This beer was the big surprise at our Octoberfest weekend. Apparently, I talked it up so much that one of my co-workers asked her local retailer to special order it for her and it took a month or so to arrive. When it did, she was kind enough to share a bottle with me, so I thought I should share my impressions.
The ones we had in October were in cans, so I was a little surprised to have this in a bottle. The label’s actually rather unassuming, but the 1 pint 0.9 ounce bottle has a bit of an odd shape.
Here’s what they have to say:
Young’s Double Chocolate Stout has an intriguing twist. Chocolate malt and real dark chocolate are combined with Young’s award winning rich, full flavored dark ale to craft a satisfyingly indulgent, but never overly sweet experience.
It pours with a nice, creamy head that doesn’t leave much lace on the glass. The color is very dark, comparable to a Brooklyn Brewery’s Black Chocolate Stout. But it’s the aroma that first strikes you. A very rich, but not overpowering, chocolate aroma. There is a hint of the hops under it, but it definitely reminds of that third grader’s elixir: chocolate milk.
It’s very, very smooth. Very nearly too smooth. Again, the chocolate comes to the fore, but not in a way that obscures the ale behind it. The mouthfeel is surprisingly light and, as I said, smooth. It leaves a bit of sweetness on your lips and there’s just enough hop bitterness to keep it from being cloying.
This is a dessert beer. Not a beer to have with dessert, but a beer to have as dessert.
I heartily recommend this one. If you can find it, get it. And tell me where you found it so I can get some too.
(5.2% ABV)
Recently had a bottle that I purchased at a local Thriftway (Bend, Oregon). I whole-heartedly agree with the comments. Great beer.
I had a bottle of this fine stout last night. I was very impressed. Very pleasant, complex flavor with a good amount of chocolate and chocolate malt. I went to my local beer emporiun for some more, they were out of stock so I special ordered a case.
This is excellent beer! I agree that you can/should drink this beer as dessert, not with dessert. This beer is available on-tap at “The Pub” in Rocky River Ohio … along with a nice selection of other fine brews. I’ll be making calls to local distributors for a special order.
I had the Young’s Choc Stout recently in bottle. You can read my ramblings here (The Beer Diary)
theculinarybrewers last blog post..Young’s Double Chocolate Stout
where do you special order this stout at?
Virtually any retailer, although I’ve been seeing it in a lot of places lately, so it might not need to be special-ordered.
This is an excellent beer. As you have pointed out…it’s great as dessert. I suggest trying this with a very high quality chocolate ice cream. Pour it over the ice cream like a root beer float. It’s excellent.