Coffee and beer, the two beverages that I consider to be the most necessary in order to get through day to day life. Coffee is what gets us started each and every day and enables us to sift through the drudges of a monotonous grind, also known as work. After coffee comes beer, the fermented and delicious beverage that helps us unwind and prepare ourselves to start the daily cycle all over again.
Barista is a Cold Brew Coffee Lager that is brewed by the good people at Wolverine State Brewing Company in Ann Arbor Michigan. Coffee lager, let that sink in for a minute. In all honesty the idea threw me off the first time that I came across this beer in the taproom. Normally when I think of a coffee beer my brain thinks of stouts, porters, or even the occasional brown ale, but lagers? Two sips into this beer I was reminded that not only can lagers be rich, flavorful and all kinds of fantastic; but also that Wolverine State makes great beer and that I should never doubt them. Barista has all the qualities that you should look for in a coffee beer, it has a nice roasty nose and of course pours with a dark brown color giving the sniffer a nice coffee aroma that noticeable but in no way overpowering. The choice of using Colombian coffee pays off too, the beer really tastes more like a carbonated cold brew coffee with a mild hop finish which is sweet and extremely satisfying. Barista is smooth and easy drinking, and definitely a beer that is approachable for people who might not be a big fan of beer. Interestingly the beer is also popular with the few people I know who don’t like coffee, I’ve listened to several beer fans tell me about how coffee is not their thing but this beer works for them for varying reasons.
The fun doesn’t have to stop with drinking Barista, this beer also is a great beer to cook with. What also goes good with coffee and beer? Chocolate, duh. Next time you break out a box of brownie mix you can swap the water out of the batter with Barista and the end result with be a fudge filled coffee delicacy that greatly improved the Super Bowl experience for at least 1 football fan. If you dabble in whipping up your own condiments Barista would fair excellently as an ingredient in a homemade mustard, bbq sauce, or any number of marinades. Great beer can and should serve multiple purposes and incorporating a beer into food is without question the best thing you can do with a beer other than drinking it of course.
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