Madhouse Coffee Stout

Brewed by Madhouse Brewing Company
Style: Stout
Newton, Iowa USA

Serve in English pint, Shaker, Snifter

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I had a sample of this a couple weeks ago and I thought it was pretty good, I figured I ought to pick up a bomber as I never took notes on it. One cool bit about this beer is that the coffee roaster is more or less in the back yard of a winery under the same ownership of the brewery, I would imagine the coffee here is as fresh as can be. Pours a pretty dark color, almost black with a tiny off white head that fizzes out quickly. The aroma is nice with chocolate, coffee and ash, there was some green apple up front but it faded pretty quickly. The flavor is lots of bitter and roasty notes with plenty of coffee and dark chocolate flavor. There is an odd flavor of under-ripe fruit throughout, and there is a really strong astringency in the finish that lingers for some time. The beer is a bit thin but certainly has a nice mouthfeel and is easy to drink in that regard. The beer is good, no great at first impressions but flaws show up as the pint gets down and the whole thing gets old after a bit. This is clearly the best beer that Madhouse has put out yet. Finishing a bomber of it was not wholly impossible, but it wasn’t the most pleasant thing in the world either.

Bomber. Perfectly black colored body with a light brown sugar colored head. The nose has lots of sweetened coffee. There is also a little bit of milk chocolate and a grainy note like field corn. The taste has light coffee roast along with some soybeans. There is a peanut finish along with a bit of milk chocolate. This one is decent. Good to see a special edition stout that isn’t a big alcohol beer.

Draft. Poured an opaque dark brown color with a thin tan head. Smelled distinctly of coffee with roasted nuttiness and a dash of brown sugar. Light to medium bodied. Slightly sweet up front with a dry, roasty finish. A bit thin, perhaps. I tasted coffee with subdued vanilla and milk chocolate notes.