Each spring for the past couple of years Laurelwood Brewing up in Portland has brewed a seasonal coffee stout made with locally roasted coffee—with the lengthy name of Organic Portland Roast Espresso Stout. The “Organic” label applies to both the coffee and the beer: it’s certified by Oregon Tilth.
“OPRES” is 6% alcohol by volume and comes in 22-ounce bottles. Brewpublic posted a bit more about it back in February, and includes some history from Laurelwood Brewmaster Chad Kennedy—worth checking out.
Appearance: Black with brown edges when held to the light; tan head that fell rather quickly.
Smell: Roasty coffee much like a fresh-brewed cup of coffee. Some hints of chocolate and dark malts but mostly coffee.
Taste: Pretty straightforward cold-processed coffee flavors over a fairly dry stout (though not “Irish dry”). Beyond the coffee there’s a touch of deep caramel and burnt wood. Lots of coffee here, not unlike a cup of dark roast.
Mouthfeel: The coffee thins out the body for a stout; pleasantly dry and roasty finish.
Overall: Very coffee-ish, and comes out pretty drinkable; they do a good job of not making it too bitter or harsh.
On BeerAdvocate, it scores an overall grade of B+. On RateBeer, is scores 3.8 out of 5, and is in their 96th overall percentile.