Southern Tier Jah-va

Sampled at the RBSG 07 Grand Tasting. Chocolate and roasted coffee on the nose. Better coffee flavor than most.

Strong, strong ,strong! Strong dark chocolate and a dark roast coffee. Very dark pouyr with a thin mocha head. Trying to drink a whole 22oz bottle was a bit overwhelming but I made it through and thorowly enjoyed it. Alcohol is well hidden and this brew smells great! Next time I’ll share a bottle!

Bottle. Aroma is deep, deep dark chocolate and heavy roast (coffee beans). Slightly sweet, but the roast is all over this. Pitch black pour with a soapy, energetic light brown head. Taste is bitter, sharply crisp at first but a little smoother with time. Again, loads and loads of roast and meaty dark chocolate, a touch of lactose. Faint fruity sweetness floating in the bg. Big chocolate cake, black malt in with the chocolate. Full, somewhat syrupy mouthfeel, just huge! (32 deg plato!) Aftertaste a milky chocolate but not quite as good as the main course. Derives a little too much fullness from its alcohol. Not as good as a Bell’s Java, which is extremely beany, and a bit rich, but still, a good coffee stout.

Black body with a small tan ring. Thick, rich and luxurious body. Round and creamy mouthfeel, never sticky. Despite its name the nose and taste are as chocolaty and they are coffee. Very little fruity notes or hop presence to be found. This is all about rich creamy roasted malts, chocolate and coffee beans flavour and a mouthfeel to die for. The components are pretty standard but they are put together is superior manner. I’ve come full circle, I earn my life programming Java so I can buy myself more Jah-va. Not even a joke.

6/9/07: Sample at Columbus Ale Fest ’07.
Nice brown- black- opaque body. Rich coffee & malt aroma. Flavors include chocolate, molasses and malt. X-elent.

November 2005 bottling date, Sampled June 2007
Pours with a three-finger thick, creamed-chocolate, brown colored head that sits atop a pitch black colored brew. The aroma is interesting; it definitely is coffee influenced. It even has the acidity that the nose on cup of French roast would have. It is almost smoky at times, with notes of espresso beans, dusty-blackened barley, something that is sort of spicy, maybe even musty or something like rotting ancient vegetation (something like peat perhaps).

The beer is quite thick and rich; the burnt malt sugars just coat the palate and cling to the tongue in an almost syrup-like fashion. It is like drinking a rich, deeply chocolate & coffee flavored cream. Fairly sweet tasting, this really brings out a chocolate-like flavor. Notes of blackened espresso mix in with the chocolate; they add a touch of acidity and a roast bitterness that struggles to be noticed under the thick, creamy texture & sweetness. This is so big that it is almost simplistic in its dark malt flavors. I suppose one doesn’t ask for much more in an Imperial stout though. A hint of the off note from the nose is in the taste, but the massive body really helps to mitigate this.

Wow, based on the aroma, I was just not expecting this beer to be so thick and rich. The flavor really outshines the aroma, as there seems to be something that is just a touch off-putting there. This thing really hides the alcohol well, I never would have guessed it was 12%, but with such a massive body I guess it would have to be. This is definitely a sipping brew, it is going to take me quite some time to kill off a 22oz bottle of this. This is quite tasty, if that off thing in the aroma was cleaned up, this would be a fantastic example of a coffee Imperial Stout.

Amazing thick and viscous dark brown head, coating the sides of the glass like motor oil. My first whiff was boozy, but right after I didn’t get that smell again until the end of my glass reached room temp. Sweet bourbon and coffee notes, toffee as well. Rich and vibrant smell. Thick and vinuous, with an oily and lip-smacking syrupy texture. A bit too sweet but the light bitterness of hops doesn’t allow this to hurt the beer. Wonderful light bourbon notes, rich dark chocolate and coffee... really, really good.

An espresso-mousse crown, with an uncommonly silky texture, tops this black hole. Aroma is full and defined. Bourbon, coconut, cheesecake, charred oak. Luminous tropical fruit notes on the tail end. Pineapple and a touch of nectarine. A hot whiskey flavor leads. The smoky, dark fruit character of the Blue Mountain beans slowly gathers a sophisticated shimmer, softly lending a comforting subtlety elsewhere. Venison, syrupy chocolate malts, barrel characteristics. A distantly salty, cured meat finish, still slightly hot. Immensely viscous palate, rich and coating. A very refined and tactful use of the coffee, managing to fully evoke its depth, while for once it seems familiar, complementary, and integrated. Well-done. Thanks Adam!