Good evening all. Day 10's offering is another bad boy from Brouwerij De Molen (Bodegraven, Netherlands); it's Mout & Mocca, an Imperial Stout brewed with coffee. I'm a big fan of coffee stouts, to the extent that I can still remember my first time trying Beer Geek Breakfast, so I'm definitely looking forward to this offering from one of my favourite breweries. As a quick heads up, tomorrow's review will join day 13's post as I am otherwise preoccupied tomorrow evening; hopefully you'll all be able to cope with this temporary disruption! Review after the pics....
Mout & Mocca (11.6% ABV) pours a brown-tinged jet black colour with a thick beige head that settles to a patchy covering over the surface of the beer. The aroma is light but pretty amazing, with coffee, chocolate, lactose sugar and some light caramel sweetness residing in the background. I think I've finally identified that oily pimento olive aroma/taste that I seem to get with stouts and beers that utilise roasted malt- it's that slightly astringent aroma that comes along once a freshly brewed cup of coffee has cooled down a bit too much to drink. That exact aroma was what hit me as soon as I took the first inhale, but this mellows out soon after the initial burst and takes on the usual dark roasted qualities you'd expect. Despite the high ABV percentage there are no excessive alcoholic aromas; in fact, the whole thing has a very subtle aroma that is reminiscent of a milk stout with a healthy injection of coffee (or, in Ronseal terms, a mocha!). The taste is just as smooth, with coffee, lactose and candy sugar, booze, chocolate and some light sweetness rounding out the partial coffee bitterness. As with the aroma the coffee hits first again, but this time with the roasted character as opposed to the acridity; through retro-olfaction it remains on the palette throughout each sip, balancing out some of the flavours nicely. The power of the alcohol finally becomes apparent through drinking, but it's mixed in well with the other flavours and so isn't harsh or detracting. It still has the milk stout quality which makes the drinking experience very creamy, and the background roasted malt and accompanying flavours (chocolate sauce, a hint of dark fruits) are balanced in the mix perfectly. The mouthfeel verges towards the thick side and the beer is moderately carbonated, which compliments the coffee in particular very well. Overall, this is a fantastic coffee stout that deserves to be spoken of in the same revered tones as Mikkeller's Beer Geek Breakfast, Founder's Breakfast Stout and Southern Tier's Mokah. Highly recommended!
Until next time....
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