Tröegs Java Head Stout - Tröegs Brewing Company

BeerSox

Virginia

4/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22oz bottle into 25oz snifter.

Midnight black with a thick and dense two finger stone khaki head that settles to a bubbly rim along the glass. A little patch of dark colored head remains from the sediment that filtered through it. Strong and sticky lacing.

The aroma has strong scents of bitter coffee, along with a good amount of roastiness from the malts.

Heavy roasted malts, bordering on burnt. The coffee is obvious, as it should be, along with hints of bitter cocoa. Full bodied, slightly creamy overall. The bitter malts linger for a while.

A good java stout, and not too rich like Southern Tier's Javah. Recommended.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2009 04:37:28 | More by BeerSox

thain709

Pennsylvania

3.98/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A - Pours a very very dark brown...you can tell it's brown when you hold it up to the light...a two finger tan head forms and retains pretty well so you keep drinking through the head...some very nice lacing

S - Lots of roasted malts coming through...chocolate and coffee beans fill the aroma as well

T - The flavor follows the nose pretty good with some curve balls thrown in...starts up front loaded with the chocolate malts...you can taste the roastiness...through the middle the roasted coffee beans come through and they show up at the end to provide a bitterness...here's the kicker...paired with the coffee flavor is a bright grapefruit hop flavor...wow...did not expect that...these two leave a nice lasting bitterness on the palate...there is a few rolled oats that I'm picking up but nothing standing out

M - Medium bodied...not creamy...rather dry...kind of disappointed here

D - This is a very drinkable beer...it's not heavy and it has some nice characteristics that stand out for it...I did not try any of the beers this one was made from...but Troegs always knows how to do it

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2009 13:31:24 | More by thain709

Hojaminbag

Colorado

3.73/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A dark brown at its core, becoming lighter toward the edges and eventually becoming a slightly translucent ruby shade. Three fingers of tan head rises about the body. Thick, creamy, and leaving behind lots of lacing, this head makes a pretty good looking beer.

The smell has a hint of dark malts with a lot of roasted character backing them up and a big, resiny, piney aroma of fresh hops. There is a good dose of coffee in there also. A little bit odd for a stout; it smells pleasant though.

The flavor of Troegs Java Head is extremely hoppy for a stout, as the aroma would suggest. Big blasts of pine and grapefruit are there throughout, competing with roasted malts and coffee to be the biggest flavors. The sweet malts are in the middle, and the coffee flavor is most pronounced in the finish and the after taste. A little hoppy for a stout, but pretty good.

Maybe it doesn't taste like what I envision a stout to taste like, but it sure feels like one. Thick, full, creamy, I almost want to chew it; I guess oatmeal will do that to a mouthfeel.

Overall, pretty drinkable, and for me quite good. I bet it would be interesting with some age on it also. Especially if you aren't looking for a hoppy stout, set this one down for a while.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2009 05:53:24 | More by Hojaminbag

cbutova

Massachusetts

3.55/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a pitch black with a tan head and medium lacing, decent retention. Smell and taste is a bit weak imo, has some roasted malts, coffee, hops, almost like gin, nothing too prominent, just a weak taste and smell. Mouthfeel is a bit thin, no alcohol and good carbonation. Drinkability is alright, decent taste, piney taste turns it into gin after a while, not as good as I had hoped.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2009 04:11:27 | More by cbutova

JoeyBeerBelly

New York

4.03/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22oz bottle served in a glass beer mug.

Black colored brew with a khaki colored head that left a tremendous amount of lacing behind.
Dark roast coffee beans fill the aroma.
Up front roasted coffee flavor and then a good bittering from the hops kicks in, finishing somewhat espresso-like.
Medium bodied with a creamy, smooth feel.
Easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2009 01:13:50 | More by JoeyBeerBelly

dsa7783

New Jersey

3.53/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Single, twenty-two ounce bomber bottle just purchased from Gary's in Madison... "Stout brewed with coffee beans" on the black, yellow, and brown logo sticker... Troegs claims on the bottleneck that their stout "Passes through a blend of coffee beans and whole flower hops"... Impressive appearance... deep, dark, ebony hue with a tan, and cream-colored frothy head... Noticeable roasted malt aroma and flavor combined with undeniable essences of chocolate and espresso blend well with rich mocha and cappuccino flavors... Alcohol reasonably well-hidden... Good stuff...
Worth a try...

