Young's Double Chocolate Stout

Cadbury-esque colours here on what is a pretty easy to find double chocolate stout.

It's a pretty standard sort of setup here - fluffy head, light black colour, nose of dry cocoa, taste pretty much likewise. It's maybe a bit watery, perhaps a bit less lush than you might expect from the moniker 'double'. Indeed there's only really one chocolate I taste in it.

Overall this is kind of like a watered down Choc Hops - or more to the point I suppose Choc Hops is like a geared up, better quality version of this. Still, could be a lot worse. 6.5

Rogue Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout

Another Rogue, another delivery of their patented Pacman yeast strain.

This one needed to be sampled again on tap as the original photo was lost, however according to the bottle pictographs I had determined this one goes with "cows' heads" and/or "pies and wine". The container also informs us this is the 'world stout champion', though I'm not sure when or in which competition.

It's a really deep reddish brown pour, not quite on solid black, good for a six percenter. Aroma here is predominately chocolates .. wonder if it's chocolate malts driven, or some sort of addition? In any case it's pretty much the driving force here for both the aroma and flavour profile.

The beer itself definitely sits squarely in the chocolate stout camp but has a lovely round body to it that belies the comparatively low percent. Full flavoured through stages of chocolate, hops, and a burnt dry roastiness that keeps you coming back for more.

This is not a groundbreaking sort of a beer, but at the same time it's hard to complain when you can't think of much they could have done better. Excellent. 8.5

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout 2011-12 edition

Not often you see a 'chocolate' stout coming in at 10% abv!

Also it's becoming clear upon looking at this bottle where Bootleg got their name. Huh.

Anyway, this is a big beer off the bat, nice pour delivers an oily glass presence with a low but attractive mocha head. The nose certainly starts off on choc but then meanders through a variety of raisiny imperial sort of notes consistent with an imperial stout. There is no real booze present to blast off your nose hairs for you.

Drinking this it is clear it's not the mellow, choc milk sort of experience you get from most beers with 'chocolate' in the name. Instead, this is a beer story where the chocolate malt takes a bit of a back seat. It's there, sure, but only as a soft foil to the imperial army of 6 different malts doing their respective jobs. There's a nice burnt custard sort of effect it generates that just covers the alcohol and leaves this smooth and refreshing.

So, not a very 'chocolate' sort of beer in the end, but this shouldn't be taken as too bad of a thing. It's an interesting approach to this style and one I found intriguing and flavoursome if not quite as indulgent as various other options. 7.5

Renaissance Craftsman Chocolate Porter

Another porter from the NZ crew at Renaissance - after surprising with their first one, could they deliver another cocoa winner?

This time around the brew is explicitly a chocolate oatmeal porter and so starts life with some quite clearly defined targets at which to aim. But while it hits the mark with the basic chocolate vanilla roast characteristics of the aroma and flavour, there's a disappointing lack of real smooth velvet body that keeps it from hitting greatness. I also felt it was perhaps a little green in the middle .. but upon checking it was approaching the end of its 'best before', not the start (and yes, it was a best before rather than a best after).

So, a recommendation? To me it depends on price. If you see this for cheap, it will not let you down. But if you've access to Mildura Brewery's Choc Hops for example you'll save some dosh and procure a better beer in the process. 7.0

Renaissance Elemental Porter

After Renaissance's less than impressive debut I can't say I was amped about this one - but then it's a porter so it's likely doing something right.

Fluffy milk head certainly aids the 'chocolate stout' act along nicely also, though it does dissipate flakily over time. Slight choc, slight coffee notes on the nose, both indistinct and quite light.

Flavour wise it's rather standard without hitting any high notes. There's a pleasing lack of wateriness about it (though it should not be confused for deep or complex), and a lasting slightly bitter aftertaste too. It's not as sweet as expected, and that is a good thing.

I think this could be a bit stickier in terms of mouthfeel but it strikes me as a reasonable beginner chocolate stout and certainly a far more accomplished effort than their ill-fated IPA. 7.5

Mildura Brewery Choc Hops

Have to wonder if this was supposed to be out in Woolies in time for Easter?

Regardless, it pours blacker than expected, though the insubstantial chocolate coloured head is soon gone. Slightly fizzy character to this with hops evident early, slightly empty middle, bit of vanilla character to back up the expected cocoa.

Having now tried this on a number of occasions I find it a pretty pleasing drop on the whole, successfully crafting pretty much everything you want in a chocolate porter. Well worth a go at its price range when you've got the craving for something a bit sweet. Underrated, and recommended. 7.5

Holgate Temptress Porter

People had recommended this one - and the one previous encounter (though fleeting) with a Holgate DIPA had turned out positively too.

Still: wow. Looks attractive. Smells attractive. And my word does it taste attractive.

This is brewed with cocoa and vanilla beans and it shows - very sweet milk chocolate flavours, vanilla edge in clear sight throughout and no real bitterness at all, but above and beyond that the beer has a lovely milky flavour and mouthfeel too that really improves it beyond the norm. It's funny that people find black beers so bewildering because this has to be the best beer for kids I have yet encountered.

If I had to find a downside it's that there's not too much character beyond these sweet notes - but then, there doesn't need to be. If you're in the mood for a coffee / roasty / hoppy / imperial porter, drink one of those. If you just want a sweet chocolate variety, you could go a lot worse than this fine effort.

The only puzzling thing is it suggesting it be enjoyed with either choc desserts (fully agree) or .. meat pies. Huh? 9.0

Murphy's Irish Stout

St Pats day it was, so we needed some sort of beer like this one:

The nose and taste give away straight away that this is stacked with chocolate malt. It's a nice creamy head though and good colour.

Tastes a little bit like choc milk, and the 4% also makes it seem like a kids' drink. But then again I could put these away pretty consistently I think next time I'm locked into some St Pats day shenanigans.

Not bad. 7.0