Thunderhead Cornstalker Espresso Stout

Brewed by Thunderhead Brewing Company
Style: Stout
Kearney, Nebraska USA

[At GABF 2004] An opaque brown beer with a small orange head. The aroma is of roasted coffee - lovely. The flavor is sweet and very coffeeish combined with notes of chocolate, which reminds me of a cappuchino. But the end is dry and roasted - so it is not cappuchino all the way.

GABF 2004: Pours a roasty dark brown color with a nice tan head. Aroma is almost exclusively pure roasted coffee, and maybe a hint of black patent malt. Body is kinda thin and dry, that could benefit from some more sweetness and balance. Finishes very dry and bitter with lingering burnt coffee notes without much complexity.

Dark brown body with some light passing through. Large white/tan head with some light lacing. Heavy espresso aroma without so much of a stout character... semi-sweet to the lips, some sugary orange and smoky dark chocolate with loads of espresso flavors. Fresh, thick, and bitter in the end.

Nebraska Craft Brewers Festival: Dark black with a nice solid tan head. Well-rounded flavor reminiscent of chocolate-covered espresso beans. This is an outstanding beer.

On tap at the Crescent Moon Alehouse. Aroma of a just-opened vacuum brick of Folgers. Yellow-brown head atop a black ale with excellent head retention and lace. As the aroma, the flavor is all coffee. In fact, too much coffee for my tastes, but then again, I’m a beer drinker, not a coffee drinker. The roasted flavor that I need in a stout is overpowered by the coffee flavor. However, I acknowledge that some "experts" might find this to be quite appealing for the sub-style. The magical part to this is that I find the stout to be quite sweet! I don’t think this is defined as a sweet stout, so this was a surprising attempt at taste balance. This is amazingly not the only espresso stout brewed in Nebraska (re: Spilker Brewing XPO Espresso Stout). What’s up with these caffeinated Nebraskans?

GABF 2004. Opaque black body and a velvety tan head. Fantastic, creamy espresso nose and a deep roasted charcoal quality that fits in very nicely. Intense fresh espresso quality and light acidity. Full, robust body. I could add milk to this and drink it for breakfast everyday. Totally dominant coffee quality but I loved this.

On draft at the Chicken Coop in Grand Island, Nebraska. Came black as French Roast Coffee, with an off-white head. Big nose of coffee and burnt malts. Very creamy mouthfeel. Good finish for a stout. I really enjoyed this bew.

On tap at Yia Yia’s in Lincoln. Poured black with a light brown head. Aroma is one of the better ones out there: fresh coffee grounds with HUGE roasted notes. It is like smelling coffee beans before you brew it. To be more acurate the coffee aroma reminds me of Folgers. The flavor is heavily roasted with a big coffee taste. Any chocolate in this one was masked by the one two punch of coffee and roast. Solid malt body with a creamy mouthfeel.