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2009 22:29:53 | More by dsa7783

WesWes

New York

3.68/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

The beer pours a dark black color with a thick frothy brown head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is good. It has a bitter black malt and coffee scent along with some light chocolate notes. It also has some crystal and roasted malt character as well. The taste is decent. It has a complex flavor profile that boasts of coffee, patent malts, and hops. It goes down easy with a stiff dryness and a nice coffee finish. It has some citrus hop flavors in the middle which I could really do without. This is a black, coffee stout. Leave the hops out of this one. The mouthfeel is fine. It is a full bodied beer with adequate carbonation. This could be a much better beer. As it is, it's pretty good.

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2009 00:00:32 | More by WesWes

rregan

Massachusetts

3.48/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

A- Dark dark color, and a big foamy head. Kinda looks like dark root beer

S- Dark malt up front, bitter coffee in the back. The whole thing has a very interesting of sweet, creamy aroma.

T- The hops really stand out surprisingly. You still get a lot of the malty goodness and coffee bitterness, but not nearly as much of creamy sweetness.

M- Very sparkly. Lots of bite. I'm guessing a little to much carbonation. Really accentuates the hops bitterness.

D- Looks great, smells great, tastes good. It doesn't really stand out, but it isn't a complete crapshoot either. In fact I would lean more towards stand out than crapshoot easily. I might have this again, but their are better stouts. I recommend a look-see.

Serving type: bottle

09-17-2009 23:06:22 | More by rregan

onix1agr

Pennsylvania

4.05/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

22oz bomber into a large DFH snifter

The look of java head is a dark black shade with a rising head of mocha color that reached 2 inches almost spilling down the side of the glass. Nice streaks of lace although not covering the glass. Aroma's of dark malt, slight chocolate and a whole lot of fresh coffee beans. Taste is coffee forward with a slightly burnt taste. This is joined by some sweetness with slight vanilla and cream. Some hops round this out flavor wise. The feel is smooth and medium bodied with light carb which is pleasent. Could of polished off two bombers of this easy. This is a slightly ramped up version of scratch 15 and I feel it needed a slight tweek as 15 was so so for me. Grab you some bombers if you like coffee, I hope this stays in Troegs line up.

Serving type: bottle

09-17-2009 19:00:14 | More by onix1agr

indiapaleale

Massachusetts

3.9/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a rather unsurprisingly dark brown to black color with a big tannish head. Plenty of fluffy lacing is left behind as this dark, malty brew settles.

Aroma is sweet dark malt up front with some bitter black coffee and both milk and dark chocolate. It has the smell of a very strong cup of espresso that someone has emptied a boat load of sugar packets into.

Flavors abound. Lots of sweet chocolate, caramel, black coffee, miky caramel and some bitterness in the finish. The mouthfeel is very smooth and makes this beer go down almost like a coffee milk shake. The quality of the coffee really comes through in this beer as there is plenty of character coming out. I am digging this oatmeal coffee stout, makes me want some breakfast!

Another quality beer from Tröegs.

Serving type: bottle

09-17-2009 02:15:45 | More by indiapaleale

portia99

Massachusetts

4.18/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

22oz bottle poured into a Portsmouth goblet.

A - Pours a very dark brown with a full inch of thick, mocha colored head. The head is quite resilient and hangs around for a good long time. Leaves good lacing on the glass.

S - Great aroma of citrusy hops mixed in with fresh coffee. Dark, burnt malts and oats, and a good whiff of milk chocolate.

T - Good hit of hop bitterness on first sip. Followed by a full blast of coffee and oats. Citrusy hops blend in nicely, giving a slight fruitiness to round things out.

M - This beer has a good, full bodied mouthfeel. Carbonation is adequate, has a nice light feel...the oatmeal adds an oily component to the feel - goes down very slippery and coats the mouth.

