Beer – #265 – De Molen – Kopi Loewak

Yet another beer to make it to the front of the fridge is this, the De Molen – Kopi Loewak. Brewed by Brouwerij de Molen which is styled as an Imperial Stout in the lovely Bodegraven, Netherlands

As an aside : On september 17th 2013, De Molen has announced it will stop producing beers with Kopi Loewak coffee.

Back to the action though , the now familiar 330ml bottle of this, an 11.25% ABV beer, or 2.8 standard drink units in NZ, 336 calories it seems, and an IBU of 85 – which compares this to a Barley Wine.

Bottled on the 24th January, and best before 5 years later says the label. If only I had the patience.

Kopi Luwak or Civet coffee is the most expensive coffee in the world. The high price is not because of the rareness of the coffee berries themselves but because of the special production process. The coffee berries are eaten by the Luwak – a civet cat. The beans however can not be digested by the Luwak and therefor can be found in their pooh. The beans are washed and slightly roasted. This whole process of eating, pooh, find the pooh and treat the berries is very time consuming. This is of course reflected in the price of the coffee. Real coffee connaisseurs highly appreciate this coffee. And what does Brouwerij de Molen do with it? We use it in our own production process of brewing beer. Our KopiLoewak is an Imperial Stout with incredible coffee flavours. Roasted and bitter like an expresso.

So beer made from ferret poo? said MrsPdubyah.

Hoping for a dark, coffee and chocolate drink, bit acidic and a great finish.

Really really rich coffee aroma on opening, alone a treat!

It’s like cold drip coffee, it’s really intense, and the soft carbonation gives it a really decent carry. The underlying bitterness isn’t intruding and all in all this is a thoroughly entertaining beer.

What’s not easily known is that this is a fairly strong beer, and that I should slow down and enjoy the experience rather than sip and smile, should introduce the pause….. Like the rugby strum mantra “touch, pause, engage”

As well as the coffee in this I get a sense of fruits in the palate. I Might be the only one to get that though.

Putting aside the irresponsible nature of harvesting the coffee, and the inherent cruelty of farming specifically for it, and only for the entertainment not as a byproduct this is something very clever indeed. I like the way the coffee aroma assaults your nose, and then it translates into the taste, and then carries on to a really decent finish. Just the right amount of carbonation and the thing that really let it down was for me the lack of head, which as you know with my drinking is a common theme, I need to investigate lessons.

The pdubyah-o-meter then says that this is a great 9’s worth of beer in and of itself. Lacking a head, and because perhaps I’d have enjoyed more chocolate notes in this holds it back from me doing the high-five.

It is really easy drinking, really easy, and each mouthful is a coffee-bittersweet entertainment that just makes you want to go again. The bit about ‘pause’… didn’t happen. Definitely not for Lager drinker.Definitely not for Lager drinker. This isn’t a spectacular stout as stouts are measured, but what it is is a spectacular use of coffee in beer.

I can say without doubt thought definitely not for Lager drinker.

MrsPdubyah chose the music tonight, Beyoncé, at least this offsets that a bit.

I left this to go cook on the barbecue, some Portuguese spiced chicken, and came back to a few more sups. I’d found that as it had warmed it had altogether got softer and more rounded and complete. You should if you can can get one.