Samuel Adams Black & Brew Coffee Stout - Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams)

JohnGalt1

Idaho

3.13/5  rDev -15.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Found this one today... bought a single... pours deep and black... short lasting brown head... no lacing...

Nose is pretty rich roasty stout and coffee stout profile... nice roasted malts... and good espresso qualities that are pushed up front by a decent sweetness in the aroma.

Flavor mirrors the nose but seems to have a vanilla component... or even marshmallow note that doesn't belong... the above mentioned negatives are magnified with warmth... some caramel maltiness really becomes too much.

Given the sweetness, this brew only provides a light/medium body... the carbonation helps though... sorta creamy and coating.

3.5/3.5/3/3/3

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2012 03:59:31 | More by JohnGalt1

Stinkypuss

Pennsylvania

4.22/5  rDev +14.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Samuel Adams Black and Brew
(part of the winter sampler case)

Pours an expected black color with a large pillowy mocha cream head. Aroma of fresh ground coffee beans and a touch of confectioner’s chocolate. In the taste, a well balanced mix of espresso, roasted malts, cocoa and milk chocolate. Even balance with a nice bitterness from hop and coffee. Drying and roasty, with notes of malted milk balls and chocolate covered coffee bean. Mouthfeel is medium bodied and quite smooth with adequate carbonation. Overall, though a little late to the party, Boston Beer Co. has brewed a fine coffee beer. Very nice.

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2011 18:32:27 | More by Stinkypuss

OWSLEY069

Pennsylvania

3.48/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours jet black with a tan head. In the aroma, dry roast coffee. In the taste, dry coffee, with notes of roast and lactose. A smooth and medium bodied mouthfeel, with a dry coffee and small sweet lactose in the aftertaste. A nice coffee balance with a nice roasty malt.

Serving type: bottle

06-01-2012 19:35:04 | More by OWSLEY069

Bitterbill

Wyoming

3.98/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

From the Winter 12 pack, April is notched.

A pitch black pour with a 2 finger head of tannish foam.

It smells nice; lots of coffee notes with some chocolate and sweet malt.

The taste is of coffee, roasted malt, chocolate in that order. I don't get any of the dark fruit mentioned on the upper label but it's tasting fine as is. I like.

It does have a fullness of body, also per label, and the carbonation is medium; as a result, it's a very creamy mouthfeel. Yes. I like again and I'm glad there's more of this in the box. Well done.

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2011 23:25:14 | More by Bitterbill

kylehay2004

Florida

3.8/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Single finger head on a dark body with little light passing through which produces a reddish hue. Standard roasted malt and hint of coffee aroma you would expect, nothing great or special. Flavor is much better with sweet milk chocolate throughout. The coffee and roasted malts add a lot of flavor without being too bitter. Excellent lacing with medium to thick body and light to moderate carbonation. Very drinkable beer. I like coffee heavy beers but there is enough coffee to satisfy coffee lovers but not too much to turn off those who aren't coffee fans.

Serving type: on-tap

09-05-2012 00:03:08 | More by kylehay2004

twiggamortis420

Texas

3.7/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12 oz bottle pours a pretty much black color with a very creamy tan head. Dense foam fades slow and leaves plenty of lace. Excellent looking brew.

Nose is fresh coffee grounds and mild notes of chocolate and caramel. Coffee is pretty strong on this one. Smells good.

While the taste is not as good as the smell, it is still a pretty tasty offering from the BBC. Coffee is still big, but gets a bit acrid and too roasty...does not have enough malt heft and sweetness behind it to back it up. That all leads to a fairly thin mouthfeel and a bitter finish, but not really from the hops. The coffee is fresh tasting though, and the beer still goes down smooth despite the heavy roast. While I probably wouldnt buy a stand-alone sixer of Black & Brew, I think this is a fine addition to the Winter Mixed Pack and would like to see it included again sometime.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2012 19:11:34 | More by twiggamortis420

smakawhat

Maryland

3.93/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from the bottle into a nonic pint glass. The Sam Adams Holiday pack crushing is now complete!

