Feb. 15, 2012 - Issue #852: The Coffee Issue

To the Pint

A real pick-me-up

Coffee, beer, why choose?

They are polar opposites. One is your morning pick-me-up. The other specializes in night-time revelry. But some special things can happen when you put them together. I am speaking of coffee and beer. You can be forgiven for crinkling your nose at the thought of combining the two, but, under the right circumstances, they can work.
For example, think about a rich, full-bodied stout. It has a mild roastiness that can often remind you of coffee. So, it isn't a far stretch to consider putting coffee in a beer like that. And many craft brewers in the last few years have done exactly that. In fact, it is more than stouts which have embraced an addition of coffee. A number of beer styles can support the robust, rich flavours and aromas that coffee imparts on beer.
So, how do you put coffee in beer? There are two basic ways. Some brewers add freshly made and cooled coffee to their mash. This generally results in a softer, more subtle coffee character to the beer. More commonly, the coffee is added after fermentation, in a secondary tank or even just before bottling. This offers a sharper taste and a more assertive aroma. There is some debate about whether the coffee should be made with cold water or with hot water and then cooled. That is splitting hairs.
You might also be asking if the caffeine survives. From the best information I can gather, the answer is yes, meaning you can combine your depressant and your stimulant in one beverage. No need to hit the 24-hour Humpty's after all.
The best qualities of coffee make their way through in the beer, meaning if you like coffee, you will love coffee beer. But the best way to bring you around is to get you to try some. Allow me to offer a couple of good examples, spanning the range of intensity, that give you a good sense of what coffee can do for beer.

On the lighter end of the scale is the Coffee Porter from Toronto's Mill Street Brewing ($13.75 for a six pack). The beer has a rich, velvety chocolate character, which on its own might be rather sweet. The addition of coffee adds a slight roast and dries out the finish. Coffee flavours are present, but generally lurk in the background. This is a subtle dark beer that stands out because of its coffee additions.
On the more assertive end of the scale you will find Yukon Brewing's Midnight Sun Espresso Stout ($13.99 for six pack), which I have favourably reviewed in the past (got to bit.ly/espressostout to find it). The beer starts with a strong roast quality and some dark, milky silkiness. Then the espresso, hand roasted in Whitehorse, kicks in, giving the beer a pronounced roast bitterness and deep burnt accent. A bit of oatmeal softens the rougher edges of the beer and helps it achieve a balance between dark roast and malt sweet. This is a great example of adding coffee to the mash.
Most coffee beer are dark and roasty styles, like stout and porter. This is natural, as the bitter, earthy roast of coffee accents the flavours naturally found in those styles and doesn't overpower the beer. However, it doesn't have to be that way. Roving, mad Danish genius Mikkeller recently had a coffee-infused India Pale Ale available in Alberta. Sadly it is now sold out, but it did prove that you can add coffee to lighter-coloured beer.
Sticking with Mikkeller, the brewery has what might be the king of intense coffee beer in its Beer Geek Breakfast ($15.99 for 500 ml bottle) series (one of which included the addition of bacon just to complete the breakfast experience of the beer). Most closely resembling a Russian Imperial Stout, these are big, alcoholic beer which don't compromise on coffee or other beer flavours. There are a few different versions available. I picked up the original, which is 7.5 percent alcohol.
The first impressions have less coffee than might be expected. I pick up dark, rich malt sweetness, some bitter roast, a bit of vanilla and a hint of smokiness. Yes, there is some espresso-like roast as well, but it is subdued. Coffee comes through more in the flavour. After a bit of chocolate and burnt sugar, the coffee roast comes rushing in to coat my mouth. It plays with the dark malt bitterness to create a rich, sharp coffee/beer experience. The body is quite silky (due to a large addition of oats), which is a good thing as it softens the overall impression of the beer. The roast is intense, and you can certainly tell that coffee is a key part of this beer. Full bodied, intense and warming.
As you may now see, when added to beer coffee adds complexity, enhancing roast character and giving an earthy note to the flavour. Most coffee beer are darker, which makes sense, but it is not impossible to make a lighter coffee beer. So go crazy and combine your morning java and your evening pint. V vueweekly.com comments: powered by Disqus