Coffee Bat Country
Brewery: 4th Tap Brewing Co-op
Style: Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer (30A)
Package: 12oz Can
Purchased: Mueller HEB, November 2018
Packaged Date:
Consumed Date: 12/11/2018
Details from the Brewer
ABV: 5.5%
Coffee version of 4th tap’s Bat Country foreign export stout.
Review
Aroma – 8/12
Roast dominates the aroma. It has an ashy character, but also represents a coffee roast. Medium level of toffee and a dark chocolate are also present. There’s a low blueberry and slight melon character that I’d attribute to the coffee. A slight earthiness/woodiness is also apparent as it warms.
Appearance – 2/3
Pours an inky dark black liquid. When pouring quickly, a thin head of small beige bubbles forms. This fades with lower than expected retention to a thin ring. When held up to a flashlight, a slight murkiness is apparent.
Flavor – 13/20
A high level of roasted coffee beans hits the tongue first. There’s a medium cocoa note that joins along with a lower ashy note. Towards the midtaste, a medium sweetness creeps up, and interplays with some slight berry notes. All of this fades towards the finish where the beer presents a medium bitterness and finishes dry. There is a low level of an earthy hop character at play as well. Slight English yeast character.
Mouthfeel – 3/5
Medium-low carbonation. Body is medium full, but thinner towards the finish. Very slight alcohol warmth in the throat. Low creaminess with some roast astringency on the finish.
Overall Impression – 6/10
The coffee expression in this stout is good. There are nice roasted bean notes, and some fruitiness from them as well. I’d expect a bit more heft for this being a foreign export stout though. The body and flavor thins out pretty well towards the finish, and it doesn’t have the expected alcohol warmth. There is more ashy character towards the finish than I’d like as well. Toning down that roast derived astringency, and balancing with a touch more crystal malt would help round out this finish.
Rating – 32/50
Being that this is my 50th review on the site, I thought I’d revisit this iteration of the first beer I reviewed, Bat Country. This beer will give a good coffee punch for those java lovers out there. I definitely prefer the non-coffee version of this beer. I think the malt profile is a bit overwhelmed by the coffee here, and isn’t able to live up to the intensity. Not everyone cares about balance though.
