Science is a funny thing. There's real science done in labs, then there's the kind of wacky, basement-dwelling science that you get from experimenting. This is the latter.
Brewed in collaboration with Root & Branch coffee, this stout has a lot going on. Predominantly a coffee stout made using Colombian Villa Clabellina beans, this also includes bourbon vanilla and, naturally, chipotle chili.
It sounds like a kind of wacky coffee you'd get in an artisan coffee shop, or a creation made on the Great British Bake Off. But there's nothing dodgy about it.
It's hard to describe the spicy scent of chili really. It's not really hot, it's more the promise of heat, which this beer has as soon as you pop the can. It's combined with a very rich coffee scent which makes it an intriguing experience, nasally.
It pours hella-thick, with a rich and creamy texture that releases the coffee and vanilla aromas with that hint of chili still hanging around. The initial flavour is quite sweet, but the coffee soon comes to the fore which is the primary flavour.
Very much tastes like a cold-brew coffee with the bitterness combined with the sweet vanilla, but it's a shame that the chili doesn't play more of a role in the main flavour profile. It joins the party in the aftertaste alongside the coffee bitterness, but it's mainly a warming sensation rather than a chili hit.
It reminds me of some old, washed out red trousers. The label is textured and is very fabric-y, but the colour scale of reds and purples, along with the bright whiteness around the bottom part, make it simple but effective.
The beer name stands out proudly on the front and Boundary's own typeface is used on the beer description, which I love. It seems a bit space-age, or maybe old-fashioned. Who knows, but I like it.
If you think the science is sound, or you would like to test the hypothesis more thoroughly, then click the link in this post to go to Honest Brew and buy a few cans for more...extensive testing.
Honest Brew members can get it for £4.71, while non-members will have to pay £5.09. The price of science, eh.