Flying Dog Coffee Stout
This is a review of a promotional sample received from the brewery.
Hmmm… It looks like I didn’t plan my reviews very well as this is the second coffee stout in a row. Ah well, don’t you worry your non-stout-drinking heathen selves, I have plenty of lighter fare (IPAs, dIPAs, Alts and more) coming your way in the next couple of weeks — as well as, yes, more stouts.
Flying Dog Coffee Stout
This particular coffee stout comes from the good folks at Flying Dog. It’s a 8.9% ABV Imperial Stout brewed with a rich and robust coffee roast from Black Dog Coffee out of West Virginia. The beer was originally released in early 2010 as draught only, but apparently got enough praise from customers that the brewery is now releasing it along the mid-Atlantic in 12 oz bottles. Lucky for me they did. This is one tasty brew.
Appearance
Once the smallish dark brown head faded, the liquid in my glass was almost opaque and near black in color.
Aroma
As you would expect, there is a ton of coffee up front with a bit of dark chocolate floating in the background. The dark roast on the coffee and malt come together nicely.
Taste
I’ve had plenty of coffee stouts in my time and a majority of them usually end with a relatively dry finish (which I particularly love), but this one doesn’t. It’s smooth, wonderfully balanced beer that has a lingering roast coffee presence in the finish without drying out the tongue. Chocolates and a little booze bounce around the palate, as well. I initially served the beer a bit too chilled, but once it warmed it really came to life.
Overall
I don’t think I’ve had a coffee stout that I didn’t like, but this one seems to be a bit smoother and more drinkable than the majority of them that I’ve had. I love the balance between the coffee roast and the dark malts, as a touch of bitterness creeps in with a light boozy warmth.
The brewery says this one is “…perfect morning, noon and night.” And while I would agree with that statement, I’m not sure a pint (or two) of this one would do me any good in the morning — working with that sort of buzz before the sun comes up would certainly make for an interesting day.
Like I said above, Flying Dog’s Coffee Stout is only available for a limited time along the mid-Atlantic, so get it while you can. I’ll be doing the same.
Rating: 4/5