Beer – #684 – De Molen – Kopi Loewak

This is a bit special, De Molen – Kopi Loewak a beer I have had before and didn’t think I’d have again, so much pleased face. This is the BeerJerkNZ Beer Club beer of the week.

I’m going with Again, Again, Again and Again.

” most expensive coffee in the World‘ “

This is a 330ml bottle, and it is an 11.25% ABV beer, or 2.8 standard drink units in NZ, comes in at 336 calories, and has an IBU of 85 – which compares this to a Barley Wine.

Brewed by Brouwerij de Molen which is styled as an Imperial Stout in the lovely Bodegraven, Netherlands

A beer to be savoured and the intense, complex and rich flavours present mean you’ll be in no rush to get to the bottom of the glass. The dominant flavour is certainly coffee.

A little treasure, and his beer

Kopi Loewak, you may have heard of the ‘most expensive coffee in the World‘ which has been eaten and excreted by Indonesian civet cats. The brewers clearly didn’t hold back on the amount of beans they added to the brew.

De Molen recently realised that they could not guarantee the coffee had been ethically produced so stopped using it in their beer.

So, what could possibly go wrong? Well it might be too cold, I’ve had it sitting in the room for a while jut hoping it’ll come to the right point. But as I know it might never appear again I might just take my sweet time about it.

This has the most intense rich chocolate and coffee aroma on opening, they should bottle that.

In the glass, a dark black pour, little carbonation, small head, the aroma is of rich smooth creamy chocolate, really rich, fine chocolate.

The taste is almost like nothing else you’ve ever had, which might just be the hype talking, but what you think you’re going to get you get and then you get a bit more of.

Smoother than a hipster the beer washes over the palate with a top note of a bitter fruit carried on a smooth sugary sweetness to a finish that just fades away leaving you licking your lips.

I’d write haiku but just normal writing is hard enough.

I like Cold-Drip coffee, and let me say at this point that this isn’t like that, this is slightly harder edged coffee than that, less mellow.

That harsh edge is enough to make you take note that you’re drinking coffee, what you might like might be a more intense or stronger presence of the chocolate, and so you’ve ended up with ‘just a glass of cold coffee’, except and but, this is a bit of a strong beer, and there is no hint of that strength, no astringent at the end, none of that eye watering bit that you can get.

Not a bit, and that is what makes this a bit of a good beer, It is easy to get caught up in the whole story of the thing, and that this probably is near the end of the production and so it becomes rarer daily. Some of me would like to get another for the beer fridge that doubles as the cellar.

Because this is quite intense, peaky even, it becomes longer drinking, smaller sips, and a dryness appears at the back, it could do with more steeped fruits or richness in the journey, which isn’t that long as each sip is one sip less to end, and this unfolds gently, but harshly as you drink. But still welcoming.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 9 of its things from the thing. The same as last time. This is flawed in a couple of ways, it is not perfect, lacking some body where it might do with it, and being harsh where it could be mellow, perhaps. It is though outstanding, and beautiful for its flaws.

The double dip review

Am I enjoying it? I found myself enjoying the story about it, the whole drama, more than perhaps I might have enjoyed the beer.
Would I have another? Yes, without hesitation.
Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? This meets the criteria for perhaps the beer to sit and tell lies over, it has lots to waste nnd if you had a couple would creep up and remind you that it’s a bit strong.

Music for this : “BlondFire” ” Young Heart ” on Spotify, where else? Blondfire is an indie pop band from Los Angeles whose music is written and produced by the brother-and-sister duo of Bruce and Erica Driscoll. Not the best deep thinking music I’ve ever had with a beer.

IMPERIAL STOUT

Imperial stouts are usually extremely dark brown to black in color with flavors that are intensely malty, deeply roasted and sometimes with accents of dark fruit (raisin, fig) or milk sourness. The bitterness is typically medium and often the low sie of that. Imperial stouts are strong and often exceed 8% by volume.