Stouts generally fare pretty well with COM, with the exception of the Imperial high ABV variety which tend to be more miss than hit. That being said I was hell bent to sample this New Ontario Hades brew and I’ll be damned if it isn’t a strong yet tasty coffee stout of the Imperial order.
Hades is actually the name of the coffee grinder that cold brewed their coffee for two days to add to this high octane and caffeine brew. Sounds like some gas station java that I have sampled in my travels. Coffee brewed that long and hard at home would be grounds for divorce.
So I started to ruminate over Hades. Is it a place or an entity.* Turns out its both, and then there is the hound of Hades looking pretty cranky. Perhaps Cerebus didn’t get his morning Hades coffee because it all went in this brew. But a dog is a god’s best friend, whether you’re dyslexic or not.
Regardless of the legend, an Imperial coffee stout was just about at the far end of the spectrum from a fizzy mellow endless summer sour of the other night, viva la difference.
New Ontario tell us to pour hard and this nitro dosed stout pours black as the hobs of hell with a Hades hound three times the head. With a 9.2% ABV pour hard and quaff with caution I say. A traditional stout aroma, the coffee is there lurking in the shadows. And the taste? Coffee front and center and strong with a mild cocoa vanilla finish, tea drinkers beware, or anyone that wants to sleep tonight for that matter. A strong imperial coffee but the slightly harsh caffeine is up front and followed by a smooth mild stout cocoa vanilla finish, the sequence and combination works quite well.
With this strong a stout there is a temptation to sip but a swig gives you the coffee to sweet transition which is quite nice, so swig it is. It is strong and maybe not for everyone but if you are a stout lover you might find this an interesting cold coffee craft to quaff. The best high octane stout I have had in a while.
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