Irish Coffee Stout
Lift Bridge Brewery

Irish Coffee StoutIrish Coffee Stout
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From:
Lift Bridge Brewery
 
Minnesota, United States
Style:
Sweet / Milk Stout
Ranked #234
ABV:
7.6%
Score:
91
Ranked #8,081
Avg:
4.06 | pDev: 9.36%
Reviews:
62
Ratings:
212
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 01, 2024
Added:
Mar 10, 2012
Wants:
  37
Gots:
  47
Inspired by it's namesake, a toasty and creamy Milk Stout is blended with whiskey barrel aged Imperial Stout before it's finished off with responsibly sourced, locally roasted coffee from Five Watt Coffee. Five Watt brings years of coffee sourcing and blending expertise to this collaboration which has been perfected together over the years. You don't have to be Irish to appreciate this labor of love, but you'll certainly feel the luck.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by McRyan:
Photo of McRyan
Reviewed by McRyan from Minnesota

4.15/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 4.25
Smell- Is everything you expect you get the coffee right away. You can smell the barrel a little bit. I like that it's not a burnt coffee smell.

Taste- You can really pick up the coffee and enjoy that right away as that fades you pick up the whiskey and the barrel. Almost get a mint taste as well very refreshing. It's nice to have a more mellow BA beer every once and awhile.

Overall- The only real knock here is the mouthfeel. It just feels thin, I wonder if that is intended and just how BA milk stouts come out. Used to the mouth feel of RIS, this one is considerably thinner I wonder if they will try different barrels next year.

Bottom line pick one up, great after dinner beer.
Apr 01, 2014
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3 by Can_if_you_can from Minnesota

Feb 01, 2024
Photo of Roy_Hobbs
Reviewed by Roy_Hobbs from Connecticut

3.61/5  rDev -11.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Canning date unknown, but it was at least a few years ago.

Appearance is pleasant enough, if slightly unremarkable. Dark body with a short-lived tan head that receded to a spotty cap. Aroma is rich and chocolaty with just a faint hint of coffee. The taste is the reverse of that. Much more coffee and roast from the initial sip through the finish. Nice full, creamy mouthfeel.

Overall, this is a solid stout that I'd gladly have again.
Sep 17, 2023
 
Rated: 4.25 by MonkeyPilates from Minnesota

Apr 22, 2023
Photo of Truegent2004
Reviewed by Truegent2004 from Minnesota

2.63/5  rDev -35.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
From a can. Dark brown color with minimal foam. Strong coffee and bourbon taste. Rancid bitter after taste. Most of it went down the drain. Really bad.
Mar 13, 2023
 
Rated: 3.98 by einman from Minnesota

Dec 24, 2022
Photo of jkblr
Reviewed by jkblr from Indiana

4.14/5  rDev +2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
12oz can with no noticeable stamp poured into an Irish coffee mug at fridge temp 7.6% ABV. The beer pours very dark brown with little in the way of highlights and minimal light brown head. The head recedes to a thin ring and single layer of bubbles. Minimal lacing. The aroma is mild with notes of coffee, roasted malt and cream. The taste is bittersweet coffee, bourbon, oak barrel and subtle sweet cream with moderate final bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, great. The bourbon barrel and lactose are both at a perfect level and completely balance each other.
Apr 25, 2021
 
Rated: 4 by ian_graf from Minnesota

Jul 28, 2019
 
Rated: 4.02 by nruhlig from Minnesota

May 30, 2019
 
Rated: 3.34 by cmsfish from Minnesota

May 08, 2019
 
Rated: 4.02 by bigpoppa67 from Wisconsin

Apr 07, 2019
Photo of MNAle
Reviewed by MNAle from Minnesota

3.82/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
2018 bottling.

Black, impenetrable black. If you shine a back-light, there is a little ruby around the edges. 1/2 inch tan head, recedes fairly quickly to bubble islands on a thin cap and ring. Strings of lacing.

Aroma is roasted coffee, just hints of the barrel, with some sweetness that is almost vanilla. But it is the roasted coffee and roasted malts that dominates in the aroma.

