Coronado Brewing - Blue Bridge Coffee Stout

Hey gang. Tuesday nights... they're pretty lame. Luckily it's Hockey season so the night isn't totally wasted. Remembered I had this beer in my fridge and figured since it's the first time I've ever had it, might as well post a review and give you an idea of what I'm thinking of this beer.

Tonight I'm drinking Blue Bridge Coffee Stout by Coronado Brewing Co, which is located in, surprise  Coronado, CA! This is a 5.4% ABV Coffee Stout.... wait.

Hold on....

A 5.4% Coffee Stout? Am I reading this right? Holy shit, I am. Is this a session stout?! I don't think I've ever come across a sessionable stout. And no, I'm not lumping Guinness into the equation. Wow. I'm intrigued. I usually like my stouts to be bigger and higher ABV. Let's see how Blue Bridge (Coronado Bridge is blue btw) pans out.

Blue Bridge pours out pitch black but looks somewhat thinner. Of course, this being a 5.4% beer that's not too surprising. There's a 2 finger white bordering on off white, head that doesn't stick around for too long. Once it recedes back into the beer there isn't a whole lot of lacing. Maybe a slight soapiness being left behind on the glass but it's fairly negligible.

The nose on this beer is fairly nice. A really nice coffee roast coming through immediately followed by a vanilla-like sweetness. Smells a bit like a good cup of coffee you'd have in the morning after adding a little bit of a vanilla creamer. I'm getting a nice toffee character coming through, maybe even a bit of a roasted nut. It's not an almond character. Sort of reminds me of a honey roasted peanut. It's really the only thing I can compare it to. It's somewhat faint and definitely not the first thing I'm getting. It's a good smelling beer with nothing too over powering, nothing in particular standing out more so than anything else.

The taste on this is... it's OK. Right away you get that coffee roast. It reminds me a bit of a weaker coffee, maybe something instant? I'm not a coffee snob but this coffee is fairly sub par. Middle of the mouth there's a slight bitterness, possibly from the hops, possibly from that coffee. There's a subtle sweetness but it's nothing to write home about. Back of the mouth I get a lot of a roasted coffee character. Maybe a roasted espresso bean and some very dark chocolate. More roasted espresso than chocolate for sure. The mouth feel on this beer is very thin. Again, 5.4% that isn't a surprise at all.

Overall, the Blue Bride Coffee Stout by Coronado Brewing is underwhelming. While the nose is very pleasant the taste on the beer is just average at best. I'd have liked to see this ramped up a bit, maybe with more coffee or more of a stout character. Honestly, this beer reminds me much more of a porter than it does a stout. I tend to drink the heavier stouts so my opinion on this beer could be a bit skewed. I'd recommend it for someone looking to get into the style or someone looking to avoid the imperial stouts.

Rating: C

Wife liked the after taste but didn't think the beer was anything special. I guess it tasted like beer...