So Samuel Adams has nitro beers. Apparently in search of something they hadn’t done before, Boston Beer Company announced last fall the launch of three new canned beers with nitrogen pour widgets: an IPA, a White Ale, and the beer under consideration today, Samuel Adams Nitro Coffee Stout. Scheduled for a January 2016 launch, I started to see folks posting about the beer about that time, but for some reason the new nitro line didn’t arrive in Georgia until early March.

Samuel Adams Nitro Coffee Stout was the first of the lot I tried. I think nitrogen widgets/draft pours work best in these types of beers, as they add a smooth creamy richness that perfectly accents the roasty dark malt notes in stout. Add in coffee as you have in Samuel Adams Nitro Coffee Stout, and that richness is all the more beneficial.

From the Boston Beer website:

Our Nitro Coffee Stout is darkly enticing with its smooth, velvety cream that cascades into a jet black brew revealing a rich, robust character.  The dark roasted malts create notes of bittersweet chocolate with hints of dark fruit while the Sumatran & Indian Monsoon Malabar coffees develop a deep roasted dimension. For a deeper, yet smooth, flavor we steep the coffee beans in cold water to create an extraction that we add to this stout.

Ingredients from the website:

HOP VARIETIES: East Kent Goldings

MALT VARIETIES: Samuel Adams two-row pale malt blend, Caramel 60, Special B, roasted unmalted barley

YEAST STRAIN: Samuel Adams Ale Yeast

Samuel Adams Nitro Coffee Stout has an alcohol content of 5.8% by volume with 32 IBUs. I paid $8.99 for 4 15-ounce cans at Kroger.

Samuel Adams Nitro Coffee Stout pours to a jet black color with a very thick and creamy head from the nitro pour and a good amount of robust coffee grinds in the nose. Taking a sip, the coffee also comes through in the palate but the body is thinner than I want and not as creamy as I expect with a nitro pour. There’s some tasty chocolate to it as well and a pleasant roasty bitter finish but all in all the beer leaves me wanting more.

This is good but not great. I like it well enough and I’m on the fence as to whether I would buy it again. I would try it on tap if it came into Taco Mac, but I’ll need another can or two before I reach my verdict on re-buy. Still and all, its definitely worth a try.

Update 6/11/2016: OK, now that I've had a few cans I have to admit I like this one well enough that yes, I would buy it again. So there. I still think it could benefit from more body, but the rich coffee and chocolate notes are definitely sumptuous and alluring.

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