Beer and coffee go together just like rats and parchment, I always say. Or some such thing.
Ever since Dan Carey added some coffee to some stout (and drew the ire of the federal government) back in the mid-90s, brewers have been transmuting mundane beers into special elixirs by mixing the tasty flavors of roasted barley with the tasty roasted flavors of the coffee bean. Normally it is a stout or porter that gets the coffee treatment but occasionally someone gets the idea in their head to create the admixture with a dark lager instead of a black ale.
Beer and coffee can have complementary flavors just as can beer and bourbon. The key, it seems to me, lies in finding the right proportions. Alchemists knew that you didn't just dump a bunch of antimony into a big stash of bitumen and expect good results. They understood that there was virtue in restraint and in harmonizing things. American brewers, unsurprisingly and sadly, generally operate under a more Blakean principle: The road of excess leads to the palace of tasty.
Recall we had 100+ I.B.U. beers that exceeded the theoretical limit of the human tongue's ability to taste bitterness while today's IPAs concentrate fruit flavor more densely than a neutron star of Jolly Rancher flavoring essence. Along these same lines, brewers tend to make barrel aged beers that taste like the bourbon never got drained from the barrel and coffee beers that leave me questioning if there is, in fact, any beer in it because it tastes more like an Americano. Sour can be a nice taste in beer but the brew need not be so acidic as to be of Xenomorph blood strength. No doubt we'll have quad small beers and imperial N/As soon.
The result of all this is that I am weary of IPAs and beers with non-standard flavorings. All too often American brewers show about as much restraint as Donald Trump at McDonald's. But, like a fool, I buy some of them anyway, hoping that someone will also see the virtue of finding harmony amongst the various ingredients whether they're adding bourbon or fruit or hops or, in this case, coffee.
On a recent trip to Eau Claire to visit my stepson and his ladyfriend, I took them grocery shopping and couldn't resist a stroll through the beer department in search of local brews. I came away with some Cold Press Bohemian Dark by Lazy Monk Brewing. It is, I presume, their Bohemian Dark Lager with coffee added to it.
Lazy Monk brewmaster Leos Frank came up with a real beauty of a beer here, although that may not come across very well in that Dexter pint glass replete with blood splatters. It was a gorgeous ruby color topped by a big, tan head that had real staying power. It was clear and I was able to see some bubbles inside. The aroma was a nice mix of roasty grain and coffee with a gentle dose of sweetness.
On my first sips I found a fine, medium fizziness and a medium-light body. A bit of plum came first followed by roasted grain, bread, and coffee. It had a hint of sweetness and there was just a little milk chocolate in there as well. For the finish, the stone fruit and roasty flavors lingered a bit as some herbal-spicy hops slowly emerged to give a modicum of bitterness and dryness.
This is a very good beer. Let me get my gripe out of the way: I think it needed a touch more fizz. Depending on where it was on my tongue, it could take on a slightly syrupy quality that more fizz would have taken care of, methinks. Now, onto the good part. I like Lazy Monk's Bohemian Dark Lager and was quite happy to be able to taste it. The roasty/bready grain flavors were not totally obscured by all the furans and furanones courtesy of the coffee. Frank hit the sweet spot with his mad mixing skillz. The coffee and beer are in harmony here as I was able to taste each of them. They complement one another instead of one overpowering the other.
Junk food pairing: Pair your pour of Cold Press Bohemian Dark with a bag of All Dressed potato chips. Those Canucks are onto something there.
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