Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout

Hello everyone, Fontes here. Last night I sat down to enjoy Brooklyn Brewing Company's Black Chocolate Stout and today I am here to give you my opinion of it. I purchased this beer from my local liquor store in a four pack for $6.99 plus tax. I drank this beer from a standard pint glass after pouring it from the bottle.

After pouring the beer from the bottle into the pint glass, the appearance is extremely dark. When you hold the glass up to a light, there is no light shining through this beer at all. Once poured into a glass, an off white, creamy head forms, but dissipates quickly. This beer also packs a punch, at 10% alcohol by volume. However, even though this beer is extremely dark and high in alcohol, it is dangerously drinkable. This is a very easy to drink stout, and with such a high alcohol percentage, one has to be careful not to drink too many of these beers too quickly.

The smell of this beer is fantastic. I picked up dark chocolate and mild coffee aromas with a slight smell of the alcohol present in the background. The taste of this beer is even better. This beer gives off strong chocolate flavors, with dark chocolate being the most predominant flavor that I tasted. The dark chocolate flavor leaves a nice bittersweet taste on your palate. The alcohol definitely comes through not only with the smell, but also with the taste. It provides a nice bite that is subtle, but noticeable nonetheless. Since the dark chocolate taste is the most predominant flavor in this beer, the after taste reminds me of these...yum. As I said before, this beer is very drinkable. The mouthfeel of this beer is very light, and almost kind of watered down. However, the taste is excellent and this is still a fantastic stout.

This beer gets a definite thumbs up from me. As I have said in the past, I love and appreciate the great flavor of Young's Double Chocolate Stout. However, with that said, let me make myself very clear when I say that Brooklyn Brewing Company's Black Chocolate Stout is my favorite stout of all time. This beer has the rich dark chocolate flavor that I love. It has a nice alcohol bite to it, and a very impressive alcohol percentage to it. And it is only available during the winter season so it makes me appreciate the beer more. To put it simply, Brookly Brewing Company's Black Chocolate Stout is fantastic. And if you're still not convinced that you must try this beer, take a look at what other beer enthusiasts are saying. I think you will like what you see. So make sure you pick up a four pack of this beer asap. The winter season is going to be gone before you know it, and so will this beer, so enjoy it while it lasts!

Cheers Everyone!!  

My Favorite Styles Of Craft Beer (Right Now)

Hello everyone, Fontes again. As I discussed in my last blog I like a variety of styles of craft beer. Everything from porters to pale ales. Everything from dark beer to lighter colored beer. Each style of beer has it's own unique flavor and appearance. But at this point in my life however I have a particular love affair with stouts and porters. To put it simply, these styles of beer are fantastic. They are dark and have rich, full, and bold flavors of coffee, toffee, dark chocolate, caramel, and roasted malt. Many times, the roasted malt is what gives the beer it's dark complexion and flavor. Porters and stouts are so similar that they are often intertwined. If you are looking for more information on the history of these styles of beer and how they are made, check out these two links: Porters and Porters/Stouts.

About ten months I ago I went to the Mew's Tavern located in Wakefield, Rhode Island for the first time with my parents for dinner. For those of you located in or around the Rhode Island area, I definitely recommend that you take a trip to this restaurant if you have not done so already. In addition to the restaurant, they also have three different bars located within the building. What makes this restaurant unique from other restaurants is that the Mew's Tavern offers 69 craft beers on tap all year round. On my first trip there, I ordered a beer that I never tried before. It was called Young's Double Chocolate Stout. I was simply blown away by this beer. It was like having dessert in a glass. I tasted roasted malt, and dark chocolate. It was dark, creamy and well...beautiful!! That was the first stout that I can remember trying and being absolutely blown away by. I was so excited!!

Shortley after my first vist to the Mew's Tavern, I went back with my friends on the weekend. As I was looking at the beer menu I was very tempted to get the Young's Double Chocolate Stout again, but I also wanted to try something different. In the end, I decided to try another beer that I never tried before. This time, I tried Berkshire Coffeehouse Porter. Again, my reaction was...WOW!! I was amazed at the quality of this beer. It was very similar to the Young's Double Chocolate Stout in the sense that it was dark, and had the bitter taste of dark chocolate. BUT...this beer had something more to it.  It was much thicker than the Young's. As I was drinking the beer, the foam clung to the glass. You could see the rings that it formed on the glass as you drank the beer. This beer was also like having dessert in a glass and I have to say, that this is my favorite beer to drink at the moment. 

If you have not tried porters or stouts yet, I highly recommend that you at least give them a try. A common misconception that is attached to porters and stouts is that they are thick and heavy. While that is true with some porters and stouts (like the Berkshire Coffeehouse Porter) it is not true with all porters and stouts. What makes these styles of beer so dark is the roasted malts that are used in the brewing process. But the roasted malts do not necessarily make the beer thick. An example of a very drinkable stout would be the Young's Double Chocolate Stout. While it is true that is dark in color, it is fairly light on the palate.

So don't be afraid of these styles of beer. They have a unique taste that you can't find with any other style of beer. You won't know if you like it until you give them a try. In my opinion, I think you will like what you taste. Cheers everyone!!