Tag Archives: chocolate stout

Bison Brewing Chocolate Stout

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Bison Brewing of Berkeley California brews 13 beers, all of which are organic. They take pride in being Certified Organic, but they also take great pride in brewing great beers. I decided to check out their Chocolate Stout, which they proudly proclaim is brewed with cocoa.

The nose has a definite chocolaty feel, as does the lingering aftertaste. You get strong hints of coffee and a roasted finish that leaves the mouth with a caramel thickness that is not at all unpleasant. The Organic Chocolate Stout comes in at 5.0% ALC/VOL.

Evidently Bison uses cocoa powder in the mash, and it really comes through nicely without overpowering the smooth stout taste. Combine that with 5 different malts, and you have a stout on hand that tastes good, as well as feels good, being organic and all.

Bison Brewing in Berkeley is a leader in the emerging organic market we find springing up all over the West Coast. They take pride in buying their hops organically, and decreasing the pollution in our waterways (farming contributes to 70% of that pollution).

Buying organic is not a deal breaker for me. I enjoy any beer that is brewed with pride and complex flavors, but it is nice to know you can drink organic and not suffer in the taste category. On the contrary, Bison’s Chocolate Stout is an excellent stout that, as they claim on their website, “Is like Barry White’s voice in a bottle.”

Sometimes it is No Good

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I didn’t get to taste this brew at Octoberfest and I am just getting around to giving it a try. Everyone agreed that there wasn’t something quite right about it. Al described it as astringent.

It pours a nice deep dark burnt umber with a fluffy head of tan foam. But, something is not right about the aroma; something I’ve seen before.

The beer is definitely oxidized giving a strong astringent and cardboard taste. Whether this was just a very old bottle or an issue with quality control, I’m not sure. Either way, it isn’t good.

It will be quite awhile before I try any brew from Fort Collins Brewery again even though I did enjoy their IPA, but it is just not worth the risk when I have so many good reliable choices out there. No, it may not be their fault, but that’s how it is.

I dumped it.

Young’s Double Chocolate Stout

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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.

Young's Luxury Double Chocolate StoutThe 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)

Wells & Young’s Brewing

Black Chocolate Stout – Brooklyn Brewery

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The Black Chocolate Stout from Brooklyn Brewery is a long-standing favorite of mine. Since I happened to pick up a six-pack recently, I thought I’d share my thoughts on it.

Here’s what they have to say:

In the last century, British brewers made strong stouts for the Czar’s Court. They were called Imperial Stouts. Our Black Chocolate Stout, brewed once yearly for the winter season, achieves a chocolate aroma and flavor through the artful blending of six varieties of black, chocolate and roasted malts.

blackchocolatestout.jpgIts color is black. I’m not talking a very, very dark brown. Black. Hold it up to the brightest light in the room and you cannot see through it. It forms a nice, creamy head that is itself rather dark and laces nicely on the glass. It’s got a nice, hearty malty taste with some nutty highlights. This is another one of those beers that you have one of, at most two, and savor. Not only is it very rich in flavor, but at 10.6% ABV this is not something to just quaff indiscriminately.

Boy, this is good stuff. I don’t know if Brooklyn has ever made anything I haven’t liked. Recommended.