Barley Island Black Majic Java Stout

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

Serve in English pint, Shaker, Snifter

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12oz. bottle. Aroma is full of roasted coffee and chocolate malts, along with a touch of toffeeish sweetness and faint earthiness. Largely opaque ebony color with a lasting, fine head. Flavor contains a blend of bittersweet cocoa and gentle hop flavors up front, drying out a bit and seeing an influx of roasted, nearly burnt coffee that becomes stronger at the finish and brings a certain bittering, blackened grain quality. Texture is fairly smooth and creamy, body is medium-full. Nicely blended coffee stout.

Bottle thanks to kramer17801: Pours an opaque black with a effervescent airy dark tan head. Aroma of roasted malts and fresh coffee with a touch of earthy dark chocolate. Starts lightly sweet with some dark caramel notes and bittersweet chocolate balance before a thinner roasty finish. Pretty smooth and drinkable, but I wish the finish had a little more fullness to it.

bottle-thanks to vyvvy-pours mostly black with a foamy brown/beige head. nose is all java-total coffee bliss for those that love a nice cup. some light chocolate undertones is all i get with the java. lots of bitter java on this one. really tastes like a fresh cup of coffee. somewhat metallic on the finish, but that wasnt that bad compared to the oatmeal stout from this brewery. body again is somewhat thin. really a fine stout here that would be great to try on tap when fresh.

Well, not the most extraordinary coffee stout but certainly drinkable. It opens with a very coffee-grounds aroma, and the initial flavors reflect the same tendency to a crass understanding of "coffee". Coffee is best when it balances, smoothens, and rounds out the flavors, not when it bonks your tongue with a sharp bitterness. But then, I’m a guy who tends to drink a cafe mocha--or at least a cup with a cream and a sugar--rather than a black coffee. But like so many beers, my palate was deadened over time and by the end of the bottle it was more drinkable than it was initially. Interesting, worth trying, and reasonably decent--neither the best nor the worst coffee stout I’ve had. Bottle.

Draft... GABF ’06... Pitch black ale with a small, creamy, brown head. Excellent retention. Mostly coffee in the nose, but plenty of chocolate as well. Lots of burnt, tangy coffee grounds in the flavor along with some dark chocolate. Almost medium-bodied and lightly oily with fizzy carbonation. Finishes roasty and mildly bitter.

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.

Bottle from Mike (bbb63) Thanks. Pours out a dark brown to almost black color with a little tan head on it. Smell is mostly coffee, with a few hints of chocolate and roasted malts. Taste is sweet and full of coffee. Easy to drink but it left me jacked up. There must be quite a bit of coffee beans thrown into this. Far better once it has warmed up some than when it was cold. Highly drinkable. Good stuff.

Bottle and served in my Expedition snifter: Pours opaque with a fading head that left some lace on the glassware. The nose detects a lot of espresso, roasted and burnt malt, oat, chocolate, plum, a hint of pepper, and grassy hops. The taste profile is one that starts coffee-ish and mostly stays that way throughout the tasting. What helps is an addition of fruity rind acidity and some hop character along with a dash of ashy yeast character. The finish is quite bitter and dry. The mouth feel is thinner than that of the regular Oatmeal stout for some reason, maybe the coffee bitterness gives a sense of thinness. It is very oily however. A good brew and I like it because I like coffee stouts but the average person may not care for a much, not subdued for sure.

Bottle courtesy of hippie4beer. Aroma is overpowering w/ coffe, however the coffee flavor is much more subdued. I’m not a big fan of the coffee stouts, but this one is nicely done.

Pour is a jet black with a small tan head. Aroma is all thing roasted. Some wood smoke and coffee. Flavor is more in the coffee catagory but not to overpowering to make it bitter. Some chocolate helps to sweeten it so its’s not so bitter. Its not Founders breakfast stout but its a close cousin.