I’ve been drinking a lot of coffee beers lately! Fat Bottom Icebreaker Coffee Porter started the streak, and boy was that a great beer. That was soon followed by Sierra Nevada No Middle Ground Coffee IPA, Samuel Adams Coffee Pale Ale, Weldworks Coffee Milkshake and now the beer I’m here to talk about today, Steady Hand Imperial Coffee Stout.
Steady Hand is a new Georgia brewer and this is the first beer that I have had from them. They are a contract brewer, and pay Savannah’s Coastal Empire brewery for the use of their facilities. Apropos, that, since Coastal Empire also started out as a contract brewer.
There is no mention of the coffee stout on the Steady hand webpage. The label says it is “stout with coffee added”, mentions Brash Coffee Roasters as the source of the coffee, and cites an alcohol content of 9% by volume. I paid $10.44 for a 4-pack at Target, which is high for four beers.
Steady Hand Imperial Coffee Stout pours to a jet-black color with a thick creamy tan head of foam and a big roasty nose that screams coffee grinds. Taking a sip, the beer has a full thick mouthfeel with notes or roasted malts, black coffee and caramel (caramel macchiato anyone?). It finishes seeming less strong in alcohol than it actually is with a roasty bitterness and a grassy herbal hop bitterness that combines with the coffee to suggest chicory.
What a wonderful beer! I would give it 4.5 stars on it’s own merits, but I’ll knock off a half star for the high price (Total Wine demands $12.99 for a 4-pack).
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, canned
(D)=Draft
(G)=Growler