De Molen Kopi Loewak Coffee Stout

Brewed By: Brouwerij de Molen in Bodegraven, Netherlands   

Purchased: Single 11.2oz bottle bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013 (Bottled on: 04/18/2012)

Style/ABV: Imperial Stout, 11.2%

Reported IBUs: 85

Tonight's beer was kind of a random shelf purchase. I do love coffee beers though. About Brouwerij de Molen:

Brouwerij de Molen or "The Mill brewery" is a Dutch brewery based out of Bodegraven, Netherlands. The brewery was founded in 2004 by Menno Olivier, who began as a homebrewer. The brewery is located inside the Mill "De Arkduif," which was built in 1697. The brewery focuses on small batch brewing, with a capacity of 500 litres. They brew American, Belgian, German, and English-style beers, and focus on bold flavors. The bottles were - at one point - bottled by hand. And they still might be. For more info, check out their brewery page and website. 

The Kopi Loewak is an Imperial Stout made with Kopi Luwak/civet coffee. Kopi Luwak are coffee berries that have been eaten and shit out by the Asian Palm Civet. The coffee is supposed to taste extra good and rare, but many people regard it as a gimmick. Like many practices in strange Asian countries, it probably has something to do with fertility or making your dingle tingle. Personally, I think the appeal of eating/drinking shit coffee is overrated, but what do I know. It's also worth noting that the Kopi Luwak is super rare...so there's lots of fake stuff floating around. Hmmm. It probably doesn't matter. Tonight's beer punches in at 11.2% and packs 85 "EBUs." I'm not like a home brewer or whatever, but that sounds fancy. Anyway.

De Molen Kopi Loewak Coffee Stout

I am digging the minimalist bottle art...and yeah. Also, DAE bottle conditioning? I popped the cap off which yielded some rising smoke, and then the carbonation started creeping. I suppose that's a good thing, but this poured like amateur hour with 3+ fingers of bready, dark tan head. The body of this beer is pitch black, and you have to tilt your glass like a drunk scientist to pick up hints of brown tones on the very edges. There be legs AND lacing, and the head is fucking that 11.2% whale like a champion. 

I'm not gonna lie, this aroma is BOLD. I'm talking a canned Folgers orgasm. Imagine the smell when you rip open that silver Krypton vacuum seal shit on your coffee, only the coffee actually smells good and not like Folgers. I'm trying so hard to not make shit jokes...or poo jokes...but this shit is legit. The coffee aroma is just huge! Huge espresso, ground coffee beans, coffee shop, some creamer, hazelnut, nuttiness in general (hue hue hue); there's also some hints of wood, roast, almonds, truffles, earthy dirt, and some chocolate. 

Wow...this is spectacular, with huge layers of depth and flavor, and tons of complexity. My initial thought is that this would pair so well with barbecued ribs or something with a smokey kick. There's a smokey element to this beer, with rich roast and dirt that just unravels in layers. The lively carbonation kicks up front, providing some assertive acidity right away. There's big charcoal, dirt, lighter fluid, and grill stuff; that rolls into huge coffee, espresso, hazelnut, with hints of fruits; the back end is all coffee, hazelnut, and nuttiness. There's hints of smoke as well. The whole thing is padded with a huge Stout body and 11.2% of welcomed cloying booziness. 

The assertive carbonation almost grounds this beer, but as you drink this you know something is amiss. This is still full-bodied stuff in the end, but it drinks very well for 11.2%. I would complain that this is over-carbed, but the carbonation just goes so well with the espresso/coffee. Palate depth is outstanding, but what really works here is the complexity. This is a layered beer. Up front is tons of smoke, charcoal, grill, barbecue, earthy dirt; that rolls into big coffee, hazelnut, espresso, dark fruits; that fades into lingering coffee, roast, hints of chocolate, some kisses of boozy complexity, and some nice dryness. I dig this.

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

So here we are: a Decent Divine Brew. This is an excellent coffee beer, and an excellent coffee stout. This is right up my wheelhouse, but yeah. There's some really good stuff going on here, with lots of layers of rich, earthy, dirt/charcoal, and tons of coffee. I would definitely pair this beer with grilled meats. Smokey ribs, slow-cooked ribs, braised beef, pulled pork...anything barbecue. Honestly, I want to go grill me up some ribs right now. At around 10-12 bucks a pop, this beer is worth picking up for one of those special nights.

Random Thought: I don't know if the whole coffee poop thing is legit with this beer, but I do know that whatever De Molen is doing is working. I look forward to trying more of their stuff.