Black Chocolate Stout (2010)

Thanks to Tom Bergman for recommending this to me while working at Binny's Beverage Depot. At $7 a 4 pack for some tasty chocolate 10% ABV stout, I couldn't pass. Tasted with homemade salsa following a 10 miler midafternoon.

Appearance: Poured a thick syrupy dark brown into a goblet-like glass to exhibit a black charcoal color. There wasn't much head at all. carbonation and any transparency was non-existent. Some light brown around the edges.
Aroma: Rich and chocolaty with a mix of roasted malt and carameled barley. The scent of this beer maintained some Liqueur like qualities but lacked a finishing booziness. Some maple and molasses. Overall the beer is very aromatic and pleasing to the nostrils.
Taste: The beer starts ordinarily sweet until it reaches the back of the tongue where it explodes in a roasted malt and chocolate flavor. To complement, there is a splash of alcohol (nothing that feels remotely 10%) to carry through a drying flavor. Gradually as the beer warms, it emits a toasted cocoa and vanilla character. Some mild coffee undertones emerge as well, but nothing to overwhelm the smooth sweetness that rounds out the finish of the beer. Finally I begin to taste a subtle fruitiness as a product of the yeast that clashes with the general adjuncts and grain ingredients. Delectably flavorful and complex.
Mouthfeel: Medium body with light carbonation that if it were more would offset the feel and make this beer feel overwhelmingly light and airy. Fortunately this isn't the case, while the beer takes a drying turn at the end with the alcoholic taste.
Overall Impression:  As this stout warms, a lot of the flavors become more pronounced and more alcohol hits the palate.  Personally, I (Jen) like it better cold when malt chocolate enveloped the palate and there wasn't as much of boozy taste in the flavor. 


Tim - 90/100
Jen - 89/100