Frothy brown chocolate-vanilla creaminess rises above hop-oiled walnut toasting and tannic grape tartness. Roasted Brazil nut, cola nut, and macadamia illusions sharpen bittersweet mocha-influenced black cherry-pureed backdrop.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: PORT TOWNSEND BREW. CO., PORT TOWNSEND, WA.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: HIGH & MIGHTY BEER CO., HOLYOKE, MA.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Amiably smooth tan-headed brown-bodied milkshake-like dessert treat nowhere near as ferociously heady as beastly name implies. A tad watery for ‘luscious chocolate stout’ status, but truly rewarding as moderate-bodied crossover for dark lager stylists. Mildly creamy brown chocolate-y cocoa bean sweetness lingers above recessive coffee-espresso bittering. Ashen roasted hop-charred dryness counters oncoming vanilla-sugared toffee dalliance.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: SOUTHERN TIER BREW. CO., LAKEWOOD, N.Y.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: ARCADIA BREW. CO., BATTLE CREEK, MI.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Voracious dark-roasted espresso theme forms above lactic black chocolate and smoked molasses. Oily coffee resin sidles roasted hops, flaked barley, and toasted cereal oats as purple grape esters pierce tart cherry puree reminder, adding to well-balanced robustness.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: H.C. BERGER BREW. CO., FORT COLLINS, CO.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Complex chocolate liqueur sass abruptly countered by dry barley roast and coffee bean bitterness. Simultaneous sweet chocolate creaminess and affluent honey accrual formulate eager barleywine nuance. Finely detailed, if overtly fizzy, finishing with sour mocha indifference. Serve to novice lager and pilsner drinkers ready to plunge into more aggressive fare. Brewery defunct: circa 2004.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: BISON BREWING, BERKELEY, CA.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Brewed with Dutch cocoa and retaining lactic brown-sugared chocolate fudging, medium-bodied stout also reveals secondary raw molasses, charred walnut, and burnt cedar illusions. On the horizon, chicory-doused black coffee influence darkens roasted hop bittering. But flawed charcoal scorch haunts oily mocha finish.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: BROOKLYN BREWERY, UTICA, N.Y.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Boozy 10% alcohol Russian Imperial pours like mud. Sticky anise prominence nearly overwhelms bittersweet hop-roasted black chocolate expectancy, penetrating vanilla malt creaminess, and pervasive tar-like molasses sinew. Chalky mocha-cocoa-burnt caramel confluence pervades coarsely nutty imminence. Strong burgundy-port-sherry finish increases its compact complexity.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: FORT COLLINS BREWERY, FORT COLLINS, CO.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Terra-cotta-like earthen grains disappointingly coarsen and overwhelm black chocolate smear, burnt coffee sneer, and cocoa powdered drear of dry maroon-hued astringency. Roasted hops bring tertiary charred wood, resinous ash, and tar illusions, but gaseous carbolic aridity vacates up-front mocha tonguing.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: FORT COLLINS BREWERY, FORT COLLINS, CO.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Robust mahogany-hued full body brings polite cocoa bean bittering to cream-sugared coffee midst. Roasted hop-charred black chocolate distention latently burrows ashen cola-hazelnut slip, mild chicory clip, and pleated anise snip.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: CASCO BAY BREWING, PORTLAND, ME.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Creamy chocolate richness softened by smooth water texture and amiable hop touch. Exceedingly clean light-bodied stout offers modest change of pace. Brewery defunct: 2002.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: LOST COAST BREWERY, EUREKA, CA.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Robust, black-hued, cocoa-headed dry stout with sweet ‘n’ sour dark chocolate concentration given transitory oatmeal dalliance and spritzy hop flow gently backed by contagious mocha mildness, fleeting sticky maple stint, and prim nutmeat thickness. A chocolate pudding substitute.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: MAC TARNAHAN'S BREW. CO., PORTLAND, OR.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Middling dry medium body lacks charisma, determination, and froth of robust category. Bittersweet cola nut, dank chocolate, and raw molasses lose potency by drab roasted coffee finish. Orange peel stint falters.