Brewed in Concord, NC by Cabarrus Brewing Co., the 4.7% alcohol, 15 IBU ale is brewed using S&D French
Vanilla Roast coffee, roasted locally in Carabbus County.
The
coffee is, according to the copy on the can, blended with Carabbus
Cotton Blonde Ale. The result is a hazy, dull gold ale that pours with a
white cap. Sure enough the aroma does have sweet notes of French
vanilla coffee—the type of java I cut my teeth in in high school before I
discovered the glory of dark roasts and espressos—over a grainy
foundation. The beer has a light mouthfeel that blends a bit
incongruously with its heavily sweet nose. The flavour is also a bit of
an oddity, with ample vanilla sweetness initially, easing into a
modestly bitter and crisp finish.
Carabbus’
Vanilla Coffee Blonde Ale is a curious specimen. It partners scent and
front end taste notes that are traditionally more at home in a porter
with a very light, low octane and, easy-sipping ale. In short, a sweet
and oddly rich lawnmower beer. While I didn’t find myself wishing for a
second can, I must say I did enjoy the one that I had more than I
expected to. I’d have liked a bit more boozy ballast, the sweetness
could have been throttled down from a 10 to an 8, and the coffee could
have been more evidently bitter, but it was still pretty decent. Perhaps
there are more coffee-infused blonde ales out there, but this was a
first for me. Hopefully it won’t be the last.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10.
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