Top 10 Coffee beers Brewed in America
This Top Ten List of Coffee Beers is from the results of the U.S. Open Beer Championship, Great American Beer Festival, and World Beer Cup. The top 10 Coffee beers use coffee in any of its forms other than or in addition to hops to create a distinct (ranging from subtle to intense) character. Underhopping allows coffee to contribute to the flavor profile while not becoming excessively bitter.
1. Nightmare Fuel – River North Brewery – Denver, Colorado
Some beers wake you up and some keep you up at night. Nightmare Fuel does both. River North takes its imperial stout and loads it with two special roasts from Denver’s Logan House Coffee, so the coffee aroma hits you before the glass reaches your lips. It’s a fall release tied to Halloween, but it’s just as good on a snowy January night. The regular version runs 11.9% ABV and the barrel-aged version 12.9%.
ABV: 11.9% (Barrel-Aged: 12.9%)
Address: 6021 Washington St., Unit A, Denver, CO 80216
Website: rivernorthbrewery.com
2. Coffee Maple Achromatic – WeldWerks Brewing Co. – Colorado
WeldWerks calls this its ultimate breakfast beer, and it’s hard to argue. The base stout boils for more than six hours to get a thick, chewy body, then gets several maple syrup additions and a big dose of a four-roast Peruvian coffee blend from Zoe’s Cafe. It tastes like pancakes and a cup of joe at the same table, and there’s enough roasty bitterness to keep the sweetness in check.
ABV: About 10% (varies by batch, roughly 9.8%–10.2%)
Address: 508 8th Ave., Greeley, CO 80631
Website: weldwerksbrewing.com
3. Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout – Goose Island Beer Co. – Illinois
This is the beer that helped start the barrel-aged coffee stout craze. Goose Island ages its Bourbon County Stout in bourbon barrels and then adds coffee from a Chicago roaster. You get a deep, syrupy stout with layers of vanilla, oak, chocolate, and fresh espresso. It comes out every Black Friday, and beer fans still line up for it. Save one bottle for a year and see how it changes.
ABV: Around 13%–15% (changes with each annual vintage)
Address: 1800 W. Fulton St., Chicago, IL 60612
Website: gooseisland.com
4. Polar Bear – Narrow Path Brewing Co. – Loveland, Ohio
Narrow Path sits right on the Loveland Bike Trail in downtown Loveland, so you can ride in and reward yourself with a pint. Polar Bear is the brewery’s standout coffee beer. It won silver in the Coffee Beer category at the 2025 Great American Beer Festival. That’s the same competition where Narrow Path also took bronze for Mounds of Importance, a collaboration with Third Eye. For a small-town brewery, that’s a big showing on a national stage, and it makes Polar Bear worth a stop on the trail.
Address: 106 Karl Brown Way, Loveland, OH 45140
Website: narrowpathbrewing.com
5. Unleashed Potential – Third Eye Brewing Co. – Ohio
This is the surprise on the list: a coffee Kölsch. Third Eye starts with Untapped Potential, its award-winning Kölsch, and layers subtle coffee aromatics and a soft touch of vanilla over a crisp, delicate malt profile. It’s light and refreshing but still clearly a coffee beer, so it works for people who like coffee but don’t want a heavy stout on a warm afternoon.
ABV: 5%
Address: 11276 Chester Rd., Sharonville, OH 45246 (second taproom: 850 S. Erie Blvd., Hamilton, OH 45011)
Website: thirdeyebrewingco.com
6. Breakfast Stout – Founders Brewing Co. – Grand Rapids, Michigan
This is the beer on the label with the baby eating oatmeal, and for many drinkers it was their first coffee stout. Founders brews it with flaked oats, chocolate, and a double dose of coffee, which gives it a smooth, silky body. It tastes like a mocha with an oatmeal cookie. It’s easy to find, it’s consistent, and it’s still one of the best.
ABV: 8.3%
Address: 235 Grandville Ave. SW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Website: foundersbrewing.com
7. Lil Zoomie – Brink Brewing Co. – Cincinnati, Ohio
Lil Zoomie is the coffee version of Brink’s award-winning Moozie milk stout, and it has piled up medals of its own. It won gold in the Coffee Stout or Porter category at the 2025 Great American Beer Festival, and it has taken bronze at each of the last three World Beer Cups. It’s creamy, smooth, and easy to drink, and it comes from a small neighborhood brewery in College Hill that wins far more than its size would suggest.
Address: 5905 Hamilton Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45224
Website: brinkbrewing.com
8. Mornin’ Delight – Toppling Goliath Brewing Co. – Decorah, Iowa
Mornin’ Delight is one of the most sought-after beers in the country, and it lives up to it. This imperial stout gets maple syrup and coffee, and it’s thick, rich, and dangerously smooth for its strength. Picture a stack of pancakes and a pot of dark roast. Toppling Goliath is in the small town of Decorah in northeast Iowa, and beer fans make the trip just to try this one.
ABV: 12%
Address: 1600 Prosperity Rd., Decorah, IA 52101
Website: tgbrews.com
9. Midnight Espresso – Motorworks Brewing – Bradenton, Florida
Motorworks is in a 1920s car dealership that was turned into a brewery, and its beer garden is one of the largest in Florida. Midnight Espresso is its flagship coffee beer. It’s brewed with real coffee beans, has a distinct coffee flavor with fruity and chocolate notes, and is sold in 4-packs around Florida. Drink one under the big oak tree on the patio.
Address: 1014 9th St. W., Bradenton, FL 34205
Website: motorworksbrewing.com
10. Drip – Lost Shoe Brewing & Roasting Co. – Marlborough, Massachusetts
Few breweries can say they roast their own beans, but Lost Shoe does both. The owners set it up as a combined brewery and coffee roastery from the start, rather than a brewery that serves coffee or a café that serves beer. Drip brings those two sides together in one glass. The name also fits the town: Marlborough was once home to more than 40 shoe factories.
Address: 19 Weed St., Marlborough, MA 01752
Website: lostshoebrews.com
History of Coffee Beers
Coffee beers, a fusion of brewing and coffee culture, emerged as a distinct style in the late 20th century during the craft beer renaissance. While early beers like stouts and porters often featured roasted malt flavors reminiscent of coffee, the intentional addition of coffee beans began in the 1990s. Pioneering American craft breweries, such as Founders and Bell’s, experimented with infusing stouts and porters with locally roasted coffee, capitalizing on the growing specialty coffee movement. The synergy of coffee’s bold, roasted notes with the rich, malty profiles of dark beers created a sensory bridge that appealed to both beer enthusiasts and coffee aficionados. By the early 2000s, coffee beers had gained traction, with brewers like Surly and Stone releasing iconic examples, often collaborating with local roasters to highlight regional coffee varieties.
The style evolved rapidly as brewers explored diverse techniques and beer styles beyond stouts and porters, including IPAs, lagers, and even sours infused with coffee. Innovations like cold brew infusions, barrel-aging with coffee, and the use of single-origin beans elevated the complexity and appeal of coffee beers. The rise of nitro-poured coffee stouts, mimicking creamy coffee beverages, further blurred the line between beer and coffee culture. By the 2010s, coffee beers had become a staple in craft beer lineups, with festivals and competitions celebrating the style. Today, coffee beers reflect a global collaboration between brewers and roasters, showcasing unique terroirs and experimental brewing methods, while maintaining their roots in the shared passion for craftsmanship and flavor.
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