I remember the first time I heard about the coffee/beer infusion.  Admittedly, and maybe sadly, it was through the Drew Carey Show.  Those that remember the show know how old this program is, and I assuredly date myself by the reference.  At the time, I was in high school, and the idea of anything beyond a sneakily procured Old Milwaukee light seemed a preposterous idea for a beer.  So the idea of coffee and beer together seemed at least, wildly bizarre.

Now, with a markedly changed palate, I crave coffee beers.  I love the fusion of a roasty, rich stout, melded with the scent of a fresh cup of delicious java. The coffee additions work with other styles as well, as I’ve enjoyed a delicious brown ale, C.O.B. from Free Will Brewing Company, and even an unexpected fusion of IPA and coffee that works well in a Coffee IPA from Flying Fish.

There are certainly many other examples of ales blended with coffee.  Tonight though, the intent is to pit several against each other and determine the most enjoyable.  The containers are of varying size, shape, and are a mix of bottles and cans, so a blind test is not in the cards tonight.  Each will simply be judged on its coffeebeerness merits by myself and another esteemed judge.

Without further ado, the Jitterbrew Throwdown commences!

A.  This beer is a dark caramel color that is slightly translucent and topped by a few wisps of cream-colored head.  The smell is slightly metallic and has a brown ale/stale coffee nose that is slightly unpleasant and stings the nostrils.  Notes of old tobacco seem to go with the nose as well.  The taste is watery oatmeal, mixed with weak coffee made from a giant can.  There is an odd baked bean taste to this as well. I’m not a fan.  2/10

B.  This is dark brown in color and is mostly opaque.  Coffee is prominent in the nose with a sugary sweetness lingering as well.  There is a sweet creaminess to the taste, and reminds one of a latte more than a coffee.  6/10

A.  This is a murky, obsidian beer that sports a mocha-touched, creamy head that quickly dissipates.  The nose is mostly roasty, dark malts, and very little coffee influence.  The body is a bit thin and I find myself asking “Isn’t there supposed to be coffee in here?”  The overall experience is decent, and there is nothing off-putting, I just don’t garner much coffee flavor from this beer.  4/10

B. The appearance is thick and dark and resembles molasses. The smell is very roasty with little else. The taste has a slight smokey flavor with some roasty notes as well.  The aftertaste is slightly odd. The mouthfeel is medium-bodied with a lingering taste in your mouth. 7/10

A.  This beer has a nice, full, fluffy head that is gone in second and leaves a ring around the gas and some creamy spots atop the dark, and accurately coffee-colored beer.  The smell is of stale coffee grounds blended with oatmeal and a standard brown ale. The taste is a little watery and thin bodied, and has a watered-down ice coffee profile to it.  4.5/10

B.  It’s a dark brown color, with twinges of light that glimmer on the edges.  It doesn’t smell at all like coffee. It has an odd sweet, fruity smell. The flavor is off and seems infected.  4/10

A.  This pours midnight black with a quickly disappearing brown tinted head. It seems that this is the night to not get much in the realm of coffee on the nose.  My recollection of earlier batches of this beer were of robust coffee notes similar to the wafting of an early morning percolation, this, however, is the casual catching of roasty coffee notes while passing by a full cup on the counter.  The taste, though, is full of coffee goodness melded with an assertive, roasty stout base. 7/10

B. This is an almost black colored beer.  The first impression from the nose is, tuna. As odd as it sounds yes, tuna.  There is a slight hint of coffee on the back-end, but nothing that would make me think that this is a coffee beer. 5/10

Since doing these taste comparisons, it has seemed customary to include an extra round.  This extra round has either not fit exactly into the category reviewed, or has not fit the container criteria in a blind taste test.  tonight’s addition is slightly out of the normal coffee beer category as it is barrel-aged.

A. This is dark, murky and uber-black with a, similar to all of the beers above, quickly dissipating head. The smell is the perfect pairing of bourbon, coffee, and a rich robust stout.  There are lingering notes of caramel and vanilla on the nose.  This is what a vanilla, bourbon, coffee chocolate milk shake would be without the ice cream chunks.  The experience is magical.  9.5/10

B.  Yeah, there are just massive thumbs up on this one.  It is jet black, well, rich dark chocolatey brown.   It has a boozy, rich, mapley smell to it.  It is full bodied, chewy, with sweetness up front and a bit of booziness on the back end.  8.5/10

Clearly, not all coffee beers have equal degrees of enjoyability.  Taste these for yourself and see if the results are similar.

Cheers.

J