I’ve been known to enjoy the occasional cocktail or sarsaparilla, but by and large, I drink only three beverages -- water, coffee, and beer. The fine folk at Furthermore have simplified my life by combining the latter two in their new beer, Oscura.

I sampled the new brew at Furthermore’s Sh*##y Barn Party last Saturday. Picture, if you will, an old barn filled with oodles of beer -- offerings from Metropolitan Brewing from Chicago, Stonefly out of Milwaukee, and RePublic, the embryonic brewpub planned for Madison’s east side. And Furthermore, of course. Add in music, food, art, and tents set up outside like some sort of shantytown, and it was like some sort of damn hippie beer geek heaven.

So this new taste sensation... it’s a coffee beer, and it is delicious. I can hear some of you now -- “Coffee beer? Nah, that’s no good.”

Well, that’s some attitude. And you haven’t had a coffee beer like this. It’s like an alcoholic iced coffee.

You’re still skeptical. “But it’s gotta be a stout, right? All coffee beers are stouts. Or porters?”

No siree. This is a Mexican-style dark lager with Nicaraguan coffee from La Fem Co-op, roasted by Just Coffee of Madison. It’s smooth, it’s refreshing, it’s everywhere you want to be.

“But bitter, right?”

Get the potatoes out of your ears, son. When I said refreshing, I meant it.

“But what if I don’t like coffee?

Then I pity you. And try it anyway. One of my chums is not a coffee drinker, but was a big fan of this concoction.

“Fine,” you say, finally worn down by my ironclad logic and rapier wit. “I’ll drink it.”

Great! But you’ll have to wait a bit. Oscura should be out next week. Maybe the week after. Keep your eyes peeled. It’s coming, though, and soon. And when it arrives, kiss that damn no-booze-having iced coffee goodbye.