Single Origin Coffee Stout: Kona

This beer was presented as a Coffee Stout, which it resoundingly was. It poured a deep black color, sporting a medium-sized white head with modest retention. The fresh-roasted coffee aroma was immediate and intense and not a combination of dark malts that imitated coffee. The taste too was overwhelmingly that of a full-bodied coffee, with milder dark malt flavors peeking out from the initial taste through the finish. This was indeed a beer, brewed with malted barley, hops, water and yeast, and not iced coffee served in a pint glass. Perhaps the variety of coffee bean and/or some aspect of the roasting process made this beer more intense than many other coffee stouts. That said, the overall effect was a highly drinkable stout that should please those beer drinkers who also love coffee. Those who do not would not be tempted to consume a glass, confirming the truth in the advertising of this beer’s style.