Revolution Café Deth 2017

Brewed By: Revolution Brewing Company in Chicago, IL
Purcased: 12oz CAN from a 4-pack bought at Revolution Brewing Tap Room in Chicago, IL; 2017
Style/ABV: American Barrel-Aged Oatmeal Stout, 14.8%
Reported IBUs: 27

In keeping with my plan to review Revolution's 2017/2018 lineup of barrel-aged beers, I'm looking at the 2017 vintage of Revolution's Café Deth. Café Deth is "Deth’s Tar Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout with assertive coffee aromatics." The can reads: "A weaponized quantity of freshly roasted whole bean coffee from independent Chicago roasters imbues our Deth's Tar Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout with assertive coffee aromatics without overshadowing the base beer on the palate. Pair with rich food or enjoy on its own. Keep cold. Enjoy now. We mean it."

inb4 this pours like every other stout. There is some residual oils on the surface of the beer, perhaps from the coffee. The aroma here is magical. It's like mounds bars on Twix on a frappuccino. The coffee profile is so smooth, and rich. There's no weird fruitiness, green pepper, or acrid coffee. The bourbon and barrel pops on the edges, but this is about the coffee and chocolate front and center.

Revolution Café Deth 2017

At near 15-percent this is almost liqueur-esque. The mouthfeel and thickness are in the realm of KBS or CBS. That is to say, not quite as thick as some of the extreme stouts available in 2018, but still pretty darn thick. The taste drops tons of mounds bar, malt balls, frappuccino and mocha, hazelnut, toffee, and caramel. The bourbon takes a back seat to the coffee, chocolate, and base. There's a growing bitterness as you sip this, which is reminiscent of the base.

I oscillate how I feel about this beer, but here's the deal. This is full-bodied (not the fullest body), with good depth and average complexity. I don't think this aims to be some sort of renaissance beer, it is just trying to do the mocha-frappuccino thing well. And it does. Up front is chocolate, frappuccino, mocha; the mids roll into those nutty notes with hazelnut, some macaroon, malt balls, and the mounds bar; the back end is where some complexity emerges with bitterness, barrel, dryness, the spirit showing up, and the base beer. 

Rating: LIGHT Above-Average (4.75/5.0 Untappd)

I love coffee beers, so I stocked up on this stuff. Having said that, I kind of prefer V.S.O.D. and D.B.V.S.O.D. to this. I know those are entirely different beasts, though. Is Deth by Cherries better than the Café Deth? That's the million dollar question, I think. Anyway, this is certainly on par or better than a beer like KBS. But now that KBS is a shelf turd does it really matter? I'm just happy that the availability of this BA coffee stouts is expanding.

Random Thought: I need to do a proper send-off for my car...

2017 Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout - a divisive beer that reminds me of Prop '16

Brewed By: Goose Island Beer Company (owned by AB InBev) in Chicago, IL 

Purchased: 16.9oz bottle bought at Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2017

Style/ABV: Russian Imperial Stout, 12.9%

Reported IBUs:60

It's been a long time since I've featured Goose Island's Bourbon County Coffee Stout on this blog. I wanted to briefly throw out my thoughts on this year's vintage, because it seems to be pretty hit and miss with people.

So first and foremost, let's note that this year's BCBS coffee is brewed with Intelligentsia Black Cat Espresso. Every year Goose uses a different coffee blend:

The pro and con of using a different coffee blend every year is that you get some very different tasting vintages. I seem to recall the 2015 coffee having more citrusy notes. I think a lot of people really cling to the 2012 and 2014 vintages. And yeah, just every year you get a slightly different beer because the coffee is different.

So here's the deal with the 2017 vintage...aside from pouring out and looking like BCBS (nothing new here), the aroma on this beer is a blend of velvety smooth Mexican chocolate, bourbon, raisins, vanilla, and ash. 

And that really carries through in the taste. This is an EARTHY and ASHY beer. I'm guessing a lot of that is due to the blend of coffee they used. There's almost a level of spice and heat present in the beer. Like, I'm tasting super earthy Mexican chocolate in this. And when you combine the hints of ash and heat with t

2017 Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout

he slight alcohol burn inherent in this beer, it really feels like a Mexican stout. The spice flirts with cinnamon, and the base beer (BCBS Vintage 2017) is a chocolate bomb. It reminds me of the chocolate you might dip your churro in. A lot of people are reporting green peppers in this beer. I'm definitely getting some earthy, peppery notes, but it is more of a chili note. Maybe an Anaheim chili or a poblano note. Green pepper is a very distinct note in beer, typically associated with stale coffee. And that's really not what I'm getting here, but hey that is just my basic bitch palate. 

In terms of everything else....this is Bourbon County so you should know what to expect. There's the big base beer, which is assertive and sweet and bourbon-y. This year's vintage is all about the chocolate right now. So there's a prominent chocolate presence over-the-top. For whatever reason, the BCBS Coffee 2017 is a little thinner than the other variants. I'm guessing that is due to the blend of cold pressed coffee. It also has a slightly lower ABV than the base. It's still medium-to-full-bodied with good complexity and depth. And overall, this really unfolds in waves with lots of chocolate and ash up front; spice and peppery heat and alcohol and barrel in the mids; the lingering finish is smokey. It's basically like they accidentally brewed Prop 16. Again.

