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

Brooklyn Brewery - Black Chocolate Stout

Brooklyn says: "This is the famous Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, our award-winning rendition of the Imperial Stout style, once made exclusively for Catherine the Great. We use three mashes to brew each batch of this beer, achieving a luscious deep dark chocolate flavor through a blend of specially roasted malts. We brew it every year for the winter season. It is delicious when newly bottled, but also ages beautifully for years."

The Black Chocolate Stout is a 10% ABV imperial stout that is brewed during the winter season. This is the 2011-2012 batch, that I received through a trade with someone in the NY area.

Appearance: Dark opaque black with a dark brown head, which in person was much darker than it appears in the picture. The head poured to almost 2 fingers in height and took awhile to recede. Not much lacing or residual head, but there is a thin foam layer that sits on top of the beer.

Smell: Rich, dark chocolate, slight bitterness, and a trace of fusel alcohol.

Taste: Chocolate forward, with traces of roasted, bitter coffee and sweet grain. A slight flavor of dark fruit is there too, but true to the name, it's mostly bittersweet chocolate.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, creamy, medium-bodied, and a dry finish. On the lower end of the carbonation spectrum, but it's nice. It almost feels like it is on nitro out of the bottle.

Overall: Other than the heavier aroma note from the fusel alcohols, this was a well-balanced, tasty chocolate stout. The chocolate really did shine, and elements like roasted grains and slight balancing hop bitterness didn't overtake the chocolate notes and aromas at all, which is what should be expected from a stout that emphasizes its chocolate character. This is overall a beer I would seek out again, but not a very complex stout as it was very chocolate heavy.

3.5/5