Sidamo Coffee Stout - Hardywood Park Craft Brewery

CDGoin

Virginia

5/5  rDev +27.9%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Beautiful thick almost Guinness like head, nice deep caramel colored with tight carbonation.

Nice deep rich coffee flavors with a perfect touch of sweetness.

The roasted coffee smells are really well balanced with the flavor..

Also with a 9.3% ABV it's not dry at all.. very smooth.. a Beer you can drink too fast and hate yourself the next morning.

With that said, I going to buy another 2 bottles tonight..

>>>

I have since then gone to Hardywood (They are near my office) and bought it multiple times and am currently hitting one of the growlers.

Since its a limited run and only limited (VERY) are left.. I feel bad for anyone that never had this.. It has to be the best beer I have EVER had.. and I have had a lot (mind you I like my beers high in ABV, with a sweet malty flavor.. Coffee and Chocolate and Vanilla are my favorite flavors and this Beer is loaded with them.

That said.. Saturday they release a new Beer, Chocolate Heat.. also a Russian Imperial Stout.. If you are in their distribution area get it !

Come to the Dark side - We have Stouts and Porters :)

Serving type: growler

02-08-2013 00:55:18 | More by CDGoin

Alieniloquium

Florida

2.29/5  rDev -41.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

750 mL bottle poured into a mini pint glass.

Appearance - Dark brown, almost black. Nice lacing. Thick collar and some wisps.

Smell - Ouch. Grassy raw coffee. Sweet malts. Harsh coffee.

Taste - Worse. Like watered down coffee. Very raw and green coffee flavor with a characteristic acidity. Just a bit of chocolate malt to back it up.

Mouthfeel - A little acidic. Even some booze. Bitterness.

Overall - Had this twice and neither time has it been good. Just a crappy coffee flavor.

Serving type: bottle

05-01-2013 01:56:48 | More by Alieniloquium

stephenjmoore

Maryland

4.31/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

A- Pitch black pour with a bubbly tan head that leaves a thin layer of bubbles after it settles.

S- Roasty, bready malts, faint aroma of bitter coffee, slight boozy aroma.

T- Starts out as a smooth and roasty RIS, but a huge blast of bold roasted coffee shows up towards the end and stays through the finish. The bottle mentions blueberry notes in the coffee and there definitely is a dried fruit note towards the end, almost like dried fruit in a tea. The coffee used in this beer is really unique. It is subtle, but has bold flavors that come through. I know that is sort of an oxymoron, but it is hard to describe.

M- Full bodied, medium carbonation, a big bold sipper.

O- A big coffee stout. As I mentioned, the style of coffee makes this one unique, which is a nice change of pace from the many coffee imperial stouts out there. A solid offering.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2013 01:32:26 | More by stephenjmoore

jaasen64

Massachusetts

3.7/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

750ml bottle poured into 18oz Funky Buddha snifter. Picked up on my way through Richmond yesterday.

A- Pours a dark brown that appears an opaque dark black in the glass. A thin creamy mocha head forms that quickly recedes to a flat top leaving some spotty layered lacing. Modest carbonation with decent consistency.

S- Coffee, lightly roasted espresso beans, light blueberries, licorice, fairly average aroma strength, doesn't quite have that rich fresh coffee aroma that I like in a lot of Coffee stouts.

T- Lightly creamy chocolate, some nicely balanced coffee, finishes with a hint of blueberry. Not as robust as I would like, but not bad.

M- A little bit on the light side for an imperial stout, easy drinking, lightly creamy.

O- Not bad but not quite as good as I was hoping it would be. It had a nicely balanced coffee taste with some light dark chocolate and a hint of blueberry which made it a bit unique. Doesn't have that fresh robust coffee taste that my favorite coffee stouts have. I'm glad I stopped off the highway to pick up a couple bottles of this, but it's probably not something that I'd drink all the time.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2013 23:01:29 | More by jaasen64

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

3.18/5  rDev -18.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Another gracious gift from Brad.