Rating: DECENT Above-Average (4.5/5.0 Untappd)  

Full disclaimer: I'm one of the fucking weirdos that LOOOVVESS Prop '16. If you found Prop '16 off-putting and/or disgusting, you will hate this beer. If you hate peppery notes or ash notes in your beer, you will hate this beer. The ash notes definitely drift into that cigar-y, smoked tobacco, smoked cigarette realm. And that's not gonna work for a lot of people. For me, I could see myself pairing this beer with some grilled steaks or a cigar. Fajitas even. It's too bad this beer was so limited and unavailable, because I think it has serious food potential. But as it is now it's a super hard beer to acquire and will likely be opened at bottle shares and loved by some and totally shit on by others. So good job Goose Island, and also fuck you.

Random Thought: A cursory observation is we should commend Goose Island for taking risks with new coffee blends every year. And we should criticize Goose Island for making so little of the coffee that you have no real good way of getting enough of this stuff to do verticals or to pop these bottles liberally with food. I mean there was SOOOO much regular BCBS available this year....why not give the people what they want. Oh well.

One Well Brewing Sweet Water Street

One Well Brewing Sweet Water Street

Brewed By: One Well Brewing in Kalamazoo, Michigan

Purchased: 32oz Howler from One Well Brewing; 2015 (poured on 08/26/15)

Style/ABV: American Adjunct Imperial Porter, 7.1%

Reported IBUs: ???

This was, by far, the second best Porter/Stout I had on my trip to Kalamazoo. This beer deserves a nod and shot out, because it is really fucking good. The brewery isn't too shabby either. About One Well Brewing: 

One Well Brewing is a nano/micro brewery based out of Kalamazoo, Michigan. The brewery was founded by home brewers Chris O’Neill and T.J. Waldofsky, and currently features a 3-barrel brewing system. The tap house is warm and cozy, with board games and a bar. The place was packed an hour before closing, and the staff was friendly. My biggest regret is that I discovered this place during my last day in Kalamazoo...

The Sweet Water Street is an Imperial Porter brewed with donut holes from Sweetwater's Donut Mill, and coffee from Water Street Coffee Roaster. Coffee is my life force, so while in Kalamazoo I had a chance to visit Water Street Coffee Roaster twice. The coffee is solid, and is locally roasted. 

So good...

The Sweet Water Street itself pours into a dark body kicking up a couple of fingers of dense, tan-brown head. It looks like every other genero-Porter until you dig into the aroma and get that rich chocolate coffee cake smell. This kicks up espresso and hazelnut and lots of fresh coffee, but the coffee stays grounded in the cakey malt base. This hints at macaroons and candy bars, and suggests so much more than a straightforward coffee beer. 

And the taste lives up to the aroma's hype, and then some and more so. At whatever percentage this clocks in at (7.1%???), the malt body stands up to the strong coffee flavors. This has a cake-like body with chocolate malts, trailing malt balls on the back end, rich espresso, hazelnut, and liquid coffee cake. 

The mouthfeel on this is full and expansive, and this beer has depth and density. This squeezes all the money's worth out of the 7.1%, and the malt body does not go to waste. The palate is full-bodied, and this has enough layers to beckon complexity. It has good duration too...each sip lingers. You get a lot of straight Porter in the front, but by the mid palate this drops coffee and chocolate. The back end rounds out with earthy coffee notes, hints of macaroons, and malt balls. This cleans up nicely too...you would expect loads of residual sugars and you really get none of that here. 

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Divine Brew on this. This is one of the best beers currently on tap in Kalamazoo, and you owe it to yourself to check this beer out. On top of that, One Well Brewing's other beers were good, and the vibe of their little bar is fantastic. Would definitely stop in again. 

Random Thought: The number one dark beer on my trip goes out to 18th Street Brewing...maybe more on that later. 

Surly Coffee Bender

Brewed By: Surly Brewing in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota

Purchased: 16oz CAN from a 4-pack bought at Whole Foods in Chicago, IL; 2015 (canned on 02/20/15)

Style/ABV: American Brown Ale, 5.1%

Reported IBUs: 45

A coffee Brown Ale. Eh? About Surly Brewing: 

The Surly Brewing company is a brewery based out of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. The brewery was founded in 2005 by long time homebrewer Omar Ansari with the help of Todd Haug (Minneapolis's Rock Bottom Brewery). For more info, check out the brewery's about page.

Surly Coffee Bender

The Coffee Bender is brewed with Pale Ale, Aromatic, Medium Crystal, Dark Crystal, Oats, and Chocolate malts; and features Columbus and Willamette hops, and English Ale yeast. The beer is also cold pressed with Guatemalan coffee that is roasted locally.

This is a pretty beer, albeit deceptively darker in low light. Bright light betrays the hazy, reddish body, and a cloud of yeast and sediment can be seen mucking up the beer. The head is fluffy and Guinness-like™, and there is good lacing and retention. 

This has an amazing aroma of cold pressed coffee, stale toast that has been sitting out for a few minutes, coffee sitting in the filter, hazelnuts, and a light but crisp hop aroma. The coffee elevates what is otherwise a fairly derivative style of beer, and I am reminded of New Glarus' banging, low-ABV, coffee beer, their New Glarus Coffee Stout.

same beer, with light

Kudos to Surly for basically turning a Brown Ale into iced coffee. This is a fantastic beverage, if you want coffee not beer. That's not a sideways compliment or passive insult. This is really nice, with cold pressed coffee, coffee in the filter, light creamer, hints of toast, hints of lactose, hazelnut, and light nuttiness. This is also somehow light and refreshing, with lots of straight and light hops providing a palate cleanse. 

