Almanac Biere de Chocolat

Almanac Beer Company
Brewed at Hermitage Brewing Co.
Style: Porter
San Francisco, California USA

Serve in English pint, Shaker

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Pours dark brown with a tan head. Cocoa, roasted malt, coffee, mild bitterness. This was not as sweet and chocolatety as I was expecting. Light body and dry. Pretty drinkable though. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Aroma: Mocha Appearance: Dark brown with a reddish tinge and a thick brown head. Flavor: Chocolate with a bit of chemical edge - as if a chocolate extract was used. Palate: Medium to full bodied, moderate carbonation and a long, unpleasant bitter finish. Overall: Aroma wins big, but the flavors miss the mark.

Had heard nice things about the farm to bottles .. . cloudy brown .. . minimal head .. . bread, hay, cereal, and leaves .. . light body .. . lively carbonation .. . . I want to write a mystery novel… or do I?

A steady pour into my Teku glass produces an almost three finger thick, nicely browned, dark tan colored head. The beer is an opaque, almost black color. The aroma smells of chocolate, coffee liquor, vanilla (actually a fair amount of this), a hint of chalky roast character, a hint of mineral like character, and, once you really dig for it, a toasted, whole grain roasted character. The nose is definitely dominated by the chocolate and vanilla notes, but is still nice if you like that sort of thing.

The beer is somewhat dry, with lots of roasted, dark malt, and bitter burnt notes (that really linger on the palate). The carbonation adds a bit of a prickly texture here, and the extra CO2, along with the burnt roast, adds a bit of acidity and sharpness to the finish. The chocolate notes are quite a bit reduced compared to the aroma, though the vanilla is still quite expressive and dominant in the flavor. The body is fairly light, the carbonation accentuates this, but there is still a palate presence and light viscosity here; if you knockout the extra carbonation it becomes smoother and a touch richer.

Not bad if you like vanilla and chocolate; the stout character seems a touch wan, and also a bit too dry to accentuate the chocolate and vanilla in a balanced manner. Still this is fairly enjoyable.

Draft at Stone. Pours a thin black with a short tan head. Aroma is dark chocolate and roast coffee, slightly burnt. Smells very sweet, but some grassy hops as well. Taste is quite sweet, some milk and dark chocolate, slight citrusy hop bit. Body is very thin and carbonation is very high. Makes for a strange porter.

25 Apr 2013, bottle. dark brown, almost black. nose is roasted/burnt beans at first, then rich dark chocolate. thin body and fizzy. sweet chocolate, might be a bit like the scratch-n-sniff chocolate flavor. i think there is some metallic flavor. it’s fairly fizzy, which cuts into finding the nuances. decent. reminds me of Southern Tier Choklat

Poured from a 12 ounce bottle. Big nose of chocolate and vanilla, slight toffee. The chocolate and vanilla dominate the flavor as well. There is also some bready notes, coffee, slight tannins. An enjoyable porter with big chocolate and vanilla flavors that are usually found in beers double the strength.

Pours wall to wall black. Big, puffy, khaki head. The head foams up aggressively before settling into a thick blanket of fine foam. I’m mostly getting milk chocolate from the aroma, though some other aromas come in once I get used to it. At first blush, it legitimately smells like a dessert made with lots of milk chocolate. Big vanilla note, too. Smells very sweet. Hops provide a mix of floral and citrus and actually detract a bit from the aroma for me. I thought the chocolate seemed off, but the hops just add a funny twist. Still, it’s overall a nice smelling beer. On the other hand, the taste is oddly harsh and just seems like a mess of clashing flavors. A fairly bland citric hop bitterness dominates the beer. Unfortunately, the sweeter flavors are mostly just an over the top vanilla tone. The chocolate is way too weak, particularly after the promise of the aroma. Plus, it’s not a rich flavor, closer to baker’s chocolate than anything. Lingering hop and roast bitterness. Mouthfeel starts out way too effervescent, gets creamy before it just thins out too much. Generally, too thin, though. The carbonation is off, particularly for a porter. It just takes away from the flavors. I liked this one better on tap, so this bottle is fairly disappointing.

Unique chocolate, fudge, cocoa aroma. Dark black with thin foam. Strong dark chocolate flavor with pleasant fudge overtones. Other notes of burnt caramel, roasted sugar, coffee beans and roasted cocoa nibs. Overall, this is a very pleasant chocolate flavored beer with a slight aged flavor. I’d give this an A rating.

Fridge temp, wine glass, no head pours dark brown, black in the glass. Nose is roasted coffee and cocoa. Taste is very much the same. Thin body, weak mouthfeel but loads of cocoa and it has this premium chocolate taste with a smoked oak as well. Vanilla finish.