REVIEW: BROOKLYN BLACK CHOCOLATE STOUT

The Dark Side

STATS

Happy Easter everybody! I hope everybodies holidays are going well. I was thinking of what beer to drink over easter and came up with this topical beer; chocolate stout. This is from a really interesting brewery in the United States, which is quite easy to find here, however this is the first time I’ve seen the Chocolate Stout.

The weather gods have conspired to make the perfect weather for my stout drinking today, it’s cold and raining. Not good for the gardening I was supposed to do but very good for stout drinking. At 10% this is towards the top end for stouts, but if the roasting is good I won’t mind one bit!

Brooklyn’s Black Chocolate Stout is as black as night! This is one of the darkest stouts I’ve ever seen and it has a dark tan head atop this black body (the head is much darker than the photo makes it seem). Unusually for a stout I can see bubbles rising to the head on the outside of the glass, they aren’t big bubbles and there aren’t many of them but they certainly are present. The head retention is good however I can’t see any lacing, not that that’s important in a stout. It’s a really nice looking stout.

The nose of this beer is exactly what I was hoping for! There is heaps of coffee and chocolate aromas, while also having a smokey quality to it. I’m getting a hint of something spicy, maybe nutmeg, as well as some nice warming alcohols. It’s not hugely dissimilar to Kahlua on the nose. It’s definitely easter-y it’s a very promising aroma for a stout. I can’t wait to drink this!

This is one of the most full-on flavour onslaughts I’ve had from any beer, let alone a stout! The Black Chocolate Stout from Brooklyn Brewery is full of chocolate and coffee flavours, which bite hard with bitterness up front and just stay at the back of the palate throughout. There are only some minor roasting, or the roasted flavour is well covered by the chocolate flavour. It finishes with a nice creamy texture and a touch of warming alcohol. Excellent stout!

What a perfect easter beer! It’s really quite chocolatey, while still not being sweet. It’s a very easy drinking stout and the carbonation that seemed to be present when looking at the beer, doesn’t seem strong at all. You really wouldn’t know anything about the alcohol percentage when drinking this beer, other than a small hint towards the end of tasting it. It would be a really easy drinking stout except for the alcohol, the flavours are good and its not cloying in anyway. I’m very impressed with this stout, if you like stouts this could be the one for you.

Remember it’s always Beer O’Clock somewhere in the world!