Great River Brewery out of Davenport, Iowa has continuously made us happy with each of their canned releases thus far. We were pretty excited when we heard they were canning a coffee stout and equally excited when we actually managed to get our can-loving paws on some of it. This one comes highly touted so we can't wait!

From the Great River Brewery site:

"We love our local roaster’s New Orleans Iced Coffee so much we decided to use their beans in our brew. Redband Stout is made with Indonesian and Ethiopian beans using our 18-hour cold brew extraction method, resulting in a satisfying brew with intense coffee aromatics. The marriage of two of our favorite beverages."

Here we go...

POUR: pitch black, looks just like fresh-brewed French roast was poured into the glass leaving a nice, earthy-colored foamy head. 

AROMA: you haven't smelled a great coffee stout until you've held a glass of this up to your nose. Wow. So much aroma of fresh roasted coffee beans, vanilla, toffee and dark chocolate malts. This definitely comes across like a coffee milkshake. Creamy, sweet with tons of bitter, coffee aromas. Absolutely incredible.

TASTE: Redband hits the palate with a taste that's smoother than a jazz song playing in your dentist's office waiting room. This is quicksilver laced with coffee gliding down your throat. Tons of great dark roast coffee flavors along with a creaminess that definitely makes this come across as the best iced coffee we've ever had! Roasty, toasty flavors without a huge ABV masking the great profiles of the malt and the hard to produce "actual" coffee taste ("18-hour cold brew extraction method"). Not the easiest coffee stout to get your hands on but if you do you will NOT be let down.

"Redband hits the palate with a taste that's smoother than a jazz song playing in your dentist's office waiting room. This is quicksilver laced with coffee gliding down your throat."

OVERALL: hands down one the best coffee beers we've ever had, be it in a can or otherwise. Such strong coffee flavors that meld so well with a equally well-produced stout. Great River Brewery has yet to do anything but impress. Very, very, very well done!

NOTES: there are a few other coffee stouts available in cans nowadays. The first to be released was Surly's Coffee Bender in late 2008. Santa Fe Brewing also released their Imperial Java Stout last year. Word is Good People Brewing down in Alabama will eventually release their Coffee Oatmeal Stout. We'll keep an eye out for that and any other coffee beers that come to cans. Cheers!

      
other canned coffee beers worth checking out...