Goose Island Black Cat Coffee Stout

Too much coffee. It overpowers the natural stout flavors. This could have been a great stout.

On tap at Goose Island Stoutfest. Poured a very deep brown with a ring of off-white head on top. Nose was about 9 parts coffee and 1 part floral. Flavor was akin to cold coffee, and I struggled to find anything else in there... I enjoy coffee, so this was OK. Medium-bodied on the palate with persistent roasted coffee bitterness. 1 dimensional.

On tap @ the Stout Fest. Way too much coffee. Wouldn’t have known this was even beer if I hadn’t been @ the Stout Fest. This recipe needs reformulating.

This dark black brew is pretty much of a one dimensional coffee stout. The aroma is coffee, and nothing else. The beer is fairly flat. There’s traces of malt, chocolate, and anise in the flavor, but mainly it’s old coffee grounds. Dry, disappointing finish.

<font size=-4><a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp?PlaceID=16>Goose Island Beer Company - Clybourn, Chicago, IL<font size=-1>

On draught at clybourn. Black with a thin light brown head. Sweet chocolate, caramel, and a muted coffee made up the aroma. The body is flat and it starts off with a coffee flavor. The finish on this is sweet chocolate with coffee balancing the sweetness.

Thick, dark brown with a thin, brown head. Subtle, roasted coffee, bitter chocolate, sweet caramel, burnt toast, slight notes of dark fruit and maybe a light amount of molasses. The body is creamy but could use a bit more carbonation, as it’s nearly flat. The flavor is quite nice the light sweetness of the residual sugars keeps the roasted bitterness from being too much. The coffee seems fresh and tasty but doesn’t overpower the rest of malty layers. The hops blend into the bitterness and are barely detectable. A tasty beer that, with a couple of minor tweaks, will be very good.

Draft at Clybourn: Nearly opaque with ruby highlights, small frothy head and some lace. The aroma is pure ICED COFFEE, you can smell it a mile away. Oh upon further inspection some light piney and grassy hops, mild burnt and caramelized malts, and metallic esters can be foud. The taste is as expected with a lots of coffee and hops. Some chocolate and caramel undertone does provide balance. The feel is a bit watery and dry, metallic and has a long coffee aftertaste (not that it is a bad thing). It is what it is, a pure coffee stout. I would like a bit more balance. This is more of a Dry Stout to me.

Draught, Clybourn brewpub (2005 version): Black with red-gold highlights and a thin brown head. Darkly roasted aroma, whole black coffee beans, burnt pine and a spent coffee filter. Thick, chocolaty java flavour, wonderfully fresh with bits of chlorophyll and green grass. A long coffee after taste leaves the eyes wide just as a cup of Joe would in the morning. Not bad.