Coffee and Beer Pairings

Denver’s Corvus Coffee is making a name for itself as a beer-centric roaster. The company offers dry-hopped cold brew on draft and regularly hosts coffee-and-beer pairing and blending seminars at local breweries, including Epic Brewing. The following beer and coffee pairings were inspired by several of those seminars. These pairings can be enjoyed side by side or even blended together.

Saison » Pair or blend it with full-bodied Sumatran coffee beans Saisons, especially those with fruit-forward yeast strains and floral ester profiles, are ideal pairings for the musty, earthy notes in beans from the island of Sumatra.

Imperial Stout » Pair or blend it with full-bodied Costa Rican coffee beans A big bold coffee variety will stand up to a brawny beer such as an imperial stout. The coffee’s hint of smokiness will add depth to an already complex beer style.

IPA » Pair it or blend it with lighter-bodied Mexican coffee Mexican coffee varietals tend to fall on the sweeter side, often with notes of almonds or hazelnuts. These sweet earthy flavors will tame the bite of bold hops-forward IPAS.

Red Ale » Pair or blend it with cascara Cascara are the dried husks of coffee berries, often referred to as coffee cherries. The deep tobacco and leather notes found in cascara complement the caramel and sweet malt flavors of a typical red ale. Even hoppy American red ales will work well with cascara, which will balance the hops bite with dark fruit flavors.

Got some beer, coffee, and time on your hands? Line up five of your favorite craft beers of different styles, freshly brewed cups of five of your favorite coffee varietals, and empty glassware. Use a tablespoon to blend different combinations and quantities of beers and coffees. You’ll be surprised what you find, and you’ll probably never think about beer and coffee the same way again.

Disclaimer: Not all beer styles will necessarily complement all coffee styles in the suggested pairings. Beer and coffee pairing and blending is all about experimentation! So have some fun with it—if a pairing or blend doesn’t work, try different quantities or varieties of coffee.