Williamsburg AleWerks Cafe Royale

Brewed by Williamsburg AleWerks
Style: Imperial Stout
Williamsburg, Virginia USA

Serve in Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

thanks kan! bottle. pours black with thin tan head. aroma of coffee, vanilla honey. flavors of coffee vanilla, creme brûlée, sweet chocolate, thin body and sweet finish. okay but i can see a lot of people liking this.

Bottle... Poured black with a tan head. A delicious stout that would pair great with any brunch. Vanilla bourbon tones mixed with roast, cocoa, acidic coffee and sweet cream malt tones. The coffee really started to over power the bourbon towards the finish.

Bottle from the brewery on 09/08/2010. Dark black body with a medium creamy brown head. Big coffee and roast aroma with chocolate and some woody notes. BIg coffee, vanilla, roast, chocolate, and light wood flavor. Medium full body with moderate carbonation.

Mystery beer...Bottle poured into a perfect pint glass...Dark brown, light black pout with a tan head that rises quickly but lacking in retention. A few spots of lacing...A really nice aroma of chocolate, wood and cherry...The taste is like the aroma chocolate with coffee, cherry, and a bit of the barrel. A weird finish, that kind of kills it, acidic...The feel is too thin for, pretty easy to drink. Didn’t know what to expect here but not bad at all.

Bomber thanks to bifrostguard on BA. Intense coffee aroma - like espresso - with dark chocolate and caramel malts. The flavor is also really intense coffee, mocha really as the dark chocolate is also huge. A little on the sweeter side from caramel malts. Smooth and slick on the palate with soft carbonation and not much coffee astringency. Not the best coffee beer ever but a really good and flavorful one.

Bomber. The pour is black at the center, with glints of mahogany translucency at the outer reaches. A vigorous pour conjures up a frothy, whipped head of light brown foam. Showing pronounced, bubbly edges and a thin but persistent center film, the head leaves wet spots of lacing all over the glass. The nose is silky smooth, showing a rich, deep, dark chocolate malt base with layers of dark caramel, vanilla fudge, and sweet, soft bourbon. Iced mocha comes across sweet, not at all roasty, and there’s a hefty dose of lactic milk sugar throughout. Alcohol is present, yet sufficiently covered by the richness of all the varied sweet malt. Flavors follow suit, lush and decadent, dessert-like to the max. Straightforward dark and milk chocolates are bracketed by caramel, mocha, and vanilla. Bourbon is again easy going, imparting more caramel and vanilla than booze. Fudgy, and seemingly void of any hop character, this is a mighty tasty brew, but I really had to struggle through a full bomber, what with all the sugars. There’s little in terms of balance here. The palate is big and rich, thick with sugar, and light on carbonation. There’s a silky, whipped sort of feel to it, and the finish comes across smooth, moving towards sticky after the swallow. I’d like to see this in 5 oz. nip bottles, because I think there’s a real place for it in the hedonistic dessert beer genre, but it’s very much a "once in a blue moon" type of beer, for my taste.

UPDATED: JAN 28, 2012 Bomber courtesy of justin, at the jrhb september meeting; despite the fact that I had just driven down to the brewery the day before to pick up three bottles! j/k. Anyways, this was a fantastic beer. No doubt that the base beer was coffee stout. Massive roast fresh coffee notes abounded both in the aroma and the flavor. Definitive oaky residual notes. Luscious black pour with great dark brown head capped this magnificent brew. Creamy body lent a nice touch. I’ve often said i’m not a huge fan of coffee beers, but this one is certainly worth trying. And is truly fantastic.

2010 Bottle shared by Drew. Pours black with a dark tan head, decently clear. Nose is faded coffee, more cocoa forward with an acrid slant. Clean with light oxidation. On tasting, it is a bit thin on the palate. Medium roast and medium bodied. Noted alcohol and faded coffee. Balancing bitterness. Neat beer.

Strong aroma of dark roasted coffee, tar, and tobacco. Coal black and headless.Strong coffee flavor initially with cherry and licorice at midpalate. Smoky bark and mulberry in the finish. Alcohol is well concealed, medium bodied. Intense and flavorful without being a chore. Silky texture. I didn’t taste actual bourbon, just some of the fruity esters one might find in bourbon, which is perfect for me. Excellent!

Williamsburg cafe royals. 22oz bottle from Ken... Pours a dark stouty pour with less intense edges and a thin tan head... Aroma of barrel with vanilla and bourbon and of course of coffee... Flavors improve albeit with a sweeter profile overall. Solid notes of bourbon, lighter vanilla, coffee, and chocolate. Decent body and carbonation. Works pretty well altogether. Coffee tastes a fair bit stale and not the freshest. Not bad overall but seems a bit too sweet. 7/4/8/4/15