D - This is quite a good stout. Extremely smooth and sessionable. Plenty of flavors that all blend together very nicely...silky smooth.

Serving type: bottle

09-16-2009 23:40:22 | More by portia99

dssmale

Pennsylvania

4.55/5  rDev +20.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Just got this big bottle from around the corner - Goes down the hatch real smooth for a Stout - First taste I get the coffee/espresso that I enjoy from a coffee stout, then finishes very smooth which makes it drinkable for me.

Would love to have again and again and again - but then again I love Troegs brothers brews.

Serving type: bottle

09-16-2009 22:01:26 | More by dssmale

ColForbinBC

New Jersey

3.53/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

22oz bomber poured into a snifter

Pours a deep, dark black with russet highlights around the edges. A frothy brown head rose just shy of two fingers and settled to a thin collar. Dots and lines of lace inside the glass.

The aroma is more deep than broad. Roasted malt, baker's chocolate, fresh pressed coffee, grassy hops, and some orange peel, which adds an interesting element to this beer. Overly hoppy. Really tough to cut through the hops.

Wow, the hops really leap onto the palate just as they do with the nose. Grassy/citrus hops just dominate the flavor. Fresh roasted coffee comes through and blends with the hops for a particularly bitter finish. Some mild chocolate pokes its way through.

I thought the mouthfeel was lacking. Not nearly as creamy due to the carbonation being too high. These types of stouts need a thick, heavy mouthfeel to really impress me, and this falls short.

I thought the flavors were good, but they didn't meld well together. Seemed a little piecemeal. The hops were too aggressive and detracted from the coffee/roast/chocolate flavors. While I made it through the whole 22, it didn't leave me wanting more.

It reminded me of dead reckoning with coffee added during the brewing process, but they just missed the mark a bit.

Serving type: bottle

09-16-2009 03:14:15 | More by ColForbinBC

goblue3509

Pennsylvania

3.85/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a dark brown color with a off white thick frothy head that gives way to some lacing. The smell is of roasted malt, molasses, and coffee bean. The smell is just average as it is slightly weak. The taste is of molasses and roasted malt as a backbone and over the top is a nice mild coffee flavor. The flavor is smooth and not overpowering, all the flavors complement each other. The mouthfeel is of light carbonation and is a little creamy. Overall there is nothing to stop you from drinking a lot of these. You can go back for one after another.

Serving type: bottle

09-16-2009 02:04:10 | More by goblue3509

clayrock81

Virginia

3.53/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured a sticky two-finger tan head that died slowly and left a lace ring down glass. A decent coffee/java malt smell along with toasted malt, burnt chocolate and some vanilla along with minor fruit notes - all in there but minor.
Same notes are in the taste as this is a light, medium-bodied somewhat creamy beer that passes a little smooth due to some minor oaky/woodiness. Has some coffee, roasted and chocolate malts taste along with minor hop bitterness. A good mild stout that is enjoyable but not the most outstanding.

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2009 11:47:21 | More by clayrock81

argock

Virginia

3.28/5  rDev -13.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured from 22oz brown bomber into a clear glass snifter. Bottled on date on neck. Purchased at Wine Warehouse (Charlottesville, VA) for $5.49.

A: Beautiful black with 2-finger light brown bubbly head with good retention and spots of lace around the glass.

S: Strange orange blossom dominated aroma with additional dark, chocolate and toasted malts and soft floral, pine hops note. The java component is pretty bitter but overwhelmed by the orange creme smell.

T: The flavor is also very strong of the creamy orange citrus with comparably strong, bitter java and dark malt notes. This is still strange for an oatmeal stout -- hops are generally low and flavors aside from coffee and toasted malts are uncommon.

M: Smooth and easy to drink, although the body is a bit thinner than expected. Carbonation is low and the aftertaste is bitter coffee and orange peel.

D: A very odd brew with heavy citrus contributions and less pronounced coffee notes. Not Troegs' best by any means.

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2009 03:43:19 | More by argock

Proteus93

Virginia

3.88/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours very nicely... opaque and black, as they'll be, with a nice pale brown head that gives it a contrast without being too stark white. It sits almost a perfect two fingers, retains well, and has that little shimmer that I can appreciate in the "head of a stout." Lacing is good.

