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...

Lagunitas Brewing - Cappuccino Stout

Do you like coffee? Yes? Do you like HARD CORE COFFEE?!?!

I don't know where I was going with that, but if you also answered yes with some kind of enthusiasm, hell, ANY kind of enthusiasm, you might be interested in my beer of choice tonight. Tonight, I'm drinking the winter seasonal from Lagunitas Brewing Co, Cappuccino Stout. This is a 9.2% stout brewed with coffee. 

Big surprise, I know. Coffee in a stout? That's something completely wild and crazy! It's never been done before in history! Obviously, unless you just discovered beer you know that's a complete false statement. 

So without anymore useless filler, without anymore random ramblings, without any... ok, enough bullshit.

Cappuccino Stout pours out pretty dark. It's a stout so there's not really a shock there, I know. There might be the slightest hue of mahogany at the bottom of the glass but I think that's more attributed to my shitty lighting here at my desk. There was about a finger to just over a finger of a somewhat thin off white head. It faded away pretty quickly leaving behind a soapy lacing that's fairly sticky. 

The nose on this beer is somewhat interesting. I'm not getting a ton of coffee on this beer. It's a bit subtle. Definitely not in your face like some of the other beers I've reviewed in the last couple months. I'm getting a bit of a bitterness coming through. It's definitely reminding me of used coffee grounds. I do get a little chocolate coming through but it's more of a sweet chocolate. There's also a biscotti like smell coming out. It's very much like almonds actually.

Taste wise, right away you get bitter coffee. It has a bit of bite to it. That's immediately followed by what I'd describe as a coffee bean character. Maybe even a chocolate covered espresso bean. It's somewhat sweet but has that hidden bitterness that comes up and bites you right away. Middle of the mouth I'm getting even more bitter coffee. Slightly burned, slightly like an espresso. It's bitter and black. Back end of this beer I'm getting that hint of alcohol coming through accompanied by a chocolate sweetness. As that fades I get that biscotti character I smelled on the nose. Very nutty. If you can get past the bitterness of the HARD CORE COFFEE, you'll probably dig it too.

Overall, I think this is another solid offering from Lagunitas. For the price, I don't know if you can beat them. I think I paid $5 for this beer. I don't think I've ever paid much more for one of their bombers. Great beers and great prices are always a good thing. Cappuccino Stout reminds me a lot of my morning coffee with the occasional biscotti to go with it. In fact, I sort of wish I had one to go with this beer. 

Rating: B

Solid B from me. This is good. It's different. It's not an Imperial Stout but it's good. Try it. You should like it.

Wife doesn't understand why people would ruin coffee, or in this case, HARD CORE COFFEE, with beer. Figures....