“So we increased the size of the team for this year’s Coffee Stout! Artisti Coffee Roasters has supplied its premium beans & Stahmann Farms at Moree in NSW has loaded us up with pecans. The aroma is black coffee with a creamy body of malty chocolate and refined coffee amongst a layer of nutty goodness. Roaster, Farmer & Brewer!”

Snifter.

Appearance: Glossy black with a thumb of lightly tanned foam perched on top. Decent retention and good lace following it down.

Aroma: The coffee component has a real bite to it…we love it! Smells like raw Arabica coffee bean with heavily roasted pecans in support. The sweet creaminess of the lactose opens up as it settles as does the lovely chocolate and cacao notes. There’s just this gorgeous overall roasty character to it which we’re really digging.

Flavour: Doesn’t have as much intensity as the aroma but there’s still a plethora of flavour kicking off with robust coffee and roasted malt, chocolate, toasted pecans and sweet creamy milk sugars. There’s a light 2nd wave of roasty-ness through the mid which leads to a mildly charred, chocolate and coffee finish. Good length on him too.

Mouthfeel: Creamy, relatively smooth with mild bitterness. Low-ish Co2 with the 6.2% ABV well buried.

Overall: Lovely drop here from New England. It’s meaty and crammed full of flavour yet very pleasant and easy to put back. Let’s just say it’s matching this chilly winters night perfectly.