Lagunitas “Cappuccino Stout”
Cappuccino Stout is a Coffee Stout brewed with locally-roasted beans. This is only released in 22 oz. bombers, and can be found on shelves during the months of January through March. Aromas give soft coffee notes over cocoa powder, along with additional details of orange, walnuts, and charred wood.
The beginning of the palate tastes as if sweet caramel were poured over bitter dark chocolate. Grainy complexities emerge as hints of oatmeal. Coffee begins to swell up as the malt roast gets super dark in a flavor akin to burnt toast. Genuine flavors of roasted coffee converge with the malt roast, followed by a complementary bitterness contributed by the hops. What starts as a sour twang escalates into a resinous, hoppy finish that closes with flavors of chocolate covered orange peel with a touch of spice. The mouthfeel is surprisingly thin, keeping a creamy consistency that grows slightly chewy before bottoming out into a semi-dry finish.
Hop flavors accumulate from sip to sip, whereas the coffee has less of an impact as time goes on. Sweetness runs parallel to bitterness, so the resulting balance is agreeable. According to my taste, it’s the sour element that really throws things off, and this is primarily what sets this apart from tradition. Considering Lagunitas, I should have anticipated such heavy-handed hopping. It tastes much more bitter than 30 IBU’s would have you believe. Still, everything goes down with relative ease, and the alcohol is particularly well-concealed. It’s not the best Coffee Stout, but it’s a good beer. I recommend it if you like hops in your coffee.
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