S: A citrus quality I get, a coffee scent, not as much. Granted, the specific bean are said to have such an aroma, so perhaps that is just the thing. It's certainly not an unpleasant aroma in the least, but it does come across as a little mild - muted, even. A chocolate hint sneaks in there, but again, I find it to be a little 'too subtle.'

T: Coffee flavours come out a little more here... and there is, indeed, a citrus flavour to it! It does better with some time to breathe and come up to a reasonable temperature, so it is most certainly recommended that one do so. Bitter finish that lingers, with a nice balance of the coffee and hops.

M + D: Mouthfeel is a tad disappointing, simply in that I would have hoped for more creaminess and body. It's not that I would consider it thin... rather, just not thick enough. There is a light-medium body to it, but it could do well with a bit more. This is a good effort, though, and certainly worth the time to look into.

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2009 03:20:17 | More by Proteus93

NJpadreFan

New Jersey

3.9/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Troegs- Java Head

A- Deep brown almost black with a thick frothy head. Thick frothy lacing too.
S- Sweet sugary molasses malt, light black coffee and a touch of pine hops.
T- Roasted malt and molasses come through with a nice mild sweet black coffee bean body. Creamy coffee and chocolate with a light touch of fresh pine hops in the finish.
M- Sweet and malty with a mild coffee bitterness and a creamy oily pine hop and dry cocoa finish.

Overall- A nice coffee stout thats not too strong. A solid offering!

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2009 21:23:40 | More by NJpadreFan

mirish72

Massachusetts

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

Picked up a bomber at Spirit Haus in Amhrest.

Poured into my Portsmouth snifter and was impressed by how dark it was with an amazing frothy two finger head.

It smelled of chocolate with a nice hop profile and equal parts malt and sweetness. The aroma wasn't overpowering, but I was ready to be impressed.

To be honest I was bit underwhelmed at the first sip, it tasted good, but didn't have the bitter chocolate/coffee bite I had been expecting. When something is named Java Head it establishes certain expectations, even if it isn't a RIS. I would have also been happy with something more creamy but it really didn't make the grade there either.

Overall, it was smooth, but I was expecting much more out of this, given the great beers that Troegs has brewed in the past.

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2009 03:33:47 | More by mirish72

DefenCorps

Oregon

3.6/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I hate to be Debbie Downer with this beer but it really wasn't all that impressive. I cracked this open last night sitting by a fire on a splendid fall evening.

The pour was gorgeous - black with brown highlights,a large brown head that hung around a while, leaving some lace. On the nose, it's surprisingly hoppy with so much apricot and peach, I was taken aback. The base stout seems to be whelmed, with moderate roast, chocolate flavors coming through, and prominent cold pressed coffee also present. However, once my nose latched onto the hop character, it could not let go. On the palate, the beer opened (again) with a surprising amount of hop flavor with peach and apricot. Bitterness was reserved and actually perfect for style, and it made me wonder if it was warmer than necessary fermentation that was at fault here. Moderate roast, chocolate, and a clean, fresh coffee flavor with no lingering bitterness. The finish is moderately roasty with a little chocolate, and coffee. The palate's on the lighter side, with the carbonation being higher than I'd like, but once it had some time in the glass, it was pretty good. The finish was pretty good too. While I had no problems polishing off half a bomber, I was hoping for more. I'm going to revisit this in a few months to see how it's come along. The bottle I had was no more than 5 days old, making it one of the freshest beers I've had.

Serving type: bottle

09-08-2009 00:23:06 | More by DefenCorps

ClockworkOrange

Pennsylvania

4.18/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A 22 ounce bomber bottle picked up fresh from the bottling line last week. Poured into my Admans Imperial pint tumbler. Java Head appears an opaque deep brown color with over an inch of dense, creamy dark ecru foam. Nose and flavor consist of freshly roasted coffee beans, molasses, pungent skunky hops, bittersweet chocolate, nice roastiness, some dark bread notes and citrus akin to those chocolate oranges that are around for the holidays. Not really getting that chewy oatmeal characteristic that oatmeal stouts tend to have, but nevertheless, the stout has just about a medium body and is amply carbonated. A well done addition to the Tröegs lineup.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2009 03:17:41 | More by ClockworkOrange

mikey711

New Jersey

3.65/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I noticed an unopened case of troegs beer sitting in the beer aisle yesterday and decided i would open it to see what it could be. I was very happy when I saw this.

