John Harvards Espresso Stout

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

[Wayne, PA] Poured an opaque black color that had a medium sized, tan head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of straight coffee bean. That’s about it, same with the taste with a bit of roasted malt, and chocolate, but with a dry, bitter, somewhat astringent finish.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

Really nice coffee aroma. It's not just the coffee-like aroma of some of the darker malts, but real quality coffee. Appearence is nice, black, but not quite opaque body. The head is large and frothy and lasts. The flavor and mouthfeel are where this beer falls short. The coffee dominates the flavor, but not because it's overdone, the coffee is tastefully done and pretty much spot on, but the malty flavors of a great stout are lacking. I would have likes to have seen a fuller, richer malt base backing up the coffee. A similar problem befalls the mouthfeel. It's just to thin and would have benefitted from a richer feel. I actually debated on the flavor score for this beer. Should it be a 3.5 or a 4. The nicely handled coffee flavor is wonderful, but the malts are a letdown. In the end, I decided to go with a 3.5 flavor score since the beer's base is no more than average. Still an excellent beer and I would drink it again.