Rating: 5.5/5

Coffee Noir by Prairie Artisan Ales is a 11.5% ABV Imperial Stout aged in oak whiskey barrels with Coffee beans.Label:
Made by people who truly care from Oklahoma with love.
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The second beer, in the Prairie Noir series I try. The previous one was the Vanilla Noir. This beer was a donation from Aaron Mendiola of www.beermetaldude.com. The previous beer was definitely something way different than what I have had before. Which makes me more curious to try this one and see where this one goes to and see how it compares to the Vanilla one. I will try and break it down as best I can as that beer was awesome, let us see what this one is all about. Cheers!

Aromas:
Rich dark coffee, Dark chocolate, dark fruit raisins, campfire smoke, mocha, espresso, whiskey, marshmallow smores, sour wine grape hints, strong oak, pecan pie, vanilla, caramel, toffee, flan hints, brown sugar, molasses, oatmeal cookies, BBQ glazed ham, leather and tobacco.

Flavors:
Campfire smoke, dark coffee, mocha, espresso beans, dark chocolate, vanilla, caramel, rich oak, BBQ hone glazed ham, ashes, sour wine grape hints, marshmallow hints, graham cracker smores, dark fruit raisins, rye bread, tobacco, leather, molasses, licorice, anise, brown sugar, flan, caramel, pecan pie, roasted coffee grain hints, oatmeal cookies.

Aftertaste:
Rich oak, roasted coffee, dark chocolate, earthy notes, vanilla, whiskey and campfire smoke. No alcohol in the taste. Sipping yet some what drinkability, pitch black appearance, full mouth feel almost syrupy.

Overall:
Like the Vanilla Noir smokey and oaky with hints of sourness that are mainly covered by the oak and coffee. Close to the Madrugada Obscura that I really like. The coffee really works well with the smokey oak and whiskey keeping everything in check in this one. More in check than the vanilla one. The oak used in this or the brewing process makes this unique. The oak flavors are unique from other oak or spirit aged beers. We don’t get these beers here in California so this one is definitely an honor.

Anime Corner:
Devil girl character from the Chinese Scratch series (從 零 開始) was used in this pairing because like the Vanilla one, it was damn evil as hell with the label and the beer itself. This one is just as evil but the coffee has a more ‘adult theme’ to it. Not to say that beer is for kids but coffee seems to be the beverage more adults drink and so with the colors of the label and the coffee aspect as well as evil, I chose this awesome and sexy devil girl for the pairing. She covers the colors of the label, the evil intention, seduction, strength and flavor complexity similar to the previous beer.

Sources:
http://www.theanimegallery.com/data/thumbs/790px/0165/tAG_165268.jpg