Style: Small Stout

ABV: 7.5 IBU: 30.0

88/100

Aroma:	11
Appearance:	3
Flavor:	18
Mouthfeel:	4

High Water Brewing Campfire Stout with Coffee

What the brewers say

Layers of rich, smooth coffee blend with notes of chocolate and graham cracker topped with a hint of marshmallow.

What our panel thought

Medium roast espresso with a bit of marshmallow sweetness that leans toward caramel. This beer relies much more on the coffee, letting the malt bill show off a simpler crystal-malt character. The lactose sweet-ness is there, but combined with the malt character, it’s a bit cloying.

What our editors thought

Rich coffee, golden toast, light caramel, and a brief glimpse of sweetness on the nose give way to a thin, but roasty, sip that evokes slightly burnt coffee with a touch of balancing sweet.

Review printed in: Stouts for All Seasons (Oct-Nov 2019) (View All Issues)

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REVIEWS FOR YOU >

High Water Campfire Stout

Aroma: “Inviting. Spicy graham crackers, chocolate, and molasses, followed by citrusy alcohol. The graham crackers provide a toasted cracker aroma which is nice.” Flavor: “Rich and complex dark malt flavors—chocolate, raisins, roast with a soft mellow mouthfeel. The finish has a lot of roast bitterness and astringency, but I’m not finding it off-putting, it lets the dark malt complexity and sweetness linger and cuts the alcoholic heat a bit.” Overall: “Great balance of stout complexity, I think the graham cracker softens a lot of qualities that would otherwise be harsh on the finish. The lingering flavors are a great balance of strong roast character with a subtle bready sweetness.”

Liquid Mechanics Brewing Company Street Punk Stout

“Espresso and dark chocolate in the aroma. Solid malt, lots of toast, deep, sweet chocolate, and hints of coffee balanced with some assertive hop bitterness. Roasty malt falls off the palate nicely but leaves a hint of peppery spice. Not subtle or delicate by any stretch, but stout is a style that can embrace some of these edgy qualities.”

Foothills Brewing People's Porter

“Hints of caramel and mint in the aroma make you expect sweetness to come, but the sip yields anything but. Roast character comes through, accentuated by a light, piney bitterness. Crisp finish enhances drinkability.”

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