Chocolate Beer

m00nch1ld

German brewery Veltins did a “Cappuccino Beer” a few weeks back – perfectly digusting; it did taste as vile as one imagines. But then I’m no friend of any flavoured beer. The Belgians might have a few words to say about this topic, too.

doggo

Bah! Chocolate beer is like hazelnut coffee, needlessly adulterated. If it were my brewery, the guy who suggested adding chocolate to the beer would be looking at a pink slip. And maybe an ass-kicking in the parking lot.

… *grumble grumble* next you’ll be suggesting Worcestershire or steak sauce on steak…

Anonymous

Ive had 24 Chocolate beers, ranging from the undrinkable to the Bloody marverlous, only about 1 third of these actually have any Chocolate in them.

The best of them was Definitly the Southern Tier Chokolate. Which was a massive 10% but the alcohol was so well hidden as to be truely deceptive.

As others have said Youngs is probably the most common to have chocolate in it. The brooklyn Black chocolate definitly doesnt have any, the chocolate come from the roast malts

craig

Richard Kirk

I had a bottle of the Young’s chocolate beer the Christmas before last. The first taste was Error 404, with overtones of WTF. By about half way down the bottle, I had got used to the idea that you could taste chocolate and beer at the same time. I thought it wasn’t bad, and I was expecting it to be a lot worse, but I have never bothered going back for another bottle.

This Error 404 taste – you can’t classify it as nice or nasty, just What The Hell Do We Have Here – doesn’t happen with every random combination. Chocolate with chillies, chocolate with roast beef – those tasted pretty much as I expected (waste of good chocolate IMHO). But I also found it in…

* Georgian red Champagne

It’s like fizzy port. It ought to be filthy or really, really good. At the end of the bottle, I still wasn’t sure.

* Tamarillo

These are good, but they come across as something between a tomato and a banana. I didn’t know there was anthing between those two. Good, though.

Itsumishi

@55 Annon.

That Holgates chocolate porter is amazing. Especially good with the lovely Holgates Chocolate Porter Pudding!

That said everything at Holgates is amazing. One of the best microbreweries around.

Keir

I’ve tried chocolate beer, didn’t like it. Can’t remember what specific beer it was though.

arlopickens

Founder’s makes a Breakfast Stout, which is brewed with Sumatra and Kona coffee, chocolate, and oatmeal. It’s one of the best stouts on the market, maybe only second to Lion Stout and Mackeson’s Triple Stout. They also make a beer called Kentucky Breakfast, which is a stronger version of their Breakfast Stout aged in bourbon barrels. It’s very hard to find but Young’s Double Chocolate Stout is a good chocolate stout that’s easy to find and even better to find on tap. Mix it with Sam Adams’ Cherry Wheat for something truly delicious.

Birdseed

Besides a few stouts, I’ve tried this stuff:

http://www.meantimebrewing.com/chocolate.html

Which was okay, tasted of chocolate and beer… But the combination is ridiculous, considering the flavour potential of both ingredients. It’s like combining whisky and wine, or something.

Anonymous

its great, i just finished a can, its like a mix of a guinness with chocolate, and not sweet.

im actually buying a few since its a limited edition item

debrazadebra

Kirin Choco Premium Beer (chocolate roasted malt, that is) is pretty tasty, though I think Japanese Cheetos are fubar:

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=5vTau0wJ3kQ

Oh, and the Sapporo actual chocolate beer in the original post is only available through internet order between 14 & 23 Jan to be delivered 10 Feb.
If I can get a hold of it, I’ll def do a tastetest vid.

takeshi

I’ve seen some mentions of it already, but Young’s double chocolate is delicious, and their oatmeal and coffee stouts aren’t bad, either. And if you want a really strong treat, try mixing them together.

Sapporo is a great beer in its own right, so I expect this to be fairly tasty.

jtegnell

I lived in Bamberg in northern Bavaria some years ago. One of their claims to fame is a smokey flavored beer made by multiple breweries