What’s Next, Latte Lager?

For beer drinkers who get sleepy after a brew or two, a new beer with a kick is on the way.

Starbucks Coffee Co. and Redhook Ale Brewery have joined forces to brew Double Black Stout, a dark roasted malt beer brewed by Redhook with the added flavor of Starbucks coffee.

The brew will have 30 milligrams of caffeine per 22-ounce bottle, a quarter the strength of a cup of regular drip coffee. Beer ordinarily has no caffeine.

“It’s not going to replace cappuccino or Irish coffee,” said David Edgar, the director of the Institute for Brewing Studies in Boulder, Colo. “But a brewery the size of Redhook introducing a beer like this is a good indication it may become a bigger thing than most people would expect.”

To make the drink, after primary fermentation of a stout, Redhook adds brewed Starbucks coffee.

“Like fruit beers, maybe a coffee beer might have an appeal to a non-beer drinker,” Edgar said.