Taste is roasted, slightly bitter coffee. Disappointingly, not much whiskey in the taste. A little more as it warms, but still not much. There is a sweet-ish vanilla behind the coffee that transitions to a slightly sticky, moderately bitter dry finish. Bitterness and coffee lingers into the aftertaste. Despite the blending with a milk stout, it tastes more like there is a solid backbone of Irish Dry Stout in there, complemented by the coffee. The lactose does smooth this out, though, so it is there. No booziness.

Moderate to thick creamy body.

Well done, but less than I was expecting. Advertised as a blending of barrel-aged stout and a milk stout. But, it tastes like a coffee-infused somewhat smooth Irish Dry Stout. Fits well as a St. Patrick's Day beer, but I've had better barrel-aged coffee stouts.
Mar 21, 2019
Photo of Stevedore
Reviewed by Stevedore from Oregon

4.1/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
12oz can, snifter glass. Dark black body, slightly dark brown hue, one finger mocha head, good retention, not much lacing. Smell is roast coffee, milk chocolate, lactose, mild oak and whiskey, but mostly lactose and roast. Flavour follows, a smooth creamy milk chocolate and a mild dose of coffee, not too strong or roasty; it's definitely still a milk stout as far as styles go. Medium bodied, creamy, good carbonation, mildly bitter dark chocolate finish.
Mar 18, 2019
Photo of MonDak_Joe1953
Reviewed by MonDak_Joe1953 from Minnesota

4.03/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
22oz bottle. 2017 vintage, with a plastic wrapped cap and collar.
Dark brown colored body, with medium brown back lit highlights. One finger of tan head with the initial pour, stays around as creamy and bubbly cap. Leaves behind a webbing of lacing.
Aroma of dark roasted malts, chocolate, vanilla, and a whiff of whiskey barrel. Coffee has faded.
Taste of dark roasted malts, whiskey barrel, and blend of licorice and vanilla. There is some chocolate flavor here, and a bit of coffee (way at the end).
Creamy smooth, medium plus mouth feel. Okay carbonation.
The age has resulted in the coffee being diminished but it is still a very tasty blended stout. I will try to find a more recent vintage and post a companion review.
Mar 16, 2019
Photo of FBarber
Reviewed by FBarber from Illinois

3.96/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.5
Pours a dark shiny black color. Completely opaque. Thick three finger khaki colored head slowly collapses leaving a thin layer of tight fuzzy foam. Some tan lacing is left on the glass as its consumed.

Aroma has strong notes of somewhat acidic coffee, chocolate, and a sweet lactose aroma. The coffee really dominates the aroma almost to too much of a degree.

Taste follows the nose with some strong coffee notes along with roasted malts, chocolate, bakers chocolate, some earthy bittering hops and a nice roast bitterness lingering on the finish. Surprisingly this is not very sweet at all and the lactose is quite light on the flavor. Its mostly just a coffee stout albeit a nice tasting one at that.

Feel is medium to full bodied with a thickness to it. Really sticks to the mouth and throat as it goes down. Slight bitter sensation on the finish.

Overall a solid coffee stout. I understand from reading up on this that its a blend of a milk stout and some whiskey barrel aged stout with coffee added. To me, the coffee just really dominates the beer and doesn't allow the subtleties from the blended parts to shine. For that reason, I am somewhat disappointed in the overall execution.
Mar 16, 2019
 
Rated: 4.38 by HopliteMpls612 from Minnesota

Mar 03, 2019
 
Rated: 3.99 by Ri0 from Wisconsin

Feb 22, 2019
 
Rated: 4.1 by jenrhart from Minnesota

Feb 08, 2019
 
Rated: 5 by DissentFatsquirrel from Minnesota

Aug 20, 2018
Photo of Sandis
Reviewed by Sandis from Minnesota

3.11/5  rDev -23.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
Poured into a Rastal Pint glass. I like that the coffee in this is not overpowering. The carbonation is a little higher than my ideal preference but the flavor is pretty decent for the style.
Jul 03, 2018
Irish Coffee Stout from Lift Bridge Brewery
Beer rating: 91 out of 100 with 212 ratings