A nice small foamy cap colored a nice tan chocolate, slightly two fingers tall, slowly falling but with some good retention. Body color is a dark brown walnut.

Nose has a good coffee smell. Roasting and just ground beans, powdery and very aromatic. Not much else, but solid and quite enjoyable.

Taste is palate quenching, even a little velvety, but noticeably prickly carbonated and not really creamy. Roast coffee in the mid palate but also kind of fleeting. Malt action seems a little buried, this beer is also a little alcohol hot tasting or at least being amplified by the large coffee palate.

Overall though still enjoyable to drink, and quite easy and with a very good coffee presence.

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2011 01:01:44 | More by smakawhat

JoeyBeerBelly

New York

3.6/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle served in a glass beer mug.

L - black with a beige head that thinned to a ring while leaving a few trails of lacing.

S - roasted coffee beans and semi-sweet chocolate.

T - coffee tatse upfront with a bit of smoke before finishing with some espresso coffee-like bitterness.

F - medium bodied, borderlines on being a bit thin but it works for a coffee beer.

O - not a beer I'd buy on it's own but a welcome addition to the seasonal mix pack.

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2011 00:40:24 | More by JoeyBeerBelly

DrDemento456

Pennsylvania

3.83/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - Looks pretty sweet for a stout deep dark black with a mocha head of at least an inch and a half.

S - Smells pretty light for a coffee stout, maybe a slight bit of coffee or chocolate.

T - Not quite bad it delivers a good coffee taste and is moderately creamy. Light chocolate and a nice bit of roast as well.

M - Pretty good it is a bit light but a very full bodied stout.

Overall I liked it and am glad I have one more but consider me spoiled since I would rather have a Breakfast stout. Nice beer overall.

Serving type: bottle

11-08-2011 04:33:29 | More by DrDemento456

tdm168

North Carolina

4/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a deep black with 1/4" of thick, foamy, brown head that has good retention. The nose is almost pure coffee, roasted malts, and faint chocolate. The taste is also almost pure coffee with notes of roasted malts, toffee, and dark fruit. The mouthfeel is full bodied, well carbonated, and very smooth and rich.

This is a solid, easy drinking, delicious stout. Nicely done SA.

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2011 17:27:45 | More by tdm168

Gmann

New York

3.93/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a near black color with a small yet tight toasted khaki colored head that settles into a light cap.

The aroma is of freshly ground coffee. There is some very light roasted notes but the coffee takes the show. Not very strong but its good.

The flavor is of light roast, kind of like a dry irish stout. More roast flavors come up towards the end. There is a bit of a sour like berry note. The coffee doesn't bang you over the head but serves more as an undercurrent. It adds more of a coffee bitterness to the brew.

Moderate body with fizzy carbonation. A bit light and fizzy for a stout. Nice and roasty throughout the palate.

A nice stout. Not big but it is flavorful. A good keeper for Sam Adams.

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2011 05:37:50 | More by Gmann

mynie

Indiana

4.05/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Snagged in the holiday mixpack.

Pours dark ruby, 90-odd percent opaque, with a nice, retentive brown head.

Smells nice, but a little weak. Dry stout nodes mixed with straight black coffee. Nothing surprising, but nice.

Tastes like it smells--it's hard to come up with a neat way to describe something so un-neat. Starts off with raw, nicely rough barley that's more like a porter than a stout. This mellows out into sweeter malt near the middle and then ending on bitter coffee. The body's nice and thick, and the balance is wonderful.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2011 04:20:38 | More by mynie

Durge

Connecticut

3.55/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

An opaque brown-black colored stout with a decent light tan head that clears to more of filmy ring with good signs of lacing. The nose picks up a firm coffee scent, somewhat Kaluha I think. Cocoa as well. The flavor says lots more coffee, bitter grounds and a touch of charcoal softened by mild chocolate wash. I pick up the usual bit of prune darkness with peppery edges. Body is medium-plus with a smooth but somewhat chalky feel. Carbonation is quite modest but adequate, making for an overall good coffee beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-05-2012 03:44:45 | More by Durge

lordofthewiens

Maine

4.5/5  rDev +21.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Wow!
I really enjoyed this beer. Part of the winter 12 pack. In a mug the beer was a very dark brown color. It had a head that was the color of coffee with cream, and it was sticky.

