REVIEW #92: Kopikat (Summer Wine Brewery)

Pours completely black with rust coloured head. The aroma is of burnt wood and dark malt, similar to Summer Wine's Teleporter (review #64). Green grassy hops up front presage an increasingly strong caramel and coffee flavour. Its deep and complex with hints of vanilla, cinnamon and sandalwood in the fragrant, boozy finish. The joint hop & coffee bitterness really shines here too. Very full bodied and smooth drinking. A sumptuous imperial stout that becomes more satisfying the further down the glass you get.

Described on the bottle as an 'Imperial Vanilla Coffee Stout'. Kopikat is no normal stout being brewed with the famous Kopi Luak coffee which is eaten by Indonesian civets. Digestive enzymes work on the coffee beans as they pass through the civet's gut undigested, creating a creamy and smooth flavoured coffee. In addition to Kopi Luak the beer also contains the equally expensive Jamaican Blue Mountain, Old Brown Java and Jamaican Peaberry coffees all added at the end of the boil. Plus Madagascan vanilla pods... How extravagant is that! I'm surprised the bottle makes no mention of this as its some selling point. Summer Wine continue to impress as a craft brewer of distinction.

• MALTS: 8 malts
• HOPS: UK & AMERICAN
• IBU: HIGH
• ABV: 7.4%
• UNFILTERED & UNPASTEURISED. BREWED WITH 4 COFFEE VARIETIES + MUSCOVADO SUGAR

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HEAD-TO-HEAD #5: Cohort (Summer Wine Brewery) vs. Faithless XI (Red Willow Brewery)

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A head-to-head between black IPAs from two highly regarded UK breweries...

I'll start with Cohort, which is described as a 'Double Black Belgian Rye PA'; a grand, not to mention unique description so lets see if it lives up to the promise... Pours inky black with an initially large but short-lived rust coloured head. Tropical fruit bubblegum amalgam on the nose; mango and pineapple are especially prominent. A sweet syrup (overly so?) of tropical fruit juice notes (pineapple/mango/guava etc) run from front to finish; huge, almost overwhelming flavours that I've not experienced before to this extent in a beer. They threaten to unbalance but luckily a huge, gloopy, sticky malt body acts as a counterpoint. Slight toasted grain in the finish. Carbonation is spot on. Bitterness is surprisingly restrained, alcohol less so. I couldn't pick out the rye malt and the usually distinctive Belgian yeast flavours fail to shine...but who cares? Its an India pale ale, albeit a black one, so its all about the hops. And their aroma really shines.

Onto Faithless XI, described as an Imperial Black IPA... Pours a shade lighter than Cohort with an off-white head that disappears equally as fast as its congener above. Strong vanilla ice cream and conifer like hop aroma. A subtler nose and subtler flavour profile overall... Tart grapefruit up front leads into a drying, bitter, citrus zest finish that's much like sucking the inside of a grapefruit and getting some of the peel in with the bargain. Faithless XI has an equally impressive thick & creamy mouthfeel as Cohort but less of a solvent finish and without the presence of charred barley. So, this black IPA is another hop vehicle but features a drier and more rounded, less intense flavour profile. If I'd known beforehand I would have started with the gentler Faithless prior to the tastebud-lacerating onslaught of Cohort.

To conclude: These are two beers that are similar, but different. Similar styles, different hop characters. Cohort is big and brash whereas Faithless is more of an introvert whilst being a little more polished and well rounded. Both are exciting, modern and thoroughly tasty beers. Get Faithless XI while you can as its part of Red Willow's limited edition Faithless series.

• MALTS:  COHORT = pale, rye, carafa, others / FAITHLESS = ?
• HOPS: COHORT =  SUMMIT, CITRA, CHINOOK, SIMCOE, AMARILLO / FAITHLESS = CHINOOK, COLUMBUS, GALAXY, CENTENNIAL
• IBU: COHORT = HIGH / FAITHLESS = HIGH
• ABV: COHORT = 7.5% / FAITHLESS = 7.2%
• COHORT IS FERMENTED WITH A BELGIAN YEAST STRAIN AND INCLUDE RYE AS PART OF THE GRAIN BILL.
• FAITHLESS xi IS A bottle-conditioned LIMITED RELEASE BEER.

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REVIEW #72: Barista Espresso Stout (Summer Wine Brewery)

Pours black as night with a dark beige head. The nose is full of peaty, dank earth and grassy notes; unexpected! Surprisingly similar in taste too with black coffee and spent grounds being prominent initially. The latter runs through to the finish. Bitter earthy hops combine with a chewy liquorice and hedgerow fruit malt sweetness prior to a very dry and prolonged roast coffee finish. The coffee comes across in a very similar manner to that of De Molen's Bed & Breakfast (review 37). One feature of Espresso Stout is its low carbonation, making it come across a little flat. To some this may be a negative but I feel it allows the flavours to come out of hiding more than normal. It could also be thought of as a bit heavy going due to its thick, full bodied nature. But if you like a good stout I think this will please. And for those stout drinkers who also like a good expresso, then this is sure to do the trick.

Summer Wine Brewery have impressed me. First with their fruity (Tele)porter and now with this very modern feeling stout. It comes across as very much a creative craft beer, akin to something a De Molen or Mikkeller would produce. I'm looking forward to trying their Double Black Rye-PA, which is sitting on my kitchen floor. In fact that may become part of a black IPA head-to-head review. Watch this space.

• MALTS: ?

• HOPS: ?
• IBU: ?
• ABV: 4.8%`
• COFFEE ADDED 

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REVIEW #64: Teleporter (Summer Wine Brewery)

Pours a nigh on impenetrable black with darkish beige head. Smells very much in line with a porter, full of forest fruits and earthy hop perfume. Very fruity and sweet to taste, more so than most porters. Difficult to tell whether the fresh and breezy hop character or the 10 different malts contribute most to the fresh fruit flavour. Must be a beautifully equilibrated mixture of the two. A tangy citrus hop finish occurs with some bitterness coming through at the last. Medium to full bodied yet drinks remarkably light and refreshing... The 'Ten Malt' moniker led me to believe I'd be in for a particularly dark & complex beer but Teleporter actually comes across in a nicely unassuming and uncomplicated manner. If a porter was ever qualified to herald the coming of Spring then this would be it.

Summer Wine Brewery was born in 2008 in the Yorkshire town of Holmfirth. Their ethos is to jazz up Yorkshire's traditional beer image (think Sam Smith's) with something a little more avant-garde. This credo is evinced by their bottled beer range which features, among others, a 'lime & coriander Saison', a 'double black Belgian Rye-PA', an 'espresso stout' and most recently, an 'imperial vanilla coffee stout' called KopiKat. All sound unique and exciting. Further reviews of Summer Wine brews to come...

• MALTS: 10 different malts

• HOPS: ?
• IBU: ?
• ABV: 5%`

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