Chocolate

Chocolate Indulgence - Brewery Ommegang, Cooperstown

Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence

Around Valentine's Day this year there were a number of chocolate flavored beers released. I picked up a bottle of each one but I didn't have time to get to all of them so I'm trying to empty out the chocolate stock in the fridge before it's warm enough to drink a Pilsner on the deck. Ommegang's Chocolate Indulgence caught my attention because it has a bold name, classy packaging and generally conveys a sense of "I know what I'm doing here." So, tonight I broke out the Ommegang goblet and pocked the cork on this bottle of "True Belgian-Style Chocolate Stout."

Chocolate Stout - Rogue Ales, Newport

Rogue Chocolate Stout

I've heard a lot of good things about this beer from pretty much everyone. I enjoy stouts of all kinds and have been looking forward to this one for a while. This beer certainly didn't disappoint as I poured it into my glass. Rogue's Chocolate Stout is a thick bodied dark stout that smells exactly like chocolate malted milk. It's almost eerie how exact the aroma is. It's eerie because this a stout that doesn't smell like dark roasted grains. This beer smells so much like chocolate milk it's amazing. The flavor is another story...

Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti - Great Divide Brewing, Denver

Great Divide Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout

Very first impressions of this beer was that it was just another heavy porter that promises chocolate or vanilla accents but ultimately fails to deliver. After a few sips though, my impressions changed a bit. After I'd gotten used to the oakiness of the Yeti I was able to better pick up on the chocolate flavor. The one word that comes to mind to describe this beer is bittersweet... The chocolate flavor is definitely more of a dark chocolate flavor, which isn't my preferred chocolate but it's probably the best choice for brewing - especially when there is oak involved. The bitter chocolate and the rich oak flavor go well together and have an interesting balance in this beer. Speaking of bittersweet, this dark chocolate and oak combination made me realize that while they weren't the flavors I was expecting, my expectations were probably unrealistic. I mean, would a milk chocolate oaked stout work? Probably not as well as you'd think...

Syndicate content