Hello and welcome back to the Eternal Hoptimists,
Over the past few years, the Guinness brand has certainly expanded and in recent times launched the impressive alcohol free version of the classic Irish stout. Hot on the heels of this Guinness decided to branch out even further (or should that be experiment?) with the release of the cold brew coffee version coming in at a very sessionable 4%abv.
In time for St Patrick’s Day we thought that it is finally time to get our hands on this to see if coffee in a Guinness really works or if it is just a gimmick that will soon be forgotten.
1. Name : Guinness Nitro Cold Brew Coffee
2. Brewery: Guinness & CO (Dublin, Ireland)
3. Hops : Not specified
4. Grain : Barley & Malt
5. Aroma : Gives off a nose of a milky coffee with a nice roastiness and hints of chocolate and caramel.
6. Appearance : No mistaking that this is a Guinness product as soon as the beer in the glass. Same black beer with the distinctive tight white head that lingers well throughout.
7. Body : Light body which is perfect for its 4%abv strength
8. Taste : Initial taste of an espresso coffee with notes of chocolate and caramel which leaves the familiar Guinness bitterness at the back end.
It has taken me quite some time to finally pick up a pack of Guinness Nitro Cold Brew Coffee as I have often seen it on the shelves and thought to myself one day, I will get around to trying this and now that I have I am glad I did! This one works far better than I expected with the coffee flavours and notes of chocolate and caramel working well before making way to the familiar Guinness bitterness which helps to create a very well-balanced and flavoursome beer.
My wife is also partial to a Guinness or two on the odd occasion so when I poured this gave her a taste, her initial reaction was yuck as she felt that the coffee was too overpowering and did not work, where as I thought the opposite and feel that Guinness has another hit on their hands here and allayed my fears that this could be just a gimmick.
Fair play to Guinness for what they have tried (and succeeded with) in recent times. Now I am just gutted that I left Nitro Cold Brew Coffee on the shelves for too long without giving it a go and it will certainly be one that I look to pick up on a more regular basis. As an added bonus as my wife does not like it, means more for me…..good stuff!
Our overall rating: 3.8/ 5.0
The|Eternal|Hoptimitsts 