This is medium-bodied, but light and refreshing at the same time. The beer has great palate depth and complexity for the style...really, this owns the Brown Ale category, and the 5.1% market. This is hard to top, and I think it edges out the New Glarus Coffee Stout by just a bit. This hits the coffee/toast breakfast combo hard up front, rolls into hazelnut and lactose coffee, and then finishes with sharp coffee and hops. Pretty rad.

Rating: Divine Brew (5.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Divine Brew on this. This is pretty much as advertised, and you will be cold pressed (get it?) to find a better coffee beer in the 5.1% range. The coffee here is also clean without any acridity or weird earthiness or fruitiness. Pretty much for sure I will buy this beer again, and you should too.

Random Thought: I like you too, and don't call me Surly. 

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout 2014

Brewed By: Goose Island Beer Company in Chicago, Illinois

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 4-pack bought at Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2014 (bottled on 11/07/2014, #1329)

Style/ABV: Barrel-Aged American Coffee Stout, 12.6% 

Reported IBUs: 60

Due to the incredible hype, I missed out on the 2013 Bourbon County Coffee. The last vintage I cracked was back in 2012, and it was fantastic. Here's to hoping the 2014 is as good. About Goose Island:

Goose Island is a Chicago-based brewery that began as a brewpub on Clybourn, which opened on May 1988. The actual brewery opened on 1995, and is located on the Southwest side of Chicago. The second brewpub, located in Wrigleyville by the Chicago Cubs, was opened in 1999. On March 28, 2011, Goose Island sold 58% of the brewery to Anheuser-Busch. The remaining 42% of the brewery is supposed to be acquired by A-B InBev in the future, and there has been much discussion about the brewery's takeover. On November 16th, founder and CEO, John Hall, announced he would be leaving Goose Island. On January 1st, 2013, Anheuser-Busch "veteran" Andy Goeler will take over Goose Island. Additionally, around the same time as John Hall's departure, resident barrel-program leader John Laffler also announced his departure from Goose Island. There have been many changes regarding Goose Island...so we will see what the future has in store for Goose Island. 

The 2014 Bourbon County Coffee Stout is brewed with Intelligentsia, as per usual. This year's blend features Zirikana coffee beans, from Rwanda. Suggested flavors from the Zirikana beans include lime zest, black tea, and a crisp grape in the finish. Aside from that, the Boubcon County Coffee is brewed with 2-Row, Munich, Chocolate, Caramel, Roast Barley, and Debittered Black malts; Columbus hops; and punches in around 60 IBUs and 12.6%. The bottle says this "develops in the bottle for up to 5 years," but I would suggest drinking your coffee stout sooner than later.

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout 2014

If you don't know what Bourbon County looks like when you pour it, look at the image to the right or google it. And then drain pour all your beers. Seriously, I don't even know anymore. The beer does appear to have some coffee oils in it, which is my useful contribution for this one.

Also, as you might expect, this smells like an explosion of aromatic coffee. The coffee on the aroma is super sharp and bright, with (good) acrid bitterness, intense coffee berries and citrus, and intense raw coffee that is unlike anything you find in most other coffee beers. It's like grinding coffee and sticking that aroma into your beer. Along with the coffee is rich chocolate, bourbon, vanilla, and intense base beer. It smells magical, like a fusion of Bourbon County with the finest freshly ground coffee.

This is incredibly rich, and that base beer is just fantastic dropping intense fruity notes this year, with bourbon, chocolate, brownies, and treacle sweetness that is unmatched. The coffee itself is bright and fruity, with some acidity. Coffee is highly preferential, so I get why some people aren't feeling the vibe from this year's coffee choice. I actually really like this, and I'm enjoying the berry and citrus notes from the coffee, which give the beer a fruit-like element. The coffee still drops bitter roast and deep earthy/dirt notes towards the back end, and there is a lot of thick chocolate and bourbon dancing throughout. The coffee definitely plays up the fruit though. It kind of reminds me of the Backyard Rye, which isn't a bad thing at all. 2014 is without a fruit variant, so this is good middle ground...if you're into that sort of thing. I'm picking up some nice booze on the back end of this as well, but that is also probably due to the fact that I'm chasing the Begyle Barrel Aged Imperial Pajamas.

At 12.6%, this is incredibly thick. I was concerned about the lower ABV on the 2014 BCBS, but those fears have officially been laid to bed. This is a dense, full-bodied, sticky beer. Palate depth is high, and the complexity is pretty grand. Full disclaimer: I don't think this is as good as the 2012 vintage. BUT, this has great integration of the 2014 Bourbon County base beer (which is more fruity than past vintages) and the coffee which has bright and floral fruit notes itself. This is an enjoyable beer. Up front: silky chocolate, coffee, berries, citrus, fruity sweetness, intense sugars; that rolls into more coffee beans, some earthy coffee, more intense sweetness, bourbon, sugars, underlying fudge; the back end trails with coffee, sweetness....a lot of sugar up in here. This is sweeter than the 2014 Prop. But it's fantastic. 

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Divine Brew on this. I get the people who aren't feeling this year's coffee...as a coffee addict, I'm actually on board with this. This beer is incredibly silky, and it's a true sipper. If you can hang with the coffee they used, you're going to be in for a treat. If you don't like the coffee in this beer, trade it for some of the BW. Food pairings here include not much, because this is solid as a sipper. Maybe ice cream?

Random Thought: Is anyone else sick of hoppy beers? Oh wait, no, no we aren't. Because it is 2014, and there are an abundance of non-hoppy beers everywhere these days. 

Pig Minds Brewing Joe Daddy Barrel Aged

Brewed By: Pig Minds Brewing Co. in Machesney Park, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bomber generously gifted to me on Black Friday; 2014 

Style/ABV: American Stout, 9.0%

Reported IBUs: ?

