Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti - Great Divide Brewing, Denver

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...

So it wasn't what I was expecting, does that make it bad? Of course not. This is still a good beer. Not something I'd drink much of in the summertime but that isn't a fault of the chocolate or oak but more a preference regarding stouts. So it was on a particularly cool evening in July that I had broke open this stout and poured a glass to have with a fairly hearty plate of Swedish meatballs. It went well, really well. All of the flavors worked and the stout didn't seem out of place. The Chocolate Oak Yeti is still a heavy beer and as long as you know what you're getting into when you go to pair it with a snack, you'll be pleasantly surprised at it's rich flavors and great taste.