Samuel Adams Black & Brew
Our coffee stout is a full bodied, rich stout that supports the espresso character of the coffee. We use 1.5 lbs of Sumatran coffee per barrel. Rich and toasty, the flavor leads with coffee and follows with underlying notes of chocolate, caramel, and dark fruit. Cheers!
3.6
326 reviews
Boston, United States
Community reviews
Something different, but a good different. Pours amost black with a tan head that lingers for a bit. Coffee aroma and taste takes an aggressive stand here: a coffee stout with no apologies. Sweet at first, but coffee and hop bitterness play off of each other for a savory finish. This is a good candidate to convert the "light beer" crowd to the world of craft brews. Even my wife loved it, and she hates beer.
12 oz. bottle. Pours a dark brown with a cream head. Smells of roasted coffee and chocolate malt. Taste is of crips coffee roast with balanced bitterness and caramel/toffee malt with a roasted finish and aftertaste. Palate is nice -- not overly creamy but sufficiently thick -- feels relatively clean. An enjoyable stout.
Solid stout right here. Black pour with a tan head. Lots of coffee on the nose. Nice malt and coffee presence on the palate with a rich, long finish. One of the best coffee stout I have had. I wish they sold 6 packs of it.
Not bad. It had a strong roasted aroma with a hint of sweetness. Very dark with brown creamy head. There was a creamy palate with slight carbonation. Flavors were roasted malt and coffee (almost like mocha). Very little hops presence. Probably the best stout I can remember having from Samuel Adams.
Taken from old notes. Black pour, nose of coffee and some chocolate. Taste is the same. Finish is little bitter and flat. Aftertaste of light, lingering coffee.
Dark with ’crema’ head. nice espresso aroma. Palate a bit thin but flavours well integrated between the coffee and dark malts
Thanks To Daknole. Taste this bottle on a hotelroom with my wife. A dark colored beer with a thick foamy dark beige head. The aroma of some drak fruits, prune, with coffee and notes of roasted malts. The taste of sweet dark fruits, some coffee, light/milk chocolate. The aftertaste is sweety with some bitter.
Very dark brown pour. Roasty coffee aroma, roasty soy sauce flavor. Odd. Not bad though.
A - Pours a dark black-brown color with a finger of frothy mocha colored head. The head fades down fairly slowly leaving behind some nice lacing.
S - Aroma is a mix of roasted coffee and chocolate malts with a bit of black licorice and some light lactose sweetness.
T - Starts off with some roasted chocolate and other dark malts with a hint of dark fruit sweetness and a bit of licorice. Through the middle, some more bitter coffee beans come through with some light lactose sweetness. The finish is a mix of dark chocolate and coffee with some light dark fruit and licorice.
M - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Feels smooth with a dry, roasted, and lightly bitter finish.
D - Very drinkable. Good coffee stout. Nice balance of roasted coffee flavors with a stout base.
bottled. pours black in color with a one finger dark tan head with lacing. aroma of chocolate malts and coffee. Taste follows the nose but the coffee is off, tastes like maxwell house instant, follows with sweet chocolate. Mouth feel is thin but that makes it easier to drink. Not too bad but not fantastic
Pours a dark brown almost black with a nice two finger light brown head that lasts. Body is slightly thin for the style but, goes down very easy.
Aroma is amazing. Lots of espresso and chocolate. Strong aroma almost like a fresh cup of coffee.
Flavor is well balanced but a little strong. Coffee/espresso is certainly the dominating flavor in this beer. I think I would like it a little bit more if it was a stout, with hints of coffee, but overall still a quality beer
12 ounce bottle thanks to someone who put this in the fridge! Pours a murky dark brown color with a small white head. The aroma is light roast and coffee. The flavor is a big coffee beer with light caramel and light toasted malts. Pretty good.
From a 12 oz bottle into a duvel tulip. Pours a very dark brown, almost black with a finger length tan head that shrinks to nothing and leaves decent lacing. Aroma is espresso, chocolate, toasted barley, and very faint pine. Taste is good black coffee, bitter chocolate, cream, and some astrigency. Thin mouthfeel. Decent coffee stout.
Pint at Tylers Apex. Good aroma, sweet and roasty. Nice coffee, cocoa, malty. Clean reddish brown black. Sweet flavor. Thinner body, smooth oily mouthfeel, dry sweet finish. Nice, so easy to drink. Good flavor, not overwhelming, but solid..
Pours black in color with a one finger head that leaves great lacing. Aroma of chocolate malts and coffee. Taste follows the nose but the coffee is off, tastes like cheap coffee, follows with sweet chocolate. Mouth feel is a bit thin but that makes it easier to drink. Not too bad but not fantastic
Very strong coffee aroma. Black cookie with large head. Sweet flavor with very strong coffee finish. Finish is too strong for me, but overall good beer.
