A simple mans' life blood

There are a few things that a person needs to survive: food, shelter, and a refreshing beverage to quench his or her thirst. I drink a lot of water, I recently completed my first sprint triathlon and began to really appreciate water again. Without it we would be a completely different society, but this isn't a blog about water, this is a discussion about beer. Funny thing though beer is made with water, you know what else is made with water? Coffee!! For majority of the population (don't quote me on that) coffee is quite possibly the first thing that people drink when they wake up, maybe a sip of water to rinse out the gunky, sleepy, mess that forms during the night, but coffee is number 1.

Now this may seem like a strange way to start a conversation about beer, but I recently brewed a Vanilla Nut Coffee Stout. Wow, say that 5 times fast. It took some time to finish, but believe me it is done now and it is good (at least I think so). I brewed it about 2 1/2 months ago, and it has been sitting, waiting, being patient for the right moment to come when the flavors have melded together to create an amazing combination. The coffee flavor is just right, the alcohol isn't to high that it is overwhelming, and it is smooth. Coffee stouts are nothing new really, in fact if you were to perform a search on www.beeradvocate.com (great website by the way) you would find 3180 recipes for coffee stout. These beers have a life of their own, they are brewed with coffee, so there is a slight caffeine effect, they are complex in flavors, and they really are easy to drink. What I really like about these beers is, however, that they are fun. I get excited about trying new beers, old beers, and odd beers, but what gets me about coffee beers, is that a lot of their flavor is dictated by the type of coffee used in the brewing process.

Sure it is easy to say that any beer is affected by the ingredients that are used to brew them. But the fact that coffee on its own has a huge following, even cult like is some areas, and it is blended with the different grains and yeasts used in beers, well, it just becomes different. There are many commercial brewers that have coffee stouts on the market and I will list a few for you to try. After you have tried them, let me know which ones you like, don't like, and any others that you know of that I might be interested in. After all I like to try different beers. I know that this wasn't very educational, or possibly not even entertaining, but if you get out and try one of these amazing beers just because you read this, then it was worth it. Here's the list:

Brooklyn Intensified Coffee Stout - Brooklyn Brewery

Casa Java-Licious Coffee Cream Stout - Rock Bottom Brewery

Coffee Milk Stout - Portsmouth Brewery

Cowboy Coffee Stout - Wasatch Brew Pub

Alesmith Double Coffee Speedway Stout - Alesmith Brewery

Da Grind Buzz Kona - Kona Brewing Company

Redhook Double Black Stout (with Starbucks coffee) Red Hook Brewery

As you can see there are quite a few, but there are many, many more. So don't just sit there, head out to your local brewery, pub, or grocery store and pick up one today.

Cheers!