Tröegs JavaHead Stout

Brewed by Tröegs Brewing Company
Style: Stout
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania USA

Deep dark beer with a thick yellow-tan head. The nose has a lot of heavy roasty coffeeish character. Some more fresh coffee character and aroma. Richly sweet with a nice sticky malt character. I like it.

Pours black. I can’t even get light penetration around the edges. Two-finger creamy coffee-tan colored head of foam. Great retantion and great lacing, to boot. Sweet maltiness and maple notes hit me first. Nice undertone of big espresso/coffee notes. Slight hints of dark fruits. Nice big chocolate presence. Hints of caramel and vanilla. Very slight hops notes, deep down inside. One of the better smelling coffee brews that I’ve had. Smells like a good cup from a specialty coffee shop. Ooooh, that’s some fine espresso tasting brew in my glass. Nice undertones of bittersweet chocolate. Light malty sweetness. Slight caramel notes. Hint of smoke. Feels nice and smooth. No real bitterness here, despite all of the sharp flavors involved in this brew. I’m sure that all of the smoothness is due to the oatmeal. What a wonderful grain! Good solid medium body. Nice level of carbonation. Slightly too thin for a stout, though, IMO. This is one that I’d love to see them put into regular, year-round, production. I would love to have this on a regular basis. Flavors are great. Nice level of smoothness. Good balance. On top of that, it’s a relatively low 6%ABV. I could do this as a session beer, no problem.

I thought this to be a pretty average coffee stout. I found it to be more toffee-ish than coffee-ish in the flavor, and a bit thin and not especially bitter. Some of what it lacked in coffee bitterness I thought was made up for in a pretty significant hop bitterness. I thought it was OK, and very quaffable, but not necessarily what I was expecting. Color was black. Head was tan and plentiful. I could tell from the viscousness of the pour that the body was a touch thin. Aroma was sweet like a breakfast stout. Flavor was also lactose-sweetness, and not really coffee-ish. However, there was a significant hop presence in this beer, more significant than other coffee beers in recent memory. Mouthfeel was a touch thin. Pretty good. I’d recommend giving it a try. I bought my bottle at Wine Warehouse in Charlottesville, VA.

From a cask at RnH. A mellow, easy stout. I tasted coffee, esters, tobacco, and a light bitterness. Very nice.

22oz bottle. Pours black in color with full foamy brown head. Aroma sweet, hops and roasted coffee. Taste roasted malt, coffee and chocolate with bitter finish.

Sampled from a 22 oz brown bottle this beer poured a dark black color with a large dark brown head that lingered forever and produced lots of lacing. The aroma was lovey and complex with bitter roasty malts, coffee, tart cherriess, apples and berries. The flavor was bitter, roasty and toasty with notes of malted milk, vanilla and coffee. There were touches of citrus, apple and caramel underneath. The coffee is definitely present but is subtle. The finish was long, dryish and roasty. The body is full and silky smooth. Excellent.

Bottle x2 (shared with Shawn and then by myself thanks to Jeff). The two tastings were pretty much exactly the same. Deep brown hue with ruby highlights topped by a fading frothy head and very good lace. The aroma is coffee for sure along with burnt and caramel malts, hints of chocolate and vanilla, earthy and herbal esters as well. The taste is coffee and chocolate driven with a heavy lingering roast that is a bit astringent. Light smoke and a tad acidic fruits. The mouth feel is lively and chalky, a tad thin is a bit disappointing. An okay coffee stout, meets my expectations, nothing more.

Pours dark, dark brown with a thick khaki colored head. Aroma is sweet malts, grassy hops, and just a bit of roasted coffee. Very nice creamy mouthfeel. Well balanced. Good coffee notes, with a hint of hops and roasty malts. Nice beer.