Coffee and milk chocolate aroma, both very distinct. Aroma led off with the coffee, followed by the chocolate.

Espresso taste, milk chocolate. Dark fruit snuck in. Very expressive.

Rich, full-bodied, and smooth. A joy to drink.
Now if I can just keep my wife from finding the other bottle.

Serving type: bottle

11-01-2011 16:34:17 | More by lordofthewiens

ngeunit1

California

4.23/5  rDev +14.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Pours a dark black-brown color with a finger of frothy mocha colored head. The head fades down fairly slowly leaving behind some nice lacing.

S - Aroma is a mix of roasted coffee and chocolate malts with a bit of black licorice and some light lactose sweetness.

T - Starts off with some roasted chocolate and other dark malts with a hint of dark fruit sweetness and a bit of licorice. Through the middle, some more bitter coffee beans come through with some light lactose sweetness. The finish is a mix of dark chocolate and coffee with some light dark fruit and licorice.

M - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Feels smooth with a dry, roasted, and lightly bitter finish.

D - Very drinkable. Good coffee stout. Nice balance of roasted coffee flavors with a stout base.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2012 03:51:02 | More by ngeunit1

Suds

Pennsylvania

3.6/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Coffee and beer...two of my favorite things. I especially love strong, black coffee, so I assumed that this would be great. It's color is absolutely pitch-black, with a thin chocolate colored head. The aroma is less intense than I expected. Although it has some coffee scents (roasted beans) and some chocolate and grain character, it seems one-dimensional. It's a muted, unassuming smell. It doesn't exactly wake you up. The taste is a bit more redeeming...bitter, highly roasted, nearly burnt flavors. It's a bit astringent, but it is also flavorful. The intense deep roast is good, but could use some balance. The body is less full and rich than expected, and isn't helped with the astringent character. Overall, this is an okay brew, but not stellar.

Serving type: bottle

12-17-2011 21:09:45 | More by Suds

KarlHungus

Minnesota

4/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This beer pours a black color with brown hues around the edges. The head is one inch in height, and recedes slowly into a solid quarter inch cap of light tan foam. The aroma is of coffee, chocolate, and roasted malt. The taste has more roasted malt and less coffee and chocolate than the aroma. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with a smooth texture, and lively carbonation. Overall, this is a nice coffee stout that I would certainly drink again.

Serving type: bottle

11-13-2011 23:16:45 | More by KarlHungus

brewdlyhooked13

Ohio

4.78/5  rDev +29.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Appearance - good clarity to this dark, ruby brew. Two fingers of solid mocha foam. Lots of lacy patterning on the glass.

Aroma - plenty of coffee and roasty malt aroma. Good resilience too.

Taste - Hershey's syrup and espresso. Intense and tasty. Exactly what the label says, and I'm digging it. Lengthy finish, plenty of roast and coffee flavor here. Some nutty and ashy notes as it warms.

Mouthfeel - crisp, medium body, maybe a bit more. Good element of smoothness.

Drinkability - one of the best Sam Adams one-offs I've had. Worth it's one carton in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2012 00:58:05 | More by brewdlyhooked13

rfgetz

New Jersey

3.95/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a near black color with moderate cap of tan froth, moderate lacing. Scent brings heavy roasted and fresh brewed drip coffee with hints of cocoa powder, sweet cream and sugar.
Taste follows suit, maybe a touch sweeter than expected. Moderate quality coffee, more drip than press or espresso, healthy dose of cream and sugar, dry cocoa powder and a touch of dark fruit. Not overly complex, but easy drinking. Medium bodied, a touch thin for the style, would have liked a little more heft or coating. A nice approachable coffee stout for the masses.

Serving type: bottle

02-27-2012 16:34:54 | More by rfgetz

mdaschaf

Washington

3.58/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Review from notes.

