Morning Wood - Big Wood Brewery

JamesMN

Minnesota

3.76/5  rDev +3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Appearance: Black at first glance but really dark brown when held up to the light. Looks to have pretty good clarity. The pour resulted in one finger tan head that has no dissipated to a thin bubbly film leaving an etch of lacing around the rim of the nonic pint glass.

Aroma: Cold coffee and cream. Just a hint of roasty character but otherwise clean.

Taste: Sort of plain but not bad. The added coffee is evident right away but is not overdone. It adds that nice almost sweet iced coffee flavor without any of the burnt or bitter character (or stale flavor for that matter). Underneath that is some toffee malt presence and just a hint of bitterness that stays through the aftertaste. Finish is smooth. 5.5% ABV almost seems like a stretch but it's a good beer to keep a palate that's used to bigger beers in check.

Mouthfeel: I'm not sure what I was expecting but a watery effervescence attack surprised me at first. After swirling the beer aggressively to bring the carbonation level down the body became a little heavier, resting between thin and medium. Decently smooth, easy drinking, and refreshing.

Final Thoughts: I'm not sure why low ABV coffee beers are so popular right now. Big Wood is now the second brewery near me to can this concoction (the other is Surly and their Coffee Bender). The style has its merits but there is really no way to tell one from the next. Would I drink it again? I enjoyed it but wouldn't seek it out.

Serving type: can

02-23-2013 21:04:32 | More by JamesMN

Musicjunkieha

Texas

4.5/5  rDev +23.3%

06-18-2013 02:32:45 | More by Musicjunkieha

jdhasse

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -4.1%

06-02-2013 23:19:58 | More by jdhasse

Stevedore

Wisconsin

3/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

16oz "pounder" can shared with a friend yesterday; poured into my FFF teku glass today 6/2/2013.

Aroma: Straight up cold-pressed black coffee just like when I homebrew a coffee stout. The nose itself is kind of weak, and is nothing particularly special. I don't detect much malt presence or hoppiness here at all. (3)

Colour: Dark cola brown, minimal head, minimal lacing. Thoroughly average looking stout. (3)

Flavour: Straight up black coffee bitterness plus the underlying roast malts which are kind of hard to detect under the coffee. Its an OK tasting beer but rather disappointing that it is so one dimensional. I might as well drink hot coffee in the morning instead. (3)

Mouthfeel: Thinner side of medium body, well carbonated, aftertaste is black coffee bitterness, the finish is like black coffee. Ehh. (3)

Overall: Just not quite what I expect from coffee stouts. Its just a very, very heavy cold black coffee with a bit of malt and alcohol in it. I don't expect these to be complex beers but this one would really benefit from having more malt and hops backbone to it all. (3)

Serving type: can

06-02-2013 17:30:37 | More by Stevedore

Benish

Wisconsin

3.5/5  rDev -4.1%

06-02-2013 05:33:49 | More by Benish

budgood1

Minnesota

3.25/5  rDev -11%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

16 ounce can.

pours out a opaque dark brown with reddish tints. smallish tan head. some clingy lace. aroma of dark roasted malts and coffee, accented by some dark chocolate and nougat complimented with some earthy hoppiness. nice nose on this one. the taste profile suggests a layered, nuanced and balanced conglomeration of burnt maltiness, with a relatively timid dark roast espresso charge. this is definitley not a coffee bomb or an overly rich stout. hopping shows off a bit of earthy herbalness and some NW pineyness. i find the overall body of this brew a bit too much on the lighter side, almost lagerish. mouthfeel is overly smooth and seemingly watery. drinkability is good...it's easily approachable, not over the top in any way, but uninspired.

overall, i would say this misses the mark for me. my preference for coffee stouts is something bigger and badder than this offering. that said, this isn't a bad rendition of the style, just a restrained one. but it did seem sort of appropriate on a cool and blustery spring day.

Serving type: can

06-02-2013 00:21:35 | More by budgood1

iHeartMNBeer

Minnesota

3.5/5  rDev -4.1%

05-24-2013 02:37:09 | More by iHeartMNBeer

DarthGuitarHero

Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev +2.7%

05-20-2013 00:09:27 | More by DarthGuitarHero

taospowder

New Mexico

3.25/5  rDev -11%

05-03-2013 23:33:54 | More by taospowder

TCMike

Minnesota

4.21/5  rDev +15.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Produced a 1 finger, tan head when I poured it. The beer color is a deep brown, (non-translucent).

The aroma was of biscuit, coffee, roasted malts.

The taste was similar, but with, possibly, a little dark chocolate. Had a slight hop bitterness, but the beer is well balanced. This is a lighter bodied, and easier drinking coffee stout than most I've had. Still plenty of flavor, but you can easily down more of it. I'd call it a low carbonated, medium bodied brew.

Definitely will buy again.

Serving type: can

04-27-2013 00:51:50 | More by TCMike

CCutch

Minnesota

3/5  rDev -17.8%

04-23-2013 05:29:59 | More by CCutch

ChopsMeister

Minnesota

3.5/5  rDev -4.1%

04-20-2013 19:56:23 | More by ChopsMeister

MNBeer1017

Minnesota

3.5/5  rDev -4.1%

04-19-2013 17:05:11 | More by MNBeer1017

yokken

Minnesota

3.5/5  rDev -4.1%

04-12-2013 19:08:25 | More by yokken

WallE89

Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev +2.7%

04-08-2013 17:33:24 | More by WallE89

jcjerabek

Minnesota

3.25/5  rDev -11%

04-04-2013 14:01:00 | More by jcjerabek

st9647v3

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev +2.7%

03-31-2013 18:41:52 | More by st9647v3

sparx1100

Minnesota

2/5  rDev -45.2%

03-25-2013 01:47:01 | More by sparx1100

jsilva

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev +2.7%

03-24-2013 00:19:28 | More by jsilva

Joey1566

Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev +2.7%

03-22-2013 06:21:53 | More by Joey1566

Herky21

Iowa

5/5  rDev +37%

03-21-2013 20:12:20 | More by Herky21

bigbeers84

Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev +2.7%

03-21-2013 11:01:07 | More by bigbeers84

yamar68

Minnesota

3.54/5  rDev -3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

My first offering from Big Wood...

Sure does look nice - pitch fucking black with a healthy finger of mocha brown froth which laces consistently... so far so good.

Chocolate, coffee... chocolate & coffee... some vanilla bean notes, fresh cream, nothing too exciting but it's inviting nonetheless.

Creamy mouthfeel carries flavors of mild chocolate, cheap bitter coffee, brown ale flavors, really tame... the bite from the coffee tends to linger.

Super sessionable, super simple... doesn't inspire what the name might suggest though.

Serving type: can

03-17-2013 00:43:37 | More by yamar68

BillyLrsn

Minnesota

3/5  rDev -17.8%

03-12-2013 23:53:29 | More by BillyLrsn

MinnTwins

Minnesota

3.5/5  rDev -4.1%

03-10-2013 06:33:42 | More by MinnTwins