Carolina Brewery Jumpin Bean Coffee Stout

On draft at the brewery, the first one that wasn’t dreadful. Very dark brown pour with good brown head. Certainly a coffee stout, but it comes off as ’old coffee’. There is a sweet-tart cherry juice quality as well. Extreme bitter coffee grounds finish.

Name: Jumpin’ Bean Coffee Stout
Date: April 18, 2009
Mode: draft
Source: Brewfest, Hickory Hops
Appearance: black, fine tan head
Aroma: dark chocolate and roasted coffee aroma
Flavor: rich roasted malt flavor, lots of coffee character, decadent dark chocolate, only a hint of balancing sweetness, light ashy character does not detract, bitter dark chocolate finish
Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.4/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: **+/4

On tap. Black pour with a nice dark tan head. Very good coffee aroma, roast malt, chocolate. Sticks to the sides ok. Taste is an excellent balance of the coffee chocolate and roast malt. Some piney hops in the finish with old coffee. Nice clean, an excellent stout especially if you dig the coffee stouts. Would recommend.

pint @ Carolina Brewery/Chapel Hill. Great aroma, Sweet, coffee, kind of composty. Little smoke, grass. Cocoa kicked in as it warmed. Brownish black color, little to no head or lace. Bitter sweet flavor, strong on coffee. Medium body, smooth mouthfeel, bitter dry finish. Pretty darn good, easy to drink, aroma was best part as it got sweeter as it warmed yet held the coffee scent throughout. well done

From notes 3/30/06: Quite the tasty offering from Jon! Uses 20-lb. of Counter Culture Organic Sumatra Gayo Mountain in each batch (10-barrels I believe). Plenty o’ roastiness and hopped with Fuggles and East Kent Goldings. Upon an absolutely relentless interrogation by 3 beer geeks, Jon gave it up that it was indeed a 6% brew. Pours an appropriate "black coffee" blackness. Frothy tan head sits proudly on the pint and leaves a loose patchwork of lace behind. Succulent aromas of, what else, black coffee and some earthy green hops. Flavors of intense coffee. This is no wimpy coffee stout. Stouty roasted barley tries to push its way to the forefront, but the coffee counters it. Dry crisp earthy green hops give bitterness, in a way that the coffee character does not. Smooth yet not an overly chewy mouthfeel and a great drinkability. Such a good one that a separate trip back to Chapel Hill just to get a growler to bring to Ohio next week might be in order.

On tap at Tyler’s Tap Room in Durham, NC. Pours an oily black color with a fairly thick tan head. As soon as I smell this beer I am hit with the unmistakable aroma of black coffee. I have compared some beers to coffee before but this one beats them all as far as that goes. The flavor is also dominated with coffee flavors but not just any coffee. It tastes like damn good coffee. Slight hints of roasted malt behind that. It may be one dimensional, but it’s a dimension that I personally enjoy and would like to continue enjoying. Bottom line, it’s fucking good.

Growler. Brownish black color with a little brown head that dissipated quickly. Aroma is sweet, cold/iced coffee. Flavors are strong, bitter coffee and very roasted malts, and a hint of dark chocolate, though not sweet. Too thin and one-dimensional - could’ve used some hops for balance, or at least more varied malts.

Draught at the brewpub. Opaque black with short brown head that dissipated quickly. No lace. Smells of iced coffee. Bitter and very roasty throughout with smoky notes, almost like a campfire. There is also a bit of dark chocolate. Coffee aftertaste keeps on going and going.