Brooklyn Brewery - Black Chocolate Stout

Today my friend sent me one of those 'funny-mass-email-forwards' with a beer prayer that I thought I'd share with everyone;

Our lager, which art in barrels,

hallowed by thy drink.

Thy will be drunk,

At home, as I am in the tavern.

Give us this day our foamy head, 

and forgive our spillage, 

as we forgive those who spill against us.

And lead us not to incarceration,

but deliver us from hangovers.

For thine is the ale, the pilsner, and the lager,

forever and ever.

-AMEN-

Tonight I'm drinking Black Chocolate Stout from Brooklyn Brewery in Utica, NY.  This is a seasonal Imperial Stout, available from October through March, and it's a monster with 10% alcohol by volume.  For all you foodies out there, Brooklyn recommends strong cheese (especially Stilton) to be paired with this beer.

Limited Bottling - '11-12.  The beer is ink-jet black with a dark tan layer of hearty foam, leaves lots of sticky lacing behind.  The aroma is intense - roasted barley, milk chocolate, faint light coffee and cocoa, and alcohol fumes.  The flavor starts off with a wave of slightly bitter dark chocolate, bittersweet, until the second wave of barley roastyness.  Some smokiness and faint, woody vanilla hang out in the background.  Booze is pronounced, but not overwhelming.  The carbonation is on the heavier side, for the style, but it works well.

Overall Rating:  This is a big, bad, beautiful stout that takes everything about the style to the maximum.  It tastes great in its current state of freshness, and I'm sure it will taste even better in a year or two.  Thick, rich, and warming - definitely a beer for the winter months.  Give this one a try!  A-

Brau Brothers - Cream Stout

Today's beer is brewed by Brau Brothers Brewing in the small town of Lucan, MN (population 220).  The Cream Stout is one of Brau's most popular year-round brews, with an english influence to the recipe and brewing style.  It comes in at a mild 4.5%ABV and 21 IBUs, brewed with English Ale yeast and Goldings/Fuggles hops. 

The label design is classic Brau Brothers - Boring.  It includes a short description of the beer on the side, which is pictured below.  F for creativity!  The label says this beer is right at home in a pint glass, so that's where it's going.  The color is an ink-black with a half-inch tan head.  The aroma is a combination of roasty chocolate malts and dark roast coffee...a firm, husky smell that isn't overwhelming but fairly one-sided.  The taste is the aroma incarnate - roasted, burnt malts with some expresso concentrate.  Then there is a short, fleeting burst of bitterness, and then everything washes away almost instantly, leaving just a hint of that roasted expresso flavor in the background.  Mouthfeel is a bit thin, along with the carbonation.

Overall Rating:  (3.0 out of 6.0)  This was a fairly straight-forward, simple stout.  The body was a bit too thin.....not a bad beer, but don't go out of your way for it.