Double Black Stout with Coffee
February 27, 2010 by justin · Leave a Comment
Batch: 08-0410 (Brewed on October 9, 2008)
Well, a beer from RedHook would have coffee now wouldn’t it. For those of you who don’t know RedHook was co-founded by the Starbucks co-founder Gordon Bowker. There is a great artical about all the pots Bowker has his hand in in the March 8, 2008 Seattle Times.
I am not a big RedHook fan, ideologically, since they sold their soul to the devil, 34% Anheuser-Busch, in 2004. Which then means as of 2008 it is Anheuser-Busch InBev. Of course it is more complicated than that cause they are also part of Widmer Brothers, as of 2003 which is also an Anheuser-Busch brand. Know what you drink by looking at the Anheuser-Busch site to start. So, this is a bad thing, IMHO, because the AB-InBev goal, according to their site is, “Anheuser-Busch InBev’s dream is to become the best beer company in the world measured by profitability.” To measure your success by profitability, not flavour or quality, is a problem for the beer world.
Off Soap-Box!
The Double Black Stout is a limited release beer. It was originally created in 1995, but Redhook stopped making it in 2000. Then, in 2008, they brought it back as a limited release.
The aroma is malty with… you guessed it, coffee. Smells great. Many people have stressed the coffee part. True, it has coffee in the aroma and flavour. There is also a hint of toffee and chocolate. As an imperial stout is true to style, full bodied with a good mouthfeel. It is not creamy, it is big. There is a bitterness, almost like bitter chocolate, in the aftertaste.
A few days ago The blog “Life is beer-Beer is life” summed it up well, “If Red Hook would utilize these kinds of beers on a more regular basis, I might proffer more respect and recommendations. As it stands though, their regular line-up definitely disappoints so if you are a flavorholic and beer quaffer extraordinaire like me, just stick to the special one-off releases. You’ll have better luck there as I did with their db (Double Black) Stout with Coffee.”
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