A: Pours a dark brown with a 1/2 finger tan head on top that recedes quickly, leaving behind spotty lacing.

S: Lots of roasted malt and coffee. There is a very faint chocolate aroma as well.

T: Some roasted malt and burnt toast up front with some coffee and coffee grounds afterwards.

M: Medium to full bodied with a creamy feel to it.

O: Liked it more than I expected I would. Typically not a fan of coffee beers, but this one was ok.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2012 18:14:26 | More by mdaschaf

morimech

Minnesota

3.63/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Chocolate colored with two fingers of head that had decent retention before settling to a thick cap. Moderate amount of sticky lacing is left down the glass.

Has a good coffee aroma. Hints of roasted nuts and roasted malt but the coffee is the primary scent.

The flavor was just a little bit of a letdown. The stout itself is not that big so this beer relies on the coffee. Good coffee flavor upfront but it quickly falls off and the rest of the beer does not bring much.

A little too thin and watery for a stout. Carbonation is moderate.

Easy drinking stout but not the heartiest stout out there. Would of liked more body and stout flavor.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2011 14:49:33 | More by morimech

argock

Virginia

3.95/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12oz brown bottle into a clear Shaker pint glass. Best by Apr notched on label. Purchased as part of Samuel Adams Holiday 12-pack Sampler at Food Lion (Charlottesville, VA).

A: Black with soft, light-beige, 1-finger head with decent retention and copious lacing.

S: The aroma is mostly chocolate and caramel with a light black coffee ground aroma. There is a mild herbal and citrus note as well.

T: The nuttier chocolatey character is most inviting in the flavor, and the coffee character is not as strong, mainly accenting the nice stout flavor features. There are nice roasted dark grain contributions with have very little bitterness but instead lend some more roundness.

M: Very smooth with solid medium body and light-medium carbonation. Very caressing feel overall.

O: This is a great addition to the Holiday Sampler. Good riddance Cranberry Lambic. Make way for Black & Brew -- terrible name but good beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-11-2011 04:52:46 | More by argock

claspada

New Jersey

3.45/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours a black body with a finger's worth of light, sandy-toned foam that quickly recedes.

Aromas begin with coffee and roasted malts, chocolate powder and a splash of lactose sweeteness. Really not much else.

The tastes begin with lightly roasted barley flavor with light cocoa, caramelized sugar, toasted bread and, of course, the coffee. There is a hint of the Samuel Adams house yeast, as one would expect. Small touch of bitterness but mainly roasty with a slightly sweetish creamy finish.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium amount of carbonation. Slightly silken mouthfeel but a little thin to be honest.

Overall I thought it was nicely balanced all around and a good addition to their yearly winter multi-pack. Nothing too exciting or memorable but quite drinkable and much better than past Winter Pack beer... Cranberry lambic.

Serving type: bottle

12-17-2011 21:22:03 | More by claspada

sweemzander

Illinois

3.38/5  rDev -8.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz. bottle poured into a tulip.

(A)- Pours a pitch black color. Some tan froth.

(S)- Mild roasted and raisin bits. Small hints of cocoa.

(T)- Nice parts of mild roasted grains, coffee ground, raisin and cocoa.

(M)- A good carbonation level and balance. Smooth and rich but balanced and subdued.

(D)- A nice little brew for a brisk night outside. Solid for the style.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2012 17:08:32 | More by sweemzander

garymuchow

Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This is suppose to be the hot beer from this winter pack, so I look forward for this.
Aroma holds straight up coffee with and inter-twisting chocolate. The coffee has a newly ground quality rather roasty and is kinda' nice.
Nice full head, rich and frothy. Dark body with reddish highlights. Good looking beer.
Taste has more creamy chocolate than the aroma. Coffee and roast is still there but more blended with other flavors. Mild shot of hops. Not a lot of stout going on.
Lighter body is consistent with the very drinkable lower abv.
This is more coffee flavor than a stout with coffee taste. I prefer the latter. But all in all an enjoyable and highly drinkable beer and a fun addition to this years package.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2012 02:58:16 | More by garymuchow