're in the market for an espresso. 8.0

Nørrebro La Granja Stout

The first challenger from Nørrebro, and a coffee stout at that.

This indeed smells of coffee, but interestingly more of cast off coffee grounds than a full blown cup of espresso.

The pour is really quite amazingly watery, with little to no head. At this stage I'm gearing up for another euro blasting. But the taste is in fact rather pleasant. It's not a long lasting or incredibly involved progression but there are notes of milk chocolate, coffee, chicory and roasty flavours that carry you through. Easy drinking due to the light mouthfeel.

Not my favourite stout but a fine effort in its own way and very approachable. 7.5

Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel

Beer Geek Brunch - Weasel edition: so named because it uses those famous coffee beans that have been, ahem, run through a civet.

It's familiar but highly pleasing territory as you open this one, like coming home, beautiful heavy pour, pretty red-mocha head, well developed nose pressing all the right buttons regarding coffee, slight chocolate, and roast. In short, a Mikkeller stout.

Taste wise it has more coffee throughout than the previous Beer Geek range, bit more vanilla / milky nature to it too, very smooth indeed for its heft. Oatmeal roasty flavours, total class act as always. It's not as sharp coffeewise as you might expect, instead really quite creamy, makes it easy drinking and a fine companion to nurse for a while.

I'd recommend this beer to just about anyone. Superb. 9.0, maybe rising ..

Double Espresso Premio Caffe Birra

Seems this is brewed by some mob in Scotland called Traditional Scottish Ales.

Beautiful nose if you're into coffee - doesn't hold anything back. No real head to speak of though (possibly a result of the coffee injection itself?).

The taste falls just short of backing this up, it's a little bit more watery than you'd like. Tastes of chicory, or like those Kopiko lollies. Bloody good way to back up a chocolate dessert though. 7.0