La Granja Stout
600 mL bottle with no freshness date. Based on a British sweet stout, with a cold water extract of organic, single estate, Mexican espresso beans. The beer pours nearly pitch-black, with lots of carbonation that builds up a noisy, fizzy, two-finger head that collapses in less than a minute. Within five minutes it appears dull and lifeless, with absolutely no head and the semblance of a glass of Pepsi. There is a definite coffee stout nose, with ash tray, light sweetness, cold coffee, a touch of chocolate, maraschino?, and mild sour/acidic notes. The beer is warming, with roasted coffee, dark malts, mild bitterness and a light sour note. It is incredibly sweet throughout (cloying to the point of affecting drinkability), with an acidic, charred/acrid malt finish on top of a thin, drying body that has abrasive carbonation. Overall, the sweetness and the harsh carbonation help to make this one come across more as a coffee cola than a coffee stout. The carbonation does help to cut through the sweetness, and there isn't a trace of the alcohol, but, as a whole, this beer is a disappointment, and too pricey for the quality you receive.