Highland Black Mocha Stout

Brewed by Highland Brewing Company
Style: Stout
Asheville, North Carolina USA

22oz bomber, picked up in Savannah, GA on a trip there a few months back. Pours a very dark brown body with tons of deep red running throughout. Looks a lot like a Black Cherry soda poured into a glass. 1 finger thick mocha brown head has some decent retention, but hardly any lacing. Leaves a layer of spotty foam atop the beer. Nose is chalky, with tons of fudgey chocolate, dark roasted/burnt malts, coffee grounds and dark skinned fruity esters. Fore is chocolate of all kinds - bitter, dark, Belgian, milk - roasted coffee beans, dark roasty malts and fudge. Medium bodied, creamy edges, satisfying for a stout of this gravity. Finish is sweet chocolate, raisins, fudge, malts and finally roasted coffee beans for the rest of the lengthy ending. Good beer!

I admit to being a wee prejudiced in favor of stouts and porters, which is why I tend to rate them high if they’re good. However, this one does deserve kudos. Color is a deep sable, almost black, and opaque. Aroma is fairly strong, smoky, with rich roast coffee overtone. Flavor is very smooth, tasting rather like roast coffee with hints of chocolate and just a whisper of hops. I heartily recommend this one to all porter and stout fans.

What’s the cure for a drunk santa? Two ho-hum beers, that’ll keep ya from drinking too much, throwing in the towel and heading to bed once all wrapping and assembly is completed (now!). The pour was solid black, choco colored head, not overly impressive in size, lacing weak for the style. The aroma was roasty chocolate, not much coffee that I could make out. The flavor was roasty bitter, some chocolate, some chalk, some metallic, although overall this could’ve had more intense flavor. The mouthfeel a little light. The beer wasn’t bad, not my favorite take in flavor, overall a little weak.

The pour is a glossy black with hints of mahogany at the edges. A medium sized, foamy, beige head settles quickly to a tiny rim around the edges. Minimal, ultra-fine dots of lacing are dispersed far apart on the glass. The aroma is very roasty, with scorched barley being the dominant component. Chocolate and coffee are present, but they serve more as compliments to the grains. The flavor is equally roasty, with barley again dominating, though a bit of slightly sweet scorched caramel creeps in. The body is pretty light, which isn’t what I’m looking for in a stout. A moderate duration finish is mosty roasted grains and coffee. Decent brew, but pretty boring and one dimensional.

Black w/ a nice tan head. Smells and taste of roasted malts. A bit light on the mouthfeel but I think that adds to the drinkability. Possibly the most sessionable stout I’ve had.

GREAT BEER! Pours a dark black that light can not penetrate. Bursts with tons of flavor, tastes like chocolate coffee. Amazing head, not to small not to large, perfect. I love ASHEVILLE!

Easily the best of the Highland beers I’ve had so far. After the mediocre showing of their other dark beer I had (their porter) I was hoping this wasn’t the same. It wasn’t. An aroma of chocolate and roasted coffee, sweet malts and a touch of woodiness to it. Appearance was a dark black body with some garnet hue around the edges, and a tan sudsy cap. Mouthfeel was smooth and medium bodied. Aside from the upfront chocolate and cofffee notes, it fininshed suprisingly bitter like eating bakers chocolate from the tin. Overall a nice stout and perhaps one to ease some unsuspecting BMC drinker over to the darkside. Or not. Good beer.

Pours deep brown with a medium head. Aroma of strong coffee and roasted malt, plus a slight hop aroma. Big roasty malt and coffee taste with a bit of chocolate and hops toward the end. Medium to heavy body. Roasty bitter finish. Nice beer!