Cup A Joe
Short's Brewing Company

12 oz. bottle poured into two goblets. Thanks to MarcatGSB for the bottle!

Appearance - Pours a very dark brown with almost no head and no lacing. Not quite fully opaque. Light comes through on the edges, but not through the body of the liquid. Looks thin, really.

Smell - Strong coffee flavor. Almost smells like an over-brewed, burnt roast. Another review mentioned Starbucks coffee, probably for this reason. Roasted malts come through, but it's faint by comparison to the coffee.

Taste - Similar flavor. The coffee isn't as pronounced as it is in the nose. It's still strong, but it tastes more like a stout than just a cup of coffee. A lot of lactose sweetness comes through in the back and diminishes any bitterness.

Mouthfeel - Very thin. Fairly low carbonation, but it's not too low. It's an appropriate level. The body is what lets it down. I want something a bit chewier to stand up to the coffee. It doesn't taste like an 8% beer though. I would expect something with such little body to be a lot boozier at 8%, but it isn't.

Overall - Certainly tasty and pretty easy to drink, since it's so thin. The lactose and intensity of the coffee are a turn-off, though.

Coffee isn't as rich/bold as I hoped, but it's still a very good beer.

The pour is dark, darker than stout black, it approaches true black. Zero light shows through. The brown head was around a half inch thick and the lacing is excellent.
The taste hits all the notes expected; dark bread, toasted, coffee by the gallon, chocolate and a little vanilla. It is flirting with being a pastry stout.
The feel is very much what I hoped for (lactose tends to lend viscosity) nicely full and actually viscous.
OA, glad it’s back, bummer I didn’t get it the first time it was released.

 

Brewed in collaboration with Higher Ground Coffee.

Bottled 10/31/16; drank 12/10/16 @ the Yarchives.

Black/brown appearance.

A rough pour yielded a nice dark khaki head; strong lace.

Burnt black coffee & mild vanilla notes in the nose.

Medium thick mouthfeel.

Burnt black coffee flavor up front; mildly sweet cream notes on the finish. Drinkable, but not a good example of the style. Pass.

 

Still prefer Founder’s breakfast stout as a smooth yet bold coffee stout this time of year, but Cup of Joe is close behind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

12oz bottle, served in a snifter glass. Pours a dark cola brown body, nearly black, one finger mocha head, fair retention and a bit of lacing. Smell is espresso, a slight bit of roasted coffee bean, dark chocolate bitterness, a bit of cocoa and slight lactose. Flavour follows; a touch of lactose sweetness behind a strong espresso, dark chocolate squares, coffee bean and a bit of cocoa astringency. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, appropriately carbonated, a mix of lactose and dark chocolate on the finish.