Judge's Review: 90 Rating - Kawi by Currahee Brewing Co.

Kawi by Currahee Brewing Co. is a Coffee Milk Stout and will be judged as a Spice Herb & Vegetable Beer under BJCP 2015 category 30A due to the coffee, with a base style of sweet stout (16A). The inherent difficulty in this style is providing an additive that not only complements the base beer, but at such a level that it doesn’t overwhelm it either. This beer does a magnificent job of accomplishing that -- providing a level of coffee that not only complements, but also enhances the base beer. Even for someone who doesn’t like coffee, this beer is quite enjoyable and one of the better versions of the style I’ve had.

 Right off the bat you can tell it’s a coffee stout, but not so much so that it’s an obvious coffee beer. The aroma gives espresso, chocolate, caramel and light toast, reminiscent of a macchiato. You definitely get the coffee, but it’s not at the forefront and is actually a bit more chocolate-forward making for a very mocha-like character. There is no hops and very little fruit esters (red apple) to speak of. The beer almost even looks like espresso giving a pitch black appearance with a dense tan head that sticks to the glass.

The flavor is where the coffee character brings it home, offering a much larger presence that brings it to the forefront. Unlike some other coffee beers, it’s not at all oxidized, bitter or overbearing. It’s actually a pretty smooth character like that of coldbrew. The flavor is almost the opposite of the aroma with the chocolate dropping to the background and the coffee flavor moves up front, followed by caramel, lactose sweetness, & toast. Again, there is almost no hop presence, just a low level of bitterness that balances the beer enough to keep it from being too sweet.