This beer is further proof of why I am a very lucky man. My wife understands my passionate quest for interesting beers and whenever she sees something that she thinks I might like, she will pick me up a bottle. She found this one at one of our local organic markets, our favorite one as it happens.
In researching this beer, it appears to be part of Southern Tier’s special line of brews. That would explain why it is such a stand out beer. I love that the label has the grain bill and the hops they used. If you follow the link, below, from the beer’s name, they have a nice graphic of the label from which you can read those key elements to reproducing the recipe.
Vitals
- Name: Imperial Choklat Stout
- Brewery: Southern Tier Brewing Company
- Style: Imperial Stout brewed with chocolate (Category 13, BJCP 2008 Style Guidelines)
- Alcohol: 11%
- Serving: 22oz big bomber poured into pint glasses
Scoring
(Also in solidarity with Charlie the Beer Guy.)
- Appearance: 8 – Opaque with a thick head of medium sized bubbles. The head has a distinct chocolate color. You can see a hint of red if you look through the corner of the bottom of the glass. The head laces nicely down the glass as you drink.
- Aroma: 9 – Strong cocoa and definitely picking up on the willamette. A little hint of the sugar sweet from the chocolate and probably the caramel 60. Didn’t get the chocolate malt or the chinook in the aroma.
- Taste: 8 – A nice blast of chocolate up front. You get both hops in the palate, unlike the aroma. The chocolate malt is also present in the palate, almost tending towards the taste of black or burnt malt. As I drank, the sweetness became more apparent as the beer warmed.
- Mouth Feel: 8 – Creamy, milky; strongly reminiscent of chocolate milk.
- Holistic: 10 – Very well integrated, the chocolate works well against an incredibly good stout as a base. Definitely a big, chewy beer.
- Overall: 43 – Wonderful, just a hair more enjoyable than the Siren Noire. The underlying beer is bigger, though, more flavorful. Yet it doesn’t sacrifice the chocolate or the overall balance.
