As I type, it’s 6:42 AM, and much as you might immediately think it to be so, no, I’m not drinking a beer. I am drinking a coffee however, and getting ready for another, coffee being my morning drink of choice every bit as much as beer is my evening one. Just the other night, though, I enjoyed both in the same glass in the form of Sierra Nevada Coffee Stout, and now I’m fleshing out my notes on that beer to tell you all about it.

Sierra Nevada Coffee Stout was a hard beer to find, only available (as I could see) in the Snowpack sampler 12-pack along with several other assorted beers. I never bought the sampler because I was (and am) overstocked with beer, but recently while perusing the singles section at Whole Foods in Sandy Springs, Georgia I spied a bottle and snapped it right up. I’m glad I did, but now only wish I could buy it in a six-pack, or better yet on draft.

From the bottle label:

A cup of joe and a bold beer are great cold weather companions, so we blended them for the ultimate winter warmer. Our Coffee Stout is a fusion of dark roasted malts and rich cold-brewed coffee along with a touch of milk sugar for layers of bittersweet, fruity, dark chocolate and caramel-like flavors.

Ingredients from the website:

Yeast: Ale yeast

Bittering Hops: Nugget

Finishing Hops: Nugget

Malts: Two-row Pale, Caramel, Chocolate, Wheat, Brown

Other: Cold brewed coffee, Lactose

Sierra Nevada Coffee Stout has an alcohol content of 6.2% by volume with 53 IBUs. The 12-packs were selling for $13.29 to $13.99 in my neck of the woods. My bottle was packaged on 9/22/15.

Sierra Nevada Coffee Stout pours to a jet black color with a thick creamy tan had and a luscious nose of roasted malt and coffee grinds. A thick layer of Brussels Lace forms on the sides of my glass and follows the liquid all the way to the bottom.

Taking a sip, the beer has a thick full mouthfeel and big roasted malt and coffee grind flavors, pretty much just like the nose promised. The beer finishes very dry roasty with a hint of licorice, lots of black coffee perhaps with a hint of cream from the lactose, roasted malt and a hint of grassy hops.

Sierra Nevada Coffee Stout is simply exceptional, just like everything they do. Perhaps a slightly milder version of the also exceptional Beer Camp Double Latte Milk Stout they did with Ninkasi brewing a few years ago, I’d love to see it return in six-packs next year. Hint hint, Sierra Nevada, if you’re listening.  

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

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