How to find the perfect coffee beer

September 24, 12:03 PMCaffeine ExaminerBig Red Boots  

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Beer and coffee are a perfect match.  Both have much the same properties, have the same process to get the good stuff out of the beans and grains, and both have played an important part in world culture.  People are just as passionate about their coffees as their beers, scouring the world for the unique mix of ingredients and climates to brew.  Both beer and coffee have been lauded by great minds through the centuries, and their flavors seem to naturally compliment each other. 

There is even a coffee category at the Great American Beer Festival (today through Saturday at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver).

It seemed most natural that major food and drink companies have tried to pair their flavors together.  New Scientist reported that Nestec, a Nestle subsidiary, has applied for a patent on a fermented coffee beverage. In other words, coffee beer -- it foams like beer and packs the caffeine of coffee, with "fruity and/or floral notes due to the fermentation of the coffee aroma." Even Starbucks has gotten into the game, working with Redhook to produce Double Black Stout, a beer containing 30 milligrams of caffeine per 22 ounce bottle – that’s a little less than the average shot of espresso. Many large and small breweries have tried a version of coffee beer - with varying degrees of success.  The category has seen enormous growth in their Cofee Beer category, having more than two dozen competitors in their 2009 competition.

As a gourmand of both coffee and beer for many years, I have certainly had my share of coffee beers - from the floral and acidic varieties to the creamy and toasted flavors of deep espresso stouts.  I have found a few important points to watch out for when sampling coffee beer.

1.  How do you like your coffee?
Not everyone likes their morning coffee to be a triple shot espresso served black.  Some people like light blends with lots of caffeinated potency and others like their joe sweet and creamy. Take into your favorite way to drink your coffee into consideration when trying coffee beers.  There are as many kinds of coffee beer as there are different ways to make coffee.  If you are a Machiatto person, try a black coffee stout, and if you're a breakfast blend drinker, try something more hoppy with citrus, like Giddy up! from New Belgium brewery.

2. Do you respect the brewery?
In many coffee beer recipes, the coffee is a flavoring - not really concentrating on the kind of coffee and the brewing process.  For a brewery to take the time to find the right kind of coffee, the right method for addition to the beer mix, and get just that right chemistry takes time and patience.  To just pick out a couple pounds of coffee bean from the store and crack them with the grains shows a sloppiness in how the beer is produced.  You also can find lots of bad ideas by the big breweries who did not quite get it ( anyone remember Bud Extra?)  Find a company that really cares about where their coffee is from ( they might list their coffee supplier on the bottle) to get a really excellent brew. Kona Brewing is a great example, stating in big bold letters that they use "100% hawaiian Kona coffee"

3. How do you like your caffeine fix?
After extensive testing, cockeyed.com found there to be about 8½ grams of caffeine per pound of coffee, which is about 3.2 gallons worth.
So depending on the brewing process, beers can have a very different amount of caffeine.  While I have tried some Yerba Mate Beer with quite a punch, there are quite a few coffee beers with only a minimal amount of caffeine.  Kona's brew has only 2mg of caffeine per 12 ounce a bottle. But, Flying Fish Java Porter has around 200mg of caffeine per bottle! 

4.  If you don't  find one you like, Keep trying! 
Some brewers use brewed coffee in their pot, while others add the roasted ground beans, and still others have more unique ways to crack the beans lightly and add to their brew pot.  With all the ways to brew and all the ways to choose flavors, you have to have an open mind and taste buds to try them out.  Rarely will you find two coffee beers that taste the same. A search of www.ratebeer.com returns over 100 beers with "coffee" in the name and 79 with "java." If one does not suit your taste, remember their name and keep looking!

Not only does Charlie Papazian, Great American Beer Festival founder, write for Examiner.com, but we have dozens of other craft beer experts covering hops and barley. Follow their coverage throughout September of one of the world's largest beer festivals. Click here for Charlie’s take on beer, GABF articles and details on how you can win tickets to the festival!