13 Jan ABGB South Austin Speedball Stout

ABGB South Austin Speedball Stout

Austin Beer Garden Brewing

Austin, TX
Coffee Stout
ABV: 6.3%
IBUs: 30
Packaging: Draft, 32 ounce Crowlers delivered by Hop Drop

The best part of waking up is… coffee.

If you started singing a commercial jingle in your head as you read that, we could be friends.

If you’re anything like me, you pour cold, fresh, spring water into your coffee machine every morning before you wash your face or even consider the fit for the day. Coffee is such a routine part of so many of our lives, it’s no wonder that it has made it’s way into beer. Brewers work long days, and if you ever talk to them, they’ll tell you it’s a hard day’s work that involves plenty of lifting and even more cleaning. Doing that 7 days a week calls for a good, hot, cup of joe to start the day – heavy emphasis on good.

Has it ever dawned on you, though, that a good Coffee Stout like ABGB South Austin Speedball is like the alpha and omega of drinks? The beginning and the end, the bookends to your day all in one sip.

I start almost every day with coffee, and I end a few of them with a beer. Mashing the two together is the drink equivalent to the crazy ass clock in the Twilight zone title sequence, with the hands spinning around madly. It combines the beginning and end of the day, bending my mind with each sip… or maybe it’s the alcohol in the beer?

[vc_video link=’https://www.youtube.com/embed/ORbseYAkzRM’]
 

You’re moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas – you’ve just crossed over into… The ABGB South Austin Speedball coffee stout.

This beer’s made with Guatemalan Guaya’b cold brew from Flat Track Coffee Roasters brewed for them by Better Half Coffee & Cocktails. Craft beer has always been, and probably always will be, acutely focused on quality and local. With that comes collaborations with other businesses, and a local coffee roaster is a perfect fit for many-a-brewery.

The Austin Beer Garden Brewing, or ABGB as it’s affectionately called, has has brought home impressive GABF hardware, and many were for their Pilsners. So much so, that I was reluctant to try ABGB South Austin Speedball. “I’m sure it’s pretty good,” I thought to myself, “but it can’t be as good as that Rocket 100.”

And it’s not.

But wait! Is it really fair to compare a coffee stout – a black, rich, heavy beer – to the likes of a poolside companion that is pilsner? Probably not. So as I sipped on it, I made a slow progression from reluctant to comparing, from comparing to embracing, and from embracing to enjoying. I ended up enjoying it for what it was: a dang good coffee stout.

The artwork sports a jet black background, just like the Speedball Stout within, and there’s a great-big, white logo smack-dab in the center. Of course, that’s what you’ll see if you cop a 32 ounce monster like these that Josh Olalde shot.

Once you crack into the Crowler, ABGB South Austin Speedball pours as black as the can with a tan head that’s creamier than my coffee in the morning. It laces down the glass with elegant rings that display the care put into this beer.

The nose of ABGB South Austin Speedball is pretty mild, and I’m also still battling allergies, so I’m not sure if it’s the beer or me! However, when I swirl it and aggressively insert my nose into the glass, I get notes of sweet, tart, coffee and subtle vanilla.

Every time I take a sip of ABGB South Austin Speedball, I’m reminded of how much I love a good stout when it’s cold outside, and baby, it’s kinda cold outside. I wish it was a bit thicker, but it’s far from thin. The last few days have brought amazing weather during the day, but that comes paired with chilly evenings. The smooth, roasty, stouty goodness prepares me for the weather, and the medium body helps stick to my ribs.

If you want to get your hands on some ABGB South Austin Speedball Stout, you used to have to make the drive all the way to Austin. But drive no more! Thanks to the homies over at Hop Drop, you can get it delivered straight to your door, and you can save 10% with code “BEERCHRONICLE” We’ve probably got a few more days in our forecast, so it may be a smart move to stock up on beers like this.