Less challenging than most ‘Brewhouse Rarities,’ yet still quite engaging. Advertised jalapeno peppering and dark cocoa-powdered chocolate creaminess seem undone by carbolic aridity. Wispy cinnamon-toasted vanilla sweetness gets lost in the shuffle as well, leaving raw molasses astringency to saddle its anise-nipped mocha finish.
Sweet-toothed 106th anniversary dessert treat begins fabulously, overloading black chocolate and dark cocoa upon oily hop-charred resin. But as the dark-roasted mocha malt frontage declines, its richness and body fades. So instead of tasting like candy-sugared M & M’s or a Milky Way, the chocolate-caked cocoa bean, chocolate mint, milked coffee; Kahlua and syrupy molasses illusions lose luster, leaving some phenolic astringency in its wake.
On tap at Shepherd & Knucklehead, devastatingly fine dessert treat is perfect nightcap. Like a chocolate raspberry layer cake, chocolate raspberry truffle or Black Forest cake, its sweet-toothed goodness cannot be denied. Black and brown chocolate blend perfectly with pureed raspberry tartness, receiving a thickly syrupy molasses sugaring. In the distance, burnt coffee grounds lightly embitter dark-roasted mocha malting. Beneath, vanilla, hazelnut and cocoa subtleties spread across tertiary blackberry, black cherry and blueberry fruiting. Arguably the best raspberry chocolate stout ever made. In the bottle (2020), richly creamed dark chocolate syruping drapes bittersweet raspberry tartness of luscious tan-laced mahogany-hued dessert treat. Decadent chocolate raspberry caking picks up fudged molasses, toffee, cocoa and vanilla serenity and wispy cherry-bruised dried fruiting.
On tap at Shepherd & Knucklehead, chewy chocolate cherry cordial alternative makes fine dessert treat. Dark-roasted mocha malts create cocoa-powdered black chocolate, milk chocolate and fudge brownie illusions. Just a tad more dried fruited sweetness needed to overcome minor astringency.
Hefty Madagascar vanilla bean adjunct and delicate cocoa nibs influence spread across capacious brown chocolate malting. Coarse dark-roasted hop char singes dark-roasted mocha malting, embittering the dry lactic finish.
On tap at Taphouse Grille – Wayne, light stout takes barley-malted second runnings of A Night To End All Dawns Imperial Stout and creates fine low-alcohol (3.7% ABV) moderation. Sedate dark-roasted coffee and black chocolate frontage mildly embittered by charred hop roast. Tertiary milked espresso, cola nut and earthen peat illusions vie for space.
Ewe-phoric hybridized chocolate stout/ spice ale combines up-front milk chocolate sweetness with peppermint-backed gingerbread resilience. Latent anise influence affects subsidiary vanilla, cocoa nibs and molasses cookie undertones.
Nifty chocolate mint dessert beer spreads peppermint herbage across black cocoa and dark chocolate creaminess. Black patent malting and oats-flaked hop toasting mildly embitter rich mocha theme. Chewy cookie dough backdrop picks up ancillary black coffee, cappuccino, mocha latte and vanilla undertones. Wispy ginger and cinnamon nuances sprinkle minty chocolate-milked finish.
Though doubling the bittersweet Dutch chocolate used in Rogue Chocolate Stout, this newer version is not richer, creamier or better than the original. Nevertheless, its debonair dark chocolate malting will satiate mocha lovers of all stripes. Fudgy creme de cocoa and creme brulee illusions sweeten its lofty oats-honeyed chocolate entry. Tertiary chocolate chip cookie, dark toffee, maple molasses, milked coffee and vanilla nuances help contrast dry hop-charred bittering. Perfect for dessert.
Smooth creme brulee sugaring leads the way for ‘dark chocolate malt beverage.’ Fudgy vanilla sweetens tertiary chocolate truffle, Ghirardelli chocolate, cocoa bean, espresso, toffee and oily coffee resonance. Minimal hop char embitters mocha tendencies, but soft creamy froth relegated by acrid carbolic aridity and coarsely astringent nuttiness.
Novel full-bodied peculiarity enhances creamy dark chocolate malt richness with spearmint-leafed herbal freshness. But its minty influence gets emphasized above meandering mocha mantra and dark-roasted barley flakes. Wavered black licorice, black coffee, dark cocoa, vanilla bean and raw molasses illusions get depleted by creme de menthe and peppermint pattie prods. Spruce-tipped fern and evergreen tea nuances further promote chocolate mint theme.
On tap at Shepherd & Knucklehead, up-front peanut buttering gets smeared across gunky mocha nuttiness and sharp roasted hop bittering. Soft-watered silking contrasts rich dark chocolate milkiness as grape-jellied peanut butter sensation recedes. Pine nut, hazelnut and walnut illusions indulge oats-charred coffee snip.
