Samuel Adams 'Thirteenth Hour' Dark Belgian Style Stout. 9% abv. Nose of dark fruit, raisin, strong plum, wood notes. Front taste of heavy dark chocolate, black coffee, plum, cherry. Aftertaste of red wine grapes, bittersweet chocolate, sour berry. Full body. Mouthfeel is hot, alcoholic, thick, resiny.

This is a wonderfully decadent beer, with a complex profile of dark fruits, strong cocoa and wine notes, all coupled by an oak presence throughout. The wood impression is round and mild, likely from the fact that this particular bottle was aged two years before my friend and I popped its cork. This mellowing of the barrel taste allowed the fruits to pop, with a tartness that approaches a sour beer. Superb all around. Highly recommended.

From the brewery:

"The 13th hour is the witching hour, and a time when strange brews can occur.  With 13 ingredients, we combined the roasted chocolate and coffee flavors of a stout with the complex spicy character of a Belgian-style ale aged in oak for a deep, robust, and captivating brew."

[source: samueladams.com]

"“With 13 ingredients, we combined the roasted chocolate and coffee notes of a stout with the complex spicy character of a Belgian-style ale aged in oak for a dark, robust, and bewitching brew. One of our brewers’ favorite places to experiment is in the barrel room at our Boston Brewery. It’s here that each of our Samuel Adams Barrel room Collection brews was born."

[source: bottle]

Tioga-Sequoia 'Rush Hour' Breakfast Stout. Coffee beer. 7.2% abv. 35 IBU. Dark brown, nearly black in color. Thin tan head. Moderate retention and lace. Nose of fresh ground coffee. Front taste of roasted coffee, dark chocolate. Aftertaste of coffee grounds, cocoa powder, bitter hops. 

This is an extraordinary coffee beer, the best I've had to date. The aroma is like sticking your nose into a bag of fresh ground coffee beans, and the taste is of fresh roasted coffee. Outstanding. Highly recommended.

I remember the first time I had this beer. I was at Spokeasy Pub. The beer was new at the time. I ordered it, not expecting much, as nearly every coffee beer I'd had to that point was identical. How wrong I was. The aroma of Rush Hour struck me with how fresh it was, and the taste was just as vibrant. The bartender explained to me that the coffee was roasted in town at a little place called Cafe Corazon, a place my wife and I had gone to many times. The coffee was incorporated into the beer wort within 20 minutes of the roasting. Man, it showed in the final product. It's rare for me that a beer instantly becomes a favorite. This is one of those beers.


NOTE: Special Thanks to Anthony Valenzuela of Central Valley Craft Beer Drinkers for the lead photo. Cheers!

From the brewery:

"Rush Hour is our full bodied breakfast stout that uses sixty pounds of fresh Colombiano Caldono coffee per batch. The beans are roasted and ground locally by Cafe Corazon. The coffee is then cold pressed and infused into our chocolate milk stout creating a creamy, bold, robust, yet silky smooth breakfast stout. Enjoy the Rush!"

Enjoying a Rush Hour at Peeves Public House

I've had Rush Hour many times, from tap and bottle. It's worth seeking out.