The beer is dark black with a lasting, oily, beige head. The aroma brings coffee, butter cookies, chocolate, charred roast. The flavor is ok. Probably not fair having just tried a couple of Kopi Luwak Speedway Stouts. A bit chalky. Prominent coffee throughout, but the blend / balance seems a bit askew. Fun to try once, but not one I shall revisit.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2013 20:16:03 | More by Huhzubendah

ALBuff

Hawaii

4.35/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Black as night with a foamy mocha head, this coffee stout was as visually appealing as it was delicious. A real pleasant surprise. The nose was fairly subtle, with teasing hints of coffee brittle. The taste was the real winner here with a complex variety of coffee, cacao, anise, toffee, nut, and huge mouthfuls of rich molasses. Not as thick, viscous, and mealy as expected. This one could easily sneak up on you...it goes down VERY easy for a beer with 9.3 ABV.

Serving type: on-tap

02-18-2013 15:34:24 | More by ALBuff

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.66/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75

Poured by DaveHack, this poured as a nice rich black color with a nice tan head on top. The retention is pretty good with a light lacing on the glass. The smell is lightly roasted not much coffee though. The taste of the beer has a decent coffee flavor with a balanced roasted malt flavor. Subtle bitter finish. The mouthfeel is creamy and very smooth. It's very drinkable. Overall it's a good brew, seems more like a milk stout than an RIS though. Could use a bit more coffee too. Worth trying.

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2013 23:02:22 | More by Knapp85

alpinebryant

Connecticut

3.56/5  rDev -9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours a light black if you will with frothy edges after a minute and very sticky lacing and spiderwebs around the edges. Slightly light looking at the edges.

S: Aroma of light roasted coffee, dark roast barley and toasted oats. slight vegetal bitter scent.

T: Very bitter and slightly vegetal tasting. Coffee is there, but nearly that of a light aromatic coffee completely different from say an espresso roast. I had tasted blueberry flavors as well, and after reading the label it confirmed what I had already tasted... blueberry hints from the coffee apparently. Weird. The stout flavors I feel are more similar to an imperial porter than a stout and while the line is blurry, I think this is also a little light on body.

M: Slightly light on body. It is more drinkable because of this but just a little lighter than what I am used to in a RIS mouthfeel. Carbonation levels are good.

O: Overall, its an interesting beer. I would drink it again, and the blueberry flavors are intriguing.

Serving type: bottle

01-26-2013 17:25:13 | More by alpinebryant

coreyfmcdonald

Georgia

4.28/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

750ml bottle into a snifter

A: Pours quite light for a RIS - black, but I can see some amber and brown hues around the edges. A finger of off white head forms and very slowly recedes to a thin film.

S: Not what I was expecting. I get some smooth coffee, but I get a caramel and nuttiness that I typically get from English Imperial Stouts. I get some roast behind that, but it certainly doesn't take center stage. A bit of cocoa in the background.

T: Coffee becomes a bit more pronounced in the flavor, but it mixes very well with the stout. This is not an in your face coffee and chocolate bomb like I am used to and love (think FBS and WnB), this is a stout that almost mimics the coffee that is in it. I again get a very nice nutty flavor, quite strong in fact. It actually reminds me of peanut brittle with a nice toffee sweetness to accompany it, though the nuttiness reminds me more of almonds. I get a lightly bitter coffee roast behind that with a nice cocoa to add to the complexity.

M: Definitely on the thin side with slightly higher than average carbonation, but it fits with the beer.

O: Not at all what I expected when I traded for this beer. This is like no other coffee stout I've ever had. It doesn't win you over with its intensity, it wins you over with a well integrated subtle complexity. This brewer really thought this beer out and knew he was doing something unique.

Serving type: bottle

01-23-2013 04:11:15 | More by coreyfmcdonald

YumYumGumGum

Virginia

4.48/5  rDev +14.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

A: black with caramel hue, and not think enough to achieve jet black. Very very thin tan head which disappears quickly with minimal lacing.

S: sweet subtle coffee, small booze

T: the base stout is an excellent IRS and the coffe flavor is excellent and introduces all of the sweetness in front of a dry, malty, roasted slight chocolate flavor.

M: i rarely give a perfect score for mouth feel but this is the quintessential IRS feel with a low but excellent carbonation. Not think but introduces a complex and original chocolate and roasted coffee profile.

O: i may be partial, as I am a local but I've had issues with some of their products in the past and this is a far better beer than the infamous bbgbs. This is a different style but a very drinkable iRS profile. Really enjoyed it on draft at the brewery. Can't wait for an excuse to pop a bottle.

Serving type: on-tap

01-05-2013 22:10:05 | More by YumYumGumGum