Beer of the Week

The beer: Roast Me Or Toast Me

The brewery: 1623 Brewing Company, Eldersburg, Maryland

Description (from the website): "What better way to set up your day than French toast and coffee? This breakfast in a can is sure to keep those good times rolling through the day, whether you’re toasting to the good days, or roasting the ones you spend your day with. Brewed so you won’t be dreading the times to come."

Would I buy it again? I'm honestly quite disappointed by this one. It doesn't taste like French toast in any way, but it's certainly got plenty of coffee bitterness. The aftertaste is especially not good. I also thought it might be on the lighter side, considering the color of the beer and the fact it's described as a "white stout," but it's definitely not. Definitely won't be getting this again in the future.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Bear (With A Hint of Coffee)

Brewed by: Tree House Brewing Company, Charlton, Massachusetts

Description (from Untappd): "We are excited to welcome Bear back, this time with a tasteful and restrained addition of custom roasted coffee! After careful deliberation and assessment, we chose a coffee that exhibits delicate flavors of milk chocolate, cinnamon, and molasses. The base beer features flavors and aromas of toffee, caramel, chocolate, brown bread, and black coffee - a lovely pairing for the delicate, lightly roasted coffee for which it shares the glass. Though this beer is rich with flavor and complexity, it drinks smoothly and easily… an ideal pairing for a hearty winter meal or a day spent on the ice. A winter treat, indeed!"

Would I buy it again?: I think Coffee (With A Hint of Bear) would be a more accurate name for this beer. There is much more than a hint of coffee. Admittedly, I don't drink coffee too often, but I know the taste of coffee well enough. Does that make it bad? No, absolutely not, this beer is very good. It's more drinkable than you might expect as well. I probably wouldn't buy it again, but that's more because Tree House is apparently a very big, very popular brewery (No. 2 in the country, according to BeerAdvocate) with many, many beers. I got this from the brewery itself – along with a couple others which I'll get to in the coming weeks – and if I ever go there again, I'd get something different. Were it readily available in Maryland, then yes, I'd buy it again.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Coffee Bender

Brewed by: Surly Brewing Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Description (from the website): "Guatemalan coffee, roasted locally, is added to our house oatmeal brown ale. Cold press coffee aromatics and intense coffee flavors are balanced by the oats in the malt bill, resulting in a cappuccino-like creaminess."

Would I buy it again?: Usually when you see coffee in a beer, it's a stout, not a brown ale. Unlike the Sheetz donut beer, however, a brown ale isn't too terribly far removed from a stout, and as you can see from the picture, this beer is plenty dark. However, that brown ale does keep things comparatively light, so while I wouldn't call this a beer you could easily down a six pack of, it doesn't fill you up like a coffee stout might. The taste is good as well, so this beer definitely gets my approval.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Operation Breakfast

Brewed by: Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, Maryland

Description (from the website): "We gave ourselves a singular mission— brew a stout with all the roasted malt flavor you expect from a waffle maker, plus the huge coffee and vanilla flavor of a cafe latte. Well, mission accomplished."

Would I buy it again?: This is a good beer, I won't deny that. It advertises itself as an "all-you-can-eat" coffee vanilla stout, and you know what? I think it captures the breakfast taste very well. But while I would buy it again, it's not something I'd drink very often. It's such a rich and thick beer, I don't think I could do more than one of these in a day. 

Beer of the Week

The beer: Son of a Baptist Coffee Stout

Brewed by: Epic Brewing Company, Salt Lake City, Utah

Description (from the website): "Son of a Baptist is an 8% ABV imperial stout. It is not barrel aged like its father, Big Bad Baptist; instead its flavor profile was designed to highlight the complex and unique flavors of small batch coffees. Instead of sourcing a coffee that would play well in a beer we sought out creative and innovative roasters, then asked them which beans they’re passionate about. Each resulting release of Son of a Baptist is widely different, depending on the coffee selected. Some are fruity and sweet with notes of jam and chocolate, others are rich and earthy with a big roasted finish. Each limited release will return to the Roaster’s home market where the beer and the coffee can be sampled side by side."

Would I buy it again?: I probably would, but not for a while. This may come as a big surprise, but a thick coffee stout isn't exactly the best beer to drink in the summer. But in the winter, sure, I'd get it again. I like coffee stouts, and this was a good one.