Southern Tier Choklat

Brewed by Southern Tier Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Lakewood, New York USA

WOW This Chocolate blew my socks off. The flavor was the richest of the chocolates I have tried so far. Poured dark and thick with almost no head, but some lacing. The aroma and flavor were of large scale Chocolate action. The 11% ABV gave me a buzz during both of the Championship games Sunday. I loved it.

On tap at Beer Run on 01/17/2009. Dark black body with a medium creamy off-white head. Huge chocolate aroma with some caramel and light vanilla. Huge sweet chocolate flavor with some cocoa and light vanilla. Medium full body with moderately low carbonation.

Pours a deep dark brown, almost black, with no head. Aroma of Chocolate with a touch of coffee . Taste of choclate and cofee. This is by far the most chocolate I have ever had in a Stout, or any other brew. This would be a great desert drink.

BOTTLE, TAP: tap at the Happy Gnome (St. Paul, MN) on 1.17.09. Monster beer. Dark black, reddish/beige head. HUGE chocolate on the nose and on taste, but very sweet. Not a session beer because its so sweet, but one pint is very memorable.

650ml bottle poured into an English pint, shared with Bill. STC pours black with a smallish tan head that leaves a very thin soapy lacing. This beer smells like chocolate cocoa with a faint hint of vanilla. The alcohol aroma is totally hidden, which is rather amazing considering the 11% ABV. The body is pretty thick and chewy. The taste is very much like chocolate milk with a faint hint of hop balance and carbonation. This is by far the most chocolaty beer I have ever had. This is an interesting beer but not a daily indulgence. This would make a good float and fit in perfectly at you local chocolate-themed pub.

They weren’t kidding when they said Chocolate Stout... I drank this next to a Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, and while the Brooklyn is a fine stout, you almost lose sight of the fact that it is a chocolate stout next to the Southern Tier. In my mind, Choklat is the chocolate stout against which all other chocolate stouts will be measured; fairly or unfairly. The initial flavor is a huge hit of chocolate followed by a very sweet second taste. Not much bitterness, and little in the way of that toasted flavor that I love so much in stouts. All in all an excellent beer, although I could barely finish a glass by myself. I would almost suggest serving this like you’d serve a port; very small glasses with desert. This sneaky bastard also hides 11% ABV, with almost no alcoholic burn. This stands out, especially compared to the Brooklyn I was tasting next to it.

Absolutely delightful aroma of chocolate syrup. Sweet, smooth, and warm on the tongue, with hints of butter, dark and milk chocolate. Great palate. Much like an alcoholic Nestle Quik

Bottle, batch 2. Aroma is rich, in your face chocolate, lots of "wow" factor — sweet, luscious and luxurious — but kind of one dimensional. There is a little bit of black malt in there, a touch of bitterness, but that’s all. The flavor doesn’t hold up so well, a milky concoction of white chocolate, pure cocoa powder and coffee rinds, with some lactic acid and orange skins at the back. Easy drinking. Fun to drink for sure, but with so much chocolate this doesn’t offer too much for the experienced drinker.