What do you drink for breakfast? In the magical city of Baku, where I was born, one usually drinks aromatic tea for breakfast. Traditions are still strong there and most people stick to the saying, “You eat your breakfast yourself…” Living in Israel, I can’t do that. The most I can allow myself in the morning is a cup of coffee and a one date. And that’s all on the run… Sometimes I have to drink for breakfast… Beer, on my work, of course. 😊 Believe me, it’s not as romantic as it sounds and I don’t drink it by the glass, I just taste what was prepared during the night.

Why such a long introduction? – It’s just that the other day I tasted a very tasty beer called Morning Joe, and it has a very unusual category – Breakfast Stout. It was brewed in a country that is not a beer country at all – Hungary, at the Horizont brewery.

In American slang Morning Joe means morning coffee, this is what gave the beer its name. The beer itself is very beautiful – stout as a kind of beer is beautiful by definition. Our “morning” beer has a deep black color, and beautiful white lush foam with a slight brownish tinge just emphasizes its color depth. However, from the very first moments the beauty of this beer immediately goes into the background – the first number one is the divine aroma! It instantly fills the space around you. You can feel something similar when you enter a good coffee shop from the frost. The odors of roasted coffee, cocoa and dark chocolate envelop the glass in a delicate but dense layer.

Ethiopian coffee and cacao beans are added during the preparation of this “morning” stout, and they are the sources of such a strong flavor. As a brewer, I know that it is very difficult to get the taste of the beer to be an organic extension of the aroma. The Hungarian brewers have succeeded! With the first sip, your mouth is filled with some extremely pleasant creamy substance. The oat flakes added during brewing smooth out all the sharp edges in this beer and give it a creamy texture. Chocolate, and freshly roasted coffee and cocoa dominate the flavor. The best part is that for all the brightness and intensity of the chocolate and coffee flavors, they don’t overwhelm, but blend in with you.  Quite high bitterness and 6% alcohol is almost no noticeable – all this organically combines with the magical flavor and turns into a small miracle!

You can start your morning with this magical beer, or you can end a long and busy day with this stout, but you must try Morning Joe Breakfast Stout at least once!