Let me extend a thanks for this bottle. Black Friday was a lot of fun, even if my toes were numb by the end of the morning. I did stand in line for my allotment of Bourbon County, and I'm glad I did. 2014's Bourbon County release in Chicago was nothing but a shit show. But enough about that....About Pig Minds Brewing:

Pig Minds Brewing Co. is a brewery based out of Machesney Park, IL. The brewery was founded around 2012, by owner Brian Endl and head brewer Carson Souza. For more info, check out their Website or Facebook page. 

Tonight's beer, the Joe Daddy Barrel Aged, is a twist on their Joe Daddy, which is a coffee stout brewed with two gallons of molasses, brown sugar, and Guatemalan Coffee roasted locally at Jadabug Roasters. The bottle of the Joe Daddy Barrel Aged reads: "Joe Daddy's back. He's bigger, bolder, and older than before. He got himself a job at the distillery, stacking and racking oak barrels 9 to 5. Wooza, nice abs, Joe! This is our Jada Bug Coffee imperial stout brewed with brown sugar and molasses that ol' Joe Daddy made famous. Only this time we've barrel-aged this blend to give you that oaken experience that warms you way down deep. Now who's Joe Daddy?" 

Pig Minds Brewing Joe Daddy Barrel Aged

This pours into a thick, oily, opaque body, kicking up a finger of dark brown, mocha-tinged head. The head retention on this beer is fantastic, and there is also really nice lacing and big glossy alcohol legs to set the tone.

I know this glass calls out the aroma for you, but when I poured this beer I was smacked with HUGE waves of coconut, vanilla, barrel, bourbon, and alcohol. This smells absolutely potent and fantastic. When I stick my nose into the beer, I am getting big macaroons, coffee, coffee liquor, vanilla, alcohol, and RICH coffee. The coffee on this aroma is oily and thick. This smells amazing, anything short of this aroma in the taste is going to be a disappointment...I hope this delivers. 

For the most part, this does deliver. This isn't as thick as Bourbon County, but at 9.0% I wasn't expecting it to be. What I'm getting here is a ton of barrel, vanilla, alcohol, and coffee. The alcohol is not fusel at all, and has a marked complexity, like a hot whiskey. This has hints of raisins soaked in alcohol, fusel and quad-like fruits, complex coffee fruits, and lots of complex dessert alcohol notes. It reminds me of a dessert liquor, or a nice digestive. The kick of oak, vanilla, and bourbon on the back end is just icing on the cake. I'm going to let this warm up, and report back. UPDATE: oh yeah, as this warms up, this continues to improve in terms of depth, complexity, and drinkability. At warmer temps, this becomes a coffee liquor banger, with nice barrel and booze notes. This is just the perfect after-dinner treat, and a sipper to chew on.

I'm quite smitten with this brew. It's not quite Bourbon County Coffee, but not many beers are. Actually, the coffee in this beer is just one of many elements that defines the overall experience. At 9.0%, this is both boozier and bigger than its britches. The mouthfeel isn't quite thick freaky, but it is full-bodied with really nice complexity and palate depth. Right now, this is pretty hot...I think with 6~12 months of age this is going to mellow out. But I love alcohol, whiskey, and dessert spirits. I'm enjoying this because it is boozy, and I think the booze plays with the coffee and the barrel. The booze is also fairly complex, not unlike a good digestive or cognac. This unravels in waves of complexity, but you get a lot of alcohol, coffee, and complex booze up front; that rolls into coconut, bourbon, vanilla, dessert spirits, more coffee, liquor, and tons of goodness; the back end trails with coffee, liquor, alcohol, and lots of barrel. This finishes dry, and there isn't as much residual sugar kicking around as you might initially think. I'm enjoying this...and I'm finding this to actually be a sipper, which is rare for me.

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Divine Brew on this. This is my type of Imperial Stout. Layered, coffee, bourbon, alcohol, booze, and a true sipper. This is somewhat alcohol-forward, so be warned if you prefer your beers to be more "integrated." I'm not a huge fan of aging beers, but I think this will meld a bit down the road. For me, I like this fresh. I would not pair this with anything, except for maybe some dry chocolate cake and ice cream. This is just a great sipping beer...I would totally buy this if I saw it on shelves. 

Random Thought: People who read this blog will obviously note that I do age beers, and I'm not 100% against aging beer. I think there is some misconception that I am completely against aging beers...I'm not...I just think that people should put some thought into aging beer. It's a lot more complicated than just picking a beer with a high ABV, or a beer that meets "X style guideline."

Sierra Nevada Coffee Stout

Brewed By: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, California 
Purchased: 12oz bottle from the 2014 Snowpack purchased at Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2014
Style/ABV: Coffee Stout, 6.2%

Reported IBUs: 53

DAE Cerro Nevarros? I do. For $14.99 the 2014 Snowpack was too cheap to pass up. This year's Snowpack features their Porter, Pale Ale, Boomerang IPA, and Coffee Stout. About Sierra Nevada:

Sierra Nevada are one of the big players in craft brewing, and one of the first craft breweries to arrive on the craft beer scene. If you check out their history page, you will see that founder Ken Grossman began his quest to build a brewery in 1976. In 1980, Ken Grossman and co-founder Paul Camusi brewed their first batch of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. According to Wikipedia, Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale is the second best selling craft beer behind Boston Lager. Sierra Nevada is the sixth largest brewing company in the United States as well, cranking out over 750,000 barrels in 2010. For more info, check out their website.

