Wow. This beer is 11.2% so we are prepared for a head buzz! From the Netherlands, this brew uses the famed Indonesian ‘Kopi Loewak’ coffee beans which, without turning ourselves off before drinking this, are the seeds of the coffee berries that are eaten by the Asian palm civet, digesting them and then defecating them and the result is supposedly a more flavoursome coffee. We’ll stick to Nescafe for now thanks.
Pouring a mat black with a huge bubbly head that does not disappear. Good head retention. We get those rich molasses, yeasty/marmite, chocolate aromas on the nose initially. Pale, brown and cara malts used, as well as obvious roasted malt. First sip is full of booze, we can get coffee but unfortunately the alcohol content masks it. We were hoping to get that real rich coffee flavour but as continual sips yield this overbearing booze flavour, it becomes quite annoying. Maybe a hint of creamy lactose pushes through late and there is also an assertive bitterness from the hops used. As we push this down there is absolutely no lacing being omitted. Overall, this beer is too strong to showcase the coffee. Real shame. Lowering the ABV would be the first step. Otherwise it’s just a rich stout.