Bottle at home, from my Maudite glass. Part of the "Beer Pipeline" with Duffman. Thanks Tony! Pours clear black, 1.5-finger pale tan head, spotty lacing. Nose is solid coffee, nice round roastiness, maybe one of the best purely "coffee" aromas I’ve ever gotten from a Coffee Stout. Further nosing reveals toast, Coffee Crisp candy bars, and something vaguely cookie-like. Flavours are coffeeish, very much so, along with round roast, big soft fudge, and a touch of cream in the finish. Astounding stuff, considering the weight.
Bottle as shown. Pours a dark brown with a medium tan head. The aroma is roasted malt coffee and chocolate. Medium mouthfeel with a sweet roastd malt and coffee with light bitter finish. A very good stout.
From notes: Poured inky black with a creamy, 2-finger dark tan head. Aroma of coffee, perhaps with a touch of dairy cream. Some roasty notes also. Medium-bodied, deep flavors with a slight oilyness from the coffee. Flavor of coffee with some cocoa beneath. Slight dryness to the finish. Kind of an odd fruity-sweet note as it warmed.
Serving: 12 oz. bottle from Wegmans Leesburg. It pours black with slight ruby highlights and a large, light tan head. The nose has lots of coffee, slight roasted malt, and mocha notes. The flavor favors the coffee side of things with nice black coffee notes, a touch of sweetness, and a little prune juice as it warms. The bitterness comes from the roast, not the hops. Not heavy on the tongue like some stouts, this brew is medium bodied with average carbonation. Maybe a little pedestrian, but solid and approachable. Nice brew.
Bottle. Black with a good sized light brown head. Aroma of coffee, caramel, burnt malt. Taste is pretty mild, mostly coffee, leading to a very lightly dry, roasted finish. Light bodied, soft carbonation.
bottle - Pours very dark brown and smells of the expected coffee and dark roast malt. The flavor is roasty and well balanced with a good, solid body and nice coffee character. Overall it’s a pretty good coffee stout though not a remarkable one.
Poured into a glass stein. Black with a finger of tan head. Looks nice.
Smells like coffee, nutty and malty.
Sweet tasting, burnt malt at the beginning with bitter coffee beans at the end. The flavors hit "one, two, three" without any blending or balance.
Moderate to high carbonation, too much for me. Light body for a stout.
An okay drink. It has a robust coffee profile, but it was not balanced with the rest of the stout. Smelled and looked great though.
Pitch black pour with nice thick beige head that hangs around. Strong coffee aroma and a little cream too. Bitter coffee flavor with ok mouthfeel. Not much else going on. Not bad but nothing special.
Delicious combination of coffee and beer, and not that disgusting convenience store blend coffee. Definitely a good one from the winter collection. Almost wanted to have this with breakfast instead of an actual coffee
Brief write up. This is a very solid attempt at a coffee stout by BBC, the coffee profile isn’t amazing, but the rest of the stout (aside from its lackluster feel) is pretty damn good, with a nice malty backbone and hints of dark fruit. I’d love to see this stuff in six-packs.
One of the best Sam Adams brews I’ve had, and I think Sam Adams consistently turns out quality beer. The taste is strong but smooth. Hops hit you at the front, and then this stuff finishes with all kinds of amazing tones. There’s coffee, of course, and a rich, smokey stout malt ... but then there’s cream, caramel, chocolate, and black cherry at the finish. I enjoyed this.
Bottle from Wal Mart: Poured a deep dark shade of brown that could have easily been confused as black while a thick monstrous layer of stubborn foam graced the top. The aroma is all malts and boasts a strong resemblance to rich regular black coffee even though it does smell like coffee you could buy at McDonalds or 7-11. The drink is roasty with a heavy blend of blackened malt that suggests coffee like flavors. Even though this does hold a nice rich blend of roast coffee like malts, it is apparent that there is an addition of coffee creamer flavor as well such as half and half or cheap Irish creamer capsules. Everyone else can hate on this or me for giving this such a high rating but I’m sorry, I can only think of 2 other beers that pulled off such a strong resemblance to coffee that I feel this ranks as # 3 in the category of best damn coffee beers.
12 oz bottle. Pours black with a large tan head. It has the aroma of coffee and dark chocolate. This beer is wonderful. It tastes like a mix of dark chocolate, sweet coffee with cream and has a nice slightly bitter aftertaste. I would definitely buy this one again.
authentic coffee flavor and body like it already has the cream and sugar in it. cocoa coffee aroma the flavor is more like a burnt coffee rather than showing cocoa. the palate is layered smooth mellow alcohol, and a bit buttery and warm then some bitter coffee harshness that fades. busy, authentic and satisfying.