Sunday Paper Imperial Stout with Coffee by Exhibit ‘A’ Brewing Company

This one was day 8 of my Brewvana Twelve Beers of Christmas pack. Excellent deep, dark brown color. Smells like a fresh cuppa sitting next to a just-opened bag of chocolate morsels. Tastes like a sweet mocha (chain coffee-style), sweeter than I expected based on the name. A lot of the coffee flavor was overwhelmed by sweetness, making it more similar to milk chocolate. Mouthfeel was appropriately chewy for an imperial stout, like a still-warm brownie. 4/5 stars.

Coffee beers remind me of my first experience drinking coffee. I grew up in the midwestern Lutheran tradition where “coffee fellowship” was a fixture of Sunday mornings. A quick primer for the uninitiated. Reserved-natured descendants of German and Scandinavian immigrants stand around after worship discussing inoffensive topics. Conversation runs dry after “seems much snowier this year” and “Greg’s kid kicked a nice long punt in Friday’s game.” Enter a social convention to fill the gaps or allow you to politely exit! A styrofoam cup of coffee, served from an industrial-sized steel percolator filled with Folgers (not too much though, moderation is a virtue) and heated long enough to reduce to a proper strength, then liberally drowned in non-dairy creamer and a quick hit of sugar. Don’t know how to respond to a story or comment? Take a sip of coffee and give a good ambiguous“Hmmm!” Need to leave so you can catch the football game on TV? Gesture with your cup and excuse yourself to toss the empty! Don’t want to talk to the person who approached you? Make a sour face after sipping your coffee and head back to the service area to add more sugar or creamer! The multi-purpose action hero for introverts!

After observing this dance throughout my childhood, at age 13 I got it into my head that I wanted to try coffee. I grabbed a cup, filled it with near-boiling brown liquid, and took a sip. I burned my tongue. Also, it tasted like rinse water from a grill and smelled like yesterday’s campfire. Now understanding a bit more of what it meant to be an adult, I dumped in a healthy dose of creamer and an even healthier pile of sugar. Not good, but not bad either! I continued sipping at the sweet, beige nectar until it was time to leave, then chucked the 3/4-full cup into the trash on my way out the door. This was an experiment requiring further data.

Sunday Paper Imperial Stout with Coffee by Exhibit ‘A’ Brewing Company