It poured an black with a frothy head, basically looks exactly like a fresh up of espresso. Very good lacing and head retention.

Not as strong smelling as I anticipated, but there is some roastiness and coffee to the nose.

Some nice bitter coffee notes some roastiness and a bit of chocolate to give a hint of sweetness. Definitely more on the bitter side though.

The bitterness makes this one a bit onthe harsh side and I would have liked it to be a bit creamier and easy to drink. That said, it still goes down very easy and a beer that I would go back to again.

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2009 19:45:32 | More by mikey711

Dodo2step

Pennsylvania

4.22/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

P- Troegs Brewery

22 oz poured into a weizen glass

A- a dark coffee look. Fluffy toasty brown head. Huge 3 fingers that leaves a beautiful spiderweb lacing stick to my glass.

S- roasted coffee malts and dark chocolate. I also get some faint hints of orange smells.

T- A strong medium dark roast flavor of coffee beans. Dark chocolate.

M- creamy and filling. Tastes just like a coffee with alcohol thrown in.

D- this is a great brew from troegs and i would def get a keg of this. Easy to put back and nice for the winter months. enjoyable beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-27-2009 22:53:15 | More by Dodo2step

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

4.38/5  rDev +15.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

22 oz bottle into my Mad Elf tulip. They had just got done bottling this a couple of hours before cracking this bottle. Now that's FRESH!

Pours a VERY dark brown/near black, with 2 foamy fingers of rich looking mocha tan head. Retains with a creamy 1/4 finger of froth, that throws a big cascade of abundant lacing that hangs on the sides of the glass. The aroma is uber-fresh, with a lot of citrus going on with, as well as some spicy floral hop character. This all wraps around silkier smelling notes of dark roast and sweet chocolate.

The taste is roasted malts and coffee, with the toastiness of the java being so subtle, that I'm having a bit of a tough time differentiating the two. Sweetness from the chocolate malts pull things back a bit. Where the coffee does shine, is in the middle section of the profile, where it puts off some green and bright tasting citrus flavors of lemon and orange rind. Moderate little kick of hop bitterness to this as well, that helps contribute to a fairly strong finish of spicy dryness and roast. The mouthfeel is medium-fuller bodied, with a big prickly creaminess to it. The oatmeal works wonder though, as despite the sharpness, it gives the overall feel an awesome mellow and smooth presence in the mouth. I killed this bomber a lot faster than I thought I would, despite an almost 8% ABV. Fantastic!

Well I think that they finally hit the nail on the head, as this definitely falls somewhere between the Scratch 15 & 19 efforts. Great balance of flavors as this warms, with the citrus character of the Kenyan coffee beans really being put on display here. The smoothness and ease of the oatmeal polishes this out nicely. This is definitely not your typical Coffee Stout, but its uniqueness is what sets it apart.

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2009 17:09:01 | More by Kegatron

Deuane

Pennsylvania

4.33/5  rDev +14.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A-Black with a thin tan head that holds on strong and leaves decent lace.

S-A bit muted at first, but then it was served fresh from the keg at 33 F. With some hand holding and warming Notes of light dark roasted coffee, chocolate, roasted malt and a hint of orange peel in th background.

T-Rich roasted/chocolate malt with dark coffee and light tobacco notes. A hint of light orange in the drying finish. This is a VERY well balanced beer with no one flavour out doing the other.

M-Medium bodied smooth and rich with good lingering flavours and coffee bitterness.

D-Solid! Becomes much more interesting and complex upon warming. Flavours pop well with the proper 55 F serving temperature. A very well balanced, enjoyable and easy to drink beer. Another winner from The Brothers!

Serving type: on-tap

08-25-2009 23:57:00 | More by Deuane