Southern Tier Brewing Company - Choklat

Souther Tier says: "The Popol Vuh, the sacred book of the Maya, unfolds a complex web of mystery around a beverage known as xocoatl (ch-co-atle). At Southern Tier, we’re not surprised that hieroglyphs of the ancient Maya depict chocolate being poured for rulers and gods. Even through the many voyages of Columbus, the mystical bean remained nothing more than a strange currency of the native peoples.

Moving through centuries, the circular journey of cacao has been realized in our brew house, encompassing the complexity of the darkest, bittersweet candy together with the original frothy cold beverage of the ancient Maya to bring to you our Blackwater Series Choklat Stout. We have combined the finest ingredients to tempt your senses and renew the power and interrelation of history in every bottle."

This 10% ABV Imperial stout is released in the late fall to most of the eastern US, as well as Washington and Oregon. It's okay, Southern Tier, California still loves you even if you don't love us. As one does, I traded for this bottle.

Appearance: Opaque pitch black with a practically non-existent head. I had to do a really hard pour to get the thin tan layer you see in the picture.

Smell: Rich, sweet chocolate is at the forefront, and there are also some notes of coffee and wood. Some caramel malt adds to the sweetness. Though some bitterness from the coffee cuts through, the overall mode of the nose is sweet, sweet, sweet.

Taste: Exactly as advertised! Huge chocolate, with some undertones of dark fruit and a bit of woodiness as well. As expected in a stout, the coffee note is there, but it's not very prominent. I rather like the woody character of this, as it adds a bit of uniqueness to an otherwise very chocolate-heavy beer.

Mouthfeel: This beer has a nice full body that's creamy on the palate but still manages a relatively dry finish. It's an appropriate feeling for the style.

Overall: This is a really enjoyable, solid beer, but I guess for some reason I can't put a finger on it didn't really knock my socks off. I think the nose may have been a bit too sweet -- even though it wasn't cloying in the taste, as I would raise the glass I'd get a blast of sweet aroma that was kind of off-putting. Otherwise, as I said, I enjoyed this. It's not a perfect imperial stout, but it's one I'd be glad to drink again.

3.5/5