Highland Black Mocha Stout

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

Serve in English pint, Shaker, Snifter

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UPDATED: FEB 12, 2010 bottle. I really enjoy this beer, needed to revisit it. It’s got an appealing deep, deep, red that doesn’t let much light pass through and a dense, tan head. Aroma is quite yeasty with some dry chocolate, latte, and fresh barley. The mocha is not overdone in the body, but balanced nicely with some acidic coffee notes and a touch of earthy hops. A little cola taste rears its head, but doesn’t do enough to subtract from the overall experience.
[March 29, 2009]
bottle from Greenlife, Chattanooga. This is an obvious dry stout, but I really enjoy it. There is a very large amount of meaty, bacon flavor with dark chocolate. The palate is a little light for the style, but never skimps in the flavor. The finish is earthy, dry, and very meaty. This is an exceptionally tasteful dry stout.
[February 12, 2010]
On tap at McClarens. Pours a deep dark ruby which pretty much looks black. The aroma is super roasty with loads of coffee, earth, some timid hops, and distinct mocha. The mouthfeel is medium and the finish is definitely dry. Lots of pronounced mocha is in the flavor, it creates an excellent illusion of using dark chocolate in the brew. Plenty of coffee and earthy flavors abound. This is a super drinkable and balanced dry stout. Wonderful.

22oz bottle courtesy of Suttree: Dark muddy brown, near black, body with a light brown head that lasts for a few minutes. The aroma is roasted coffee, chocolate, and a bit of musty dark fruit. Flavor shows chocolate, roasted malts, light coffee (flavor coming from the use of malt, not the addition of coffee beans), bitter cocoa. It’s not very bitter and dry nor is sweet and syrupy - this seems to have one foot on either side of that fence and makes for an enjoyable easy going stout. Medium-full bodied, medium carbonation, sometimes a bit more watery that I’d like.

Translucent, muddy brown body with a fading, uniform, sudsy tan head. Aroma of cocoa, milk chocolate, medium roast coffee, and a hint of dried plums. Flavor is initially dominated by chocolate and caramel but emergent roast develops. Has notes of dark fruit and rum raisin. Moderate sweetness with some firm roast and hop bitterness. Body is rich, sweet, and dextrinous. Definitely a decent stout. Thanks SpringsLicker.

Bottle. 22oz split down the middle with a good friend over a batch of homebrew. Pours black but is somewhat amber when held to the light, a bit weak looking for a "black" stout. Aromas of roasted coffee, chocolate, toast, but all a bit too subdued and overwhelmed by a sweet caramel malt. Medium body seems a bit thin for the style. Classic black stout flavors again pushed aside by a sweet maltiness characteristic more of a Brown Ale or Porter. Finishes a little watery and sweet. All in all a good beer, but black, mocha, and stout would not be my first three thoughts on a blind tasting.

Ooooh, I know I’m in for a ride, already. I’ve poured into the glass and the beer fills it with an impenetrable ebon, capped with lush, rocky cocoa tan froth. And the aroma, wafting out from the start is intoxicating and right on the money. Let’s go in for a stronger sniff... Ahhh!!! Rich, deep coffe and chocolate, lightly roasty, toasty, a big of of bittersweet beans, but sweetened up some, very delicious...cocoa is an imprtant element here... Taste: simply a wonderful thing going on in the mouth. All those flavors mentioned in the nose combine beautifully for a dark, delectable symphony on the palate. Rich and sweet, chocolatey, but still enough bitter to keep the thing in check. Immaculate integration, exquisite balance, almost flawless. I could drink this forever...damnably good. It feels great to meet once in a while such a fantastic creation as this, and know that stupendous stouts aren’t just conceived once in a while,from the usual suspects, but are cropping up all over the place, created by a host of talented brewers across the U.S.A!

Dark ebony pour with medium tan head. Aroma of roast malt, chocoff, slight dark fruit and rauch. Tastes malty, with chocoff, prunes, some rauchiness, and some spirits in the finish. Nice complexity and well balanced. I can’t wait until North Carolina gets rid of the 6% law. The Baptists need to be stopped in North Carolina. Most of them don’t even work for a living (they sit on their porches all day), yet they seem to be very involved with public policy. Robert E. Lee never would have put up with a stupid 6% limit on beer alcohol percentage. Screw you, Baptists. Negatively screw you, Highland BM Stout.

Good beer. Poured black with a brown head that lingered for quite a bit. The aroma was roastier than I expected, as was the flavor. Not incredible amounts of chocolate or coffee in the flavor for a "mocha" stout.

In the 22 oz bomber bottle. Pours a cryptic dark black. Has a surprisingly white head. Slightly smokey flavor. Excellent mouth feel. A bit of a hoppy smell, in fact more of a hop presence than some. Very drinkable. A good beginner’s stout because of the absence of any harshness.

MMMMMMM this is a good stout. Pours black with a tan head. Has a nice smokey aroma with a nice choclate and coffee flavor. This is a very good stout.

Black with a deep mocha colored head. Smoky, roasty aroma. Medium body brings along flavors of roast malt that stops short of being too bitter yet enought to impart a pleasant dryness, preventing it from being too sweet. Very well balanced and smooth. Worth seeking out.