Barley Island Black Majic Java Stout

Brewed by Barley Island Brewing
Style: Stout
Noblesville, Indiana USA

3-5 month old bottle from Shigadeyo, drunk on 11/2/07
Black body, with a medium-high clarity and a large, light-tan head showing moderate retention and light lacing.
Typical coffee stout aroma, and fortunately, it’s very aromatic. Vanilla, fresh beans, dry chocolate notes and tastefully light amounts of caramel collect at the edge of the nose. Light hop bitterness invigorates the senses and pushes the coffee and malt flavors through to the finish. Some crispy popcorn-like notes nearly remind of diacetyl, but I dont think there is any here. Quite dry and with that papery, beany note that is inevitable in coffee stouts. Hop resins persist on the end, but the smooth choco-vanilla malts do not peter out. No alcohol noted, medium-high to high strength of aroma.
Very soft, but high levels of carbonation lend a creamy-fluffy feel to the body, as light chocolate fudge braces the palate for a big dose of roasty coffee and strong vanilla flavors. It slowly dries the palate, with help from hop bitterness and slightly astringent black malts. Caramel sweetness perks up as it warms and breathes, and light looseness in the body is exposed as well. No alcohol noted and quite drinkable. Perhaps a little less caramel sweetness and more interplay between vinousness and coffee would help. I don’t see the need for this much pine and citrus bitterness either.

Thanks Tish! Black...no light gets through...fairly thick pour with a great dark brown head that settles into a thin film. aroma chocolate coffee and pine...a lot of pine in the aroma. bitter medium dry slightly acidic pine coffee flavor with hints of sweet chocolate. dry bitter slightly acidic coffee finish with lots of pine and sweet chocolate /cocoa notes. medium body. lively carbonation. nice coffee stout.

Bottle courtesy of tytoanderso
Pours black with a lasting creamy brown head. Smell is strong and of wet coffee grounds almost exclusively. Nice coffee flavor, and a bit of milk like creaminess as well, yet body is still a touch thinner than ideal. Very nice all around, with a strong coffee flavor. I’d recommend this for coffee beer lovers.

Poured black with a beige head. Aroma of coffee with a little sweetness. Flavor of spent coffee grind and sweet roasted malt. Medium body.

ABR 2007. Black body with faint head. Coffee aroma and smooth body but a bit bitter on the finish.

(bottle) Pours dark with a tan head. Had this towards the end of a tasting, and could easily smell the great aroma of dark roasted coffee. Taste was all about the coffee, definitely a roast bomb, with a long lasting bitter finish of coffee. This is what I look for in coffee stouts and this beer certainly didn’t disappoint.

Pretty good, I didn’t expect much out of this. A barely carbonated, and very smooth stout. Loads of coffee in the aroma and flavor, some chocolate, and roasted malt.

Cellar Reduction Night, Oct 20, 2007. Thanks to Guerde! Black color with no head. Wickedly strong coffee aroma and taste. Sweet malt taste. It’s pretty straight forward as a coffee stout. Delicious.