Magic Hat Odd Notion - Chocolate Belgian Stout (Fall 09)

Brewed by Magic Hat Brewing Company
Style: Stout
South Burlington, Vermont USA

Serve in English pint

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Name: Odd Notion - Chocolate Belgian Stout
Date: November 21, 2009
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Cellar Party
Appearance: opaque dark brown, wispy beige head, viscious, drippy lace
Aroma: sweet chocolate aroma, dark caramel sweetness, fruity esters, dark chocolate
Flavor: rich chocolate flavor, faint fruity esters, bitter dark chocolate
Overall: flavor does not live up to the promise of the aroma
Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 3.2/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: ** /4

( 12oz bottle, courtesy of blutt59 ) Pours a dark brown (near black) body with a small beige head. Aroma of Belgian yeast, roasted grain, rye, and cocoa. Flavor of wheat, Belgian yeast, cocoa, roasted malt, and some subtle dark fruit.

(draft) Small brown head atop black body. Aroma is moderately sweet, chocolate icing, light Belgian yeast. Taste is moderately sweet, chocolate lacing, Belgian yeast, light roast. Light-medium body, some acidity.

on tap-pours a rich diapering brown head and black color. Aroma is sweet chocolate/molasses-dark malt, hint of hops. Taste is sweet chocolate/molasses-dark malt, secondary citrus/earthy hops. Good carbonation. More porter than a stout.

Bottle from ericandersnavy. Pours opaque black/brown with a decent foamy tan head. Aromas of chocolate and smooth toasted dark malt. Medium bodie with frothy carbonation. Flavor is chocolate and smooth toasted malt. Finishes a bit creamy and a bit astringent/bitter. Good stout.

On tap at Capone’s. Poured a deeper black color with a small sized off white head. Aromas of chocolate, roast, and some earthiness. Tastes of chocolate, roast, some coffee, and some fruitiness.

A random gift from my boss. Pours pitch black with a thick, sticky dark brown head. the nose is quite phenolic. Lots of heavy clove character. A fairly prominent chocolatey note as well, along with a lot of earthy licorice and a fairly pronounced roastiness as well. Chewy and plummy but it begins to take on a very heavy solvent/phenolic note as it warms up. It starts out okay, but the yeast and the heavy roasted malts just really clobber this one. Comes across like a cup of cold burnt coffee.
Earlier Rating: 4/12/2009 Total Score: 3.7
Tap at Blind Tiger. Deep black brown beer with a heavy sort of licorice aroma. A bit of light saltiness and soy along with some clove and light spice, but the yeast isn’t all that expressive. Lightly plasticy with a few lightly smoky phenolics. Fairly bittersweet cocoaish flavour. There is a pretty strong roastiness on this. Deep sweet lightly plummy malts. It isn’t all that good out of the gate, but beer actually grows on me as it starts to warm up.

Bottle thanks to blutt59. Pours with a dark head and a black body. Aroma of cocoa dust, straw, hay and dark fruits. Taste is cocoa, tobacco and low residual sugars for a stout. Light carbonation.

Pours brown with a white head. Smells of bitter chocolate. Tastes of chocolate and some cherry hints with molasses on the finish.

Draft at Capone’s. Dark brown pour with off-tan head and nose of dark malt, some dark choc, figgy fruit. Medium palate heft, with predominant dark malt, dark chocolate, and some fruity notes. Decent.