Coffee Stouts are maybe my favorite thing ever, so I have some pretty high expectations with this one. The Coffee Stout punches in at 6.2% with 53 IBUs, and is brewed with Nugget hops; Two-row Pale, Caramel, Chocolate, Wheat, and Brown malts; and cold brewed coffee and lactose. 

Sierra Nevada Coffee Stout

This pours into a near-black body, kicking up a finger of dark brown head. Bright light betrays some of those brown tones around the edges, but this is basically opaque through and through. Head retention is good, with solid lacing. 

The aroma here: coffee, hazelnut, mocha, coffee + creamer, a little espresso, and lots of filter coffee and coffee that has been leftover in the filter. There is also a substantial amount of lactose on the nose, with hints of creamer, vanilla, and milk.

This pretty much follows the nose to the tee...leading off with lots of sweet coffee, filtered coffee, espresso, ground coffee, and some hazelnut sweetness. Along with the coffee onslaught is a lot of hints of mocha, creamer, lactose, and sweet notes. The sweet notes include some sugars and hints of dark fruits...beneath the coffee is some hints of roast complexity, but this is mostly a sweet coffee ride.

This is pretty straightforward, but gets credit for being medium-full at just 6.2%. The palate depth here is really good, but this isn't the most complex beer in the world. This pretty much rides sweet coffee up front, with tons of coffee, espresso, and hazelnut; the mids roll into some creamer, lactose sugars, mocha, and earth/tobacco; the back end trails with lots of coffee sweetness, and has a bit of roast. The theme here is sweet and coffee. A part of me wonders if this beer would be elevated if it had a little more roast or dark malt complexity to balance out some of the sugars.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average here. This is a really solid coffee stout, especially at the ABV, but I do think it could be a bit more complex. Still, this is a great addition to the winter pack, and also a tasty beer. I would pair this with some dessert....maybe some dry chocolate cake. Yum.

Random Thought: The 2014 Snowpack doesn't have any mind-blowing beers, but it does feature four very good beers. I'd say it is worth the $14.99. 

Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel

Brewed By: Mikkeller in Copenhagen, Denmark (Brewed at Lervig Aktiebryggeri)

Purchased: 12oz single bottle bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, Illinois; 2014

Style/ABV: Imperial Oatmeal Stout, 10.9%

Reported IBUs: ?

Continuing with the second Beer Geek beer of the night...About Mikkeller: 

Mikkeller is that European brewery that does things like an American craft brewery. The brewery was founded in 2006 by Mikkel Borg Bjergsø, a humble math and physics teacher who enjoyed craft beer and homebrewing. Mikkel and his childhood friend Kristian Keller bought a few American books about brewing, and began brewing beer and entering it into competitions (and winning!) for two and a half years. Eventually, Mikkel and Keller began brewing beer at the Danish microbrewery Ørbæk, and Mikkel's twin brother Jeppe began selling their beer at his beer shop. Mikkeller's first big break came with their infamous "Beer Geek Breakfast." Since then, the brewery exports beer to over 40 countries, and brews the majority of their beer at de Proef Brouwerij in Belgium. However, Mikkeller is also nicknamed the "phantom" or "gypsy" microbrewery, as they brew at a number of host facilities in many different countries; they have also brewed over 100 different beers in a wide variety of styles. You can read more about the brewery here. 

The Beer Geek Brunch Weasel should not be confused with the Beer Geek Breakfast. The Brunch is amped up at 10.9%, clocking in at true Imperial range. The Beer Geek Brunch Weasel is brewed from with "one of the world's most expensive coffees, made from droppings of weasel-like civet cats." Yup, this is a shit beer. Literally. I already reviewed (and loved) the De Molen Kopi Loewak, so the bar is set. Will this top the fantastic Kopi Loewak? 

Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel

I could be totally making this up, but I think the Brunch Weasel actually pours out darker than the Breakfast. The head is certainly a bit darker. Dem Black Patent Malts, amirite? Seriously though, unlike the Breakfast, the head does not hang around on the Brunch Weasel. Swirling the beer kicks up glossy alcohol legs, and you can revive the head -- but it's short-lived. 

The aroma on the Brunch Weasel seems more blunted than the Breakfast. I'm getting coffee, dirt, ash...the coffee is slightly less bitter and acidic here. There are some woody and roasty notes on the nose, with some hints of meaty roast. I'm getting a little baker's chocolate as well. 

Wow! This tastes nothing like the Breakfast...in fact, there is some much needed sweetness here. Not only am I getting coffee, but I'm getting some vanilla, espresso, and even a hint of mocha. There's some chocolate in here, with definitive chocolate sweetness on the back end. The beer finishes roasty and bitter, much like the Breakfast. There are some hints of earthy nuts in here, along with hints of boozy fruits. 

This is the full-bodied experience I was craving in an Imperial Stout tonight, and you feel the weight of this beer, 10.9% and all. I'm getting some booze, which I welcome from my Imperial Stouts at this ABV. Palate depth is really outstanding, but again I feel this could dial up the complexity even more. This tastes hoppy and bitter, and I wonder if aging this for a year would mellow this out. Unfortunately, that would be at the expense of the coffee. Up front: big sweet coffee, espresso, mocha, vanilla sweetness, chocolate; the mids roll into more espresso and mocha sweetness, straight legit coffee shop; the back end fuses mocha and espresso with hoppy sweetness, and the beer goes into roast, ash, dirt, bitter coffee, and finishes bitter and dry. The finish is one or two degrees away from being offensive, but it holds it together. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average here...at the respective price of $10 for the Brunch Weasel single, and $6.99 for the Breakfast single...I just can't justify these beers. They are good, but there are better coffee Stouts available. The Brunch Weasel definitely beats out the Breakfast. It's a bigger, bolder, sweet beer...and I want to pair this above beer with dry chocolate cake, chocolate chip pancakes, tiramisu, or even an aggressive burger or steak. This beer is probably worth checking out once, but yeah. Serious hesitation if I'll pick this up again.

Random Thought: I love Spring storms. A storm came through tonight and dropped marble-sized hail with some impressive lightning. It was quite the spectacle.

Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast

Brewed By: Mikkeller in Copenhagen, Denmark (Brewed at Lervig Aktiebryggeri)

Purchased: 12oz single bottle bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, Illinois; 2014

Style/ABV: Oatmeal Stout, 7.5%

Reported IBUs: ?

This beer and the Beer Geek Brunch have been on my to-do list for a long time, but damn these are expensive singles. About Mikkeller: 

Mikkeller is that European brewery that does things like an American craft brewery. The brewery was founded in 2006 by Mikkel Borg Bjergsø, a humble math and physics teacher who enjoyed craft beer and homebrewing. Mikkel and his childhood friend Kristian Keller bought a few American books about brewing, and began brewing beer and entering it into competitions (and winning!) for two and a half years. Eventually, Mikkel and Keller began brewing beer at the Danish microbrewery Ørbæk, and Mikkel's twin brother Jeppe began selling their beer at his beer shop. Mikkeller's first big break came with their infamous "Beer Geek Breakfast." Since then, the brewery exports beer to over 40 countries, and brews the majority of their beer at de Proef Brouwerij in Belgium. However, Mikkeller is also nicknamed the "phantom" or "gypsy" microbrewery, as they brew at a number of host facilities in many different countries; they have also brewed over 100 different beers in a wide variety of styles. You can read more about the brewery here. 

The Beer Geek Breakfast is an Oatmeal Stout brewed with coffee. According to Ratebeer, the ingredients include water; pils, oat, smoked, caramunich, brown, pale chocolate and chocolate, roasted barley, and flaked oats malts; centennial and cascade hops; ale yeast; and gourmet coffee.

Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast

As you'd probably guess, this beer pours jet black kicking up a finger of dark, mocha-brown head. There are fantastic alcohol legs, even at 7.5%, and greasy head leaves dark residual coats on the glass. There's something about seeing a hearty Stout that makes me happy, I wish my sponsor understood.

Even at slightly cool temps, this beer is exploding with aromatics. It's like opening up the cupboard that houses the coffee in the break room at work. I'm getting stale coffee, biscotti, mild coffee acidity, slight tang from the acidity, cherries, chocolate, chocolate-dipped cherries (duh), and some rich nutty notes. Peanuts and pecans come to mind. There's that oatmeal note on the nose as well....just a complicated myriad of good smells. 

The taste follows through with some of the nose, only with a slightly diminishing body. Honestly...I'm gonna let this warm up a bit, as right now I'm getting a lot of bitter hops and bitter coffee. You'll have to take my word that after this sentence I went to shower.....and I'm back. Yeah, as this warms up some of the coffee notes start to unravel a bit, with bitter, stale coffee. I'm getting biscotti, bitter coffee, spent coffee in the filter, woody notes, ash, dirt, some roast, and super bitter baker's chocolate. Cocoa, the legit stuff.

This is a medium-full bodied Stout, thanks largely in part to the coffee which cuts through the body like a sword. When you add the carbonation to the coffee, it really thins the base beer out, for better or worse. Palate depth is good, but complexity leaves a bit to be desired. At this point I'm well-versed in coffee Stouts, so I feel comfortable saying this could dial things up a bit. It's just kind of one-note. I do like how the 7.5% is completely hidden. Up front: acidic and tangy coffee, some fruity notes, hops, bitter coffee; the mids roll into more bitter coffee, woody notes, dark baker's chocolate, cocoa, dirt/ash; the back end is trailing bitterness, with more stale coffee, dirt/ash, and bitter. Not enough diabetus tones.

Rating: Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Average here...the aroma promises so much, but I'm not feeling the vibe so much in the taste. This is a nicely executed, bitter coffee Stout. If you like that raw, bitter coffee note...this will be right up your alley. It actually reminds me of real cocoa, the bitter stuff. Baker's chocolate. I wonder if this beer would pair well with chocolate, or something sweet like vanilla ice cream. I'd even suggest pairing this with biscotti. I guess you could also pair this with breakfast trimmings, the coffee stands out loud and proud.

Random Thought: It's Brunch time, right?

New Glarus Coffee Stout

Brewed By: New Glarus Brewing Company in New Glarus, Wisconsin

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 6-pack bought at Woodman's in Kenosha, WI; 2014 

Style/ABV: American Stout, 4.8% 

Reported IBUs: ?

Mmmm mmm love those trips across the border. About New Glarus:

New Glarus is the rare, gorgeous "Midwest" brewery, founded in 1993 by Deborah Carey, the first woman to found and operate a brewery in the United States. She raised the capital for the start-up as a gift to her husband, Dan Carey, who is New Glarus' brewmaster and co-owner. Dan Carey has a long history working in the brewing industry, including an apprenticeship at a brewery near Munich, Germany and a job as the Production Supervisor for Anheuser-Busch. The brewery began as an abandoned warehouse using old brewpub equipment. In 1997, Dan Carey purchased coper kettles from a brewery in Germany. In May 2006, New Glarus opened their new (current) facility on a hilltop in the village of New Glarus. The facility looks like a Bavarian village, and is gorgeous. The expansion has allowed the brewery to continue to increase their production, and expand their operations. For more information, check out their brewery page or Wikipedia. 

The Coffee Stout is a Winter Seasonal, and lawdy cheesus, what a good choice this beer is. Who doesn't love coffee stouts? (The answer is Hitler, that's who). Anyway, this beer is brewed with Wisconsin water, roasted malts, American hops, and organic coffee from Just Coffee Co-Op. Are you as excited as I am? 

New Glarus Coffee Stout

This one pours the part of a Stout...black, opaque body...you know the drill. There's some brown tones visible on the edges of the glass, and the beer kicks up two fingers of creamy, dense, tan head. As the head drops off you're left with nice lacing and sea foam covering that is spotty like...well, we won't go there.

The aroma here is big toast, caramel, chocolate, cocoa, and coffee. Again...this is a very New Glarus approach to the style, with an emphasis on the sweeter, German-style malts.

The taste delivers the goods, with big coffee hitting your palate in a big way. The coffee is assertive, fresh, vibrant, and fucking good if I had to get crass. It's a ground coffee flavor, with some mild earthy notes and some hints of wood and creamer. It never gets into espresso range, and it's not quite sweet enough to be hazelnut. Along with the coffee is tons of toast, cocoa, caramel sweetness, and malty sweetness that screams "New Glarus made this beer." It's good though.

This is medium to light-bodied, and at 4.8% or whatever, this is super drinkable. Palate depth is good, and complexity is pretty good for the style. You get a lot of roast, toast, and munich malts up front; that rolls into big earthy coffee, coffee, more roast, and some wood/vanilla; the back end has lingering coffee, caramel, some hints of chocolate...it finishes earthy and dry, with the coffee. It's good, but not amazing.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average on this. What I find impressive is that this beer is around ~5.0% ABV and it still packs as much flavor as it does. And it does get better as it warms...so drink this one warm. Still, there are many coffee stouts out there, and this one can only go so far in a very competitive pack. Having said all that, I would have no problem pairing this beer with chocolate desserts, burgers, or even a steak. It's a good beer and easily one of my favorite New Glarus offerings. I hope they brew this again, and I would buy this again.

Random Thought: Yuuup...there's more coming, but I think that's all for tonight. 

Founders KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout)

Brewed By: Founders Brewing Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 4-pack bought at Piccadilly in Urbana, IL; 2014 

Style/ABV: Barrel-Aged American Stout, 11.2%

Reported IBUs: 70

Beer hype is a weird thing. Tracking down a bottle of KBS this year was darn near impossible. I didn't chase many Tweets -- I made the effort to drive out to just one of my local Binny's, only to discover they cleared the handful of bottles on hand ten minutes before they officially were supposed to start selling the beer. 

Comparatively, tracking down a bottle of KBS in the Chicagoland area was harder than finding Hopslam or Bourbon County Stout. I'm not complaining, Founders has a huge release event for this beer and word on the street is you can find this beer in Michigan. I'm just saying, there's a lot of hype at work here.

And people are totally behind the times. I understand that with each passing year craft beer grows a little and gains new followers, and those followers join the rat race to track down #epicwhalez or whatever. "But that's not how you stay ahead of the curve," notes someone, somewhere, as they drink a coffee stout from some brewery you haven't heard of yet. Anyway, about Founders:

Founders is the holy grail of Michigan brewing. Based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Founders was founded in 1997 by Mike Stevens and Dave Engbers, and produces some of the best beer in the world. If you haven't heard of Founders...well, what are you doing? Get on that, now.

Contrary to what you might expect, the KBS is not brewed using the Founders Breakfast Stout base. And by the way, the Breakfast Stout is one of the best beers you can buy, and it seems plentiful these days. No, the Founders KBS is brewed with massive amounts of coffee and chocolate, and then cave-aged in oak bourbon barrels for a whole damn year. This one punches in at 11.2% and pack 70 IBUs. Coffee, chocolate, bourbon...what could go wrong. 

Founders KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout)

Big shocker here: the KBS pours into an opaque, pitch black body, kicking up a finger of brown head. As the head drops off, you get nice lacing. And there are some legs. Woo. 

I'm not going to lie to you, the aroma on this beer is magical. I've had a lot of coffee stouts over the past few years, and the aroma on KBS rivals just a handful of beers. There's big hazelnut, espresso, macaroons and coconut, slight acidity from the coffee, chocolate, oats, and some booze. Yeah, there's booze on the nose. There is some light oak and bourbon sweetness on the aroma, and tons of rich oats, chocolate, and coffee. The coffee is stupid in your face, and it is awesome.

While the bourbon takes a back seat to the coffee in the aroma, it definitely does not hold back in the taste. This beer has tons of bourbon that coats your mouth. You also pick up hints of wood and barrel. Along with the bourbon is intense coffee goodness, oats, chocolate, espresso, roast, and some big hazelnut character. There's a macaroon and coconut thing going on too, along with dark fruits hiding beneath the surface of the base beer that will likely unravel with age. There's also a lot of straight up whisky on this fresh bottle, notably in the back. The whisky comes with all the whisky trappings, include hints of raisins.

This is a full-bodied, big beer. On one hand, it's a sipper, and on the other hand, the coffee cuts through the alcohol like crazy. 11.2% ain't nothing to fuck with, and yet I find this surprisingly quaffable. I just want to pour a bottle of this to pound with some pancakes or whatever. It's truly a "breakfast stout," and I expect the BJCP to roll that category out in 2020 or whenever. This beer has a perfect mouthfeel, but the complexity leans towards chocolate-coffee-bourbon. It's a very simple beer in its execution...but sometimes getting back to the basics is how you gotta roll. Palate: up front is huge chocolate, coffee, oats, and bourbon; the mids go bananas with insane coffee, hazelnut, macaroons, coconut, espresso; the back end features waves of lingering chocolate and coffee, and then you get nice whisky burn on the finish along with lingering coffee and barrel. The finish isn't too hot, it's not too sweet...it's pretty damn near perfect. 

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Divine Brew on this. For a barrel-aged coffee beer, this is damn near perfect, minus some potential for a touch of added complexity. It's not quite as good as the Bourbon County Coffee, but then that beer is a whole different beast. The KBS has a simplicity about it....chocolate, coffee, whisky, macaroons, and coconut. It's not here to waste your time with hop kisses, dark fruits, molasses, or other roasted goodies. No sir, this is a breakfast beer straight up and simple. I would pair this beer with chocolate chip pancake, french toast, bacon and eggs, doughnuts, and anything breakfast. Seriously, I know drinking with breakfast is taboo, but this beer BEGS to be paired with breakfast.

Random Thought: BJCP, call me plz. We need to talk about breakfast beers. 

Evil Twin Imperial Doughnut Break

Brewed By: Evil Twin Brewing (Westbrook Brewing) in Copenhagen/Brooklyn

Purchased: 22oz bottle bought at Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2014

Style/ABV: Imperial Stout/Porter, 11.5%

Reported IBUs: ?

Tonight's beer is the definition of excess. An 11.5%, "Imperial Porter," brewed with coffee and natural flavors. Doughnuts? Mmm, doughnuts. About Evil Twin: 

Evil Twin is a Gypsy Brewery founded by founded by Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø (brother of Mikkel Borg Bjergsø) in 2010. Like his twin brother Mikkel, Jeppe is a teacher, and a homebrewer who was tired of the mainstream offerings. In 2004, Mikkel went off to pursue brewing, while Jeppe opened up a bottle shop. In 2010, while teaching a homebrewing, Jeppe decided to sell and distribute the beer he was brewing via his bottle shop. Jeppe moved to New York in 2012. For more info, check out this interview/history here. 

The Evil Twin Imperial Doughnut Break is part of the Biscotti Break series. I love the Imperial Biscotti Break and the Imperial Biscotti Break Natale, so I'm expecting good things tonight. The back of the bottle reads:

"Did Imperial Biscotti Break also make your sugar levels rise and the bitter sweet flavors of coffee, almonds, and chocolate very sentimental - now we topped it off with insane amounts of doughnuts. This all time American favorite is making it's way back into the spotlight and we at Evil Twin Brewing are not letting a tasty trend pass us by without taking it to the next level. Drink it with great gusto - Forza Doughnuts."

Evil Twin Imperial Doughnut Break

This "dry-doughnuted" beer pours out exactly like its aforementioned peers: pitch black and opaque in body, with a finger of creamy/dense, mocha-brown head. Bright light confirms the same. Head retention is actually okay with a centimeter of sea foam coverage hanging around, and glossy alcohol legs and mocha residual coat the sides of the glass when you swirl this.

I'm into the aroma and I haven't made a single glazed joke yet. That in itself is worthy of some sort of accolade. The aroma is massive and complex, with huge coffee, chocolate, chocolate Long Johns, espresso, ash/dirt, dark fruits, booze, tobacco, woody intensity, and doughnuts. There's a lot going on in the aroma, between the coffee and intense roast/chocolate and doughnut sweetness.

Like the regular Imperial Biscotti, this beer is massive and chewy and bad for your diabetus. I don't even want to know how many calories this is doing me in for. Right up front is a huge blast of rich baker's chocolate, tobacco, doughnut thickfreakness, ash, earthy roast, and roast. I'm picking up a ton of coffee, earthy ash, roast, and creamy espresso in here. As I really camp on this beer, I'm getting some hints of dark fruits -- namely raisins and cherries -- and there's plenty of booze in here. This is somewhat potent. Way in the mix is some almonds and biscotti. What surprises me about this beer is how earthy it is up front. The doughnuts impart a tobacco note and it is dense and wowza. 

I'm still not sure if this is better than the regular Imperial Biscotti...that beer is just divine. I do like this though. It's a full-bodied beer, with a thick and chewy mouthfeel. There's tons of residual sweetness and sugar that will coat your mouth, but this isn't a Southern Tier beer. You do pick up on some of the alcohol, but at 11.5% I would kind of expect that. Palate depth is really good, and complexity is outstanding. Up front: roast, ash, earthy coffee, coffee, doughnuts, Long Johns, and HUGE tobacco. The mid-palate hits a sweet doughnut note with chocolate, baker's chocolate, dark fruits, woody notes, and velvety smooth espresso. The back end features lingering coffee, lingering tobacco, ash, and some lingering dark fruits and alcohol. The finish is pretty clean for an 11.5% diabetus cumshot Stout. Gonzo style. Ladies. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. This is about on par with the Natale, but not as good as the regular Imperial Biscotti. Curiosity is getting the better of me, and I really want to see how the barrel-aged version of the Imperial Biscotti tastes, but I digress. Don't pair this beer with food...not even dessert. This beer has enough calories to serve as dessert. If you must, pair it with ice cream like a 4-year old, or pair it with a nice earthy cigar. I don't remember how much this cost, and it's probably better that way.

Random Thought: Seriously though, I think the only variant of this I haven't had is the Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Biscotti...I passed up on a bottle because of the price, but I may have to try it.