Grado Plato Chocarrubica

Brewed by Birrificio Grado Plato
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Chieri (TO), Italy

Serve in Lager glass, Tumbler

Had from bottle from HiTime Wines. Popped swing top cap and immediately had foam over the edge. Caught quickly in a tulip, pours dark brown/black with a surprisingly small head after it gushed over. Aroma is heavy chocolage, spices, sugar, and malts. Taste starts nice, ends poorly. Get big time chocolate and malts, hops are pretty well hidden and some alcohol at the end. Taste and finish is almost like unsweetened cocoa - dry, bland, just something seemed off. Kind of a watered down chocolate / cocoa blend that just doesn’t sit right. I’ll pass on this one in the future.

On bottle. The chocolate smell is very strong. Black colour, no froth and low carbonation. Absolutely not sickening. So it is drinkable enough. Fruity aroma, with a light malt and caramel taste other than the chocolate taste. Very pleasant drinking.

Pours an opaque chocolaty sable with a thick tan head that persists and leaves some thick lacing. Strong, crisp, fruity aroma has apple and cherry notes and a malty underpinning. Fruity flavor is almost more brandy than beer and has a sharp alcohol bite. It has malty and yeasty touches to it. Smooth, slightly thin texture has a nice fizz.

Bottle (rated in Nov 2009). Head is initially average sized, frothy/fizzy, brown, mostly diminishing. Body is dark brown to black. Aroma is moderately malty (roasted grain, chocolate), moderately yeasty (horseblanket), with notes of cherry, plastic, manure. Flavor is moderately to heavily sweet, moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, moderately acidic, moderately bitter, unclean. Medium body, watery/creamy texture, lively carbonation, lightly to moderately alcoholic.

Swing top bottle exploded on opening ..... Dark brown pour ruby hue light beige head and light lacing .... aroma is sweet and chocolatey with light roasted and a sweet fruityness as well .... taste is of carob and cocoa (sweet chocolate) and some fruityness with some caramel malt and roasted elements and almost a vinous touch to it .... a light bitterness at the end ..... guess I aged this one too long it erupted

750ml Bottle: Aroma of chocolate, cocoa, malt, roasting, carob, fudge, and a hint of raspberry. Poured very dark brown in color with a small, creamy, dense, tan/brown head that Lasted throughout. Opaque. Sparkling. Flavor is medium sweet. Tastes of malt, chocolate, fudge, carob, and a hint of raspberry. Medium body. Average texture. Average carbonation. Malt, light roast, chocolate, fudge, carob finish is medium sweet. 7%ABV is completely hidden throughout.

Possibly my bottle was too old? Explosively carbonated. Huge foamy dark tan head. Dark brown body. Nose of a little chocolate, a little malt, and sourness. Did this have an accidental secondary Brett fermentation? Sometimes that’s a great thing, but not today. An interesting sour chocolate stout, but, by now there are a dozen or more chocolate stouts that I prefer.

Dark brown/black color; Medium creamy body; Aroma of toasted malt, cocoa, some vanilla, & spice; Flavor of slight roasted sweet malt, chocolate, coffee, hazelnuts, some dark fruit, and spice; Fairly well balanced; Overall, interesting stuff - a little thin but decent.

Bottle - 16.9 ounce swing-top. Black bodied with a short, dense tan head. Aroma is roasty and sweet with cocoa, dark chocolate, light coffee and roasted malt. Taste is slightly bitter coffee, dark chocolate, cocoa, roasted malt, carob and candy. Body is medium with a dense, creamy carbonation. Finishes with more roasted malt, coffee, dark chocolate, carob, cocoa, and sweet malt. Almost like a chocolate candy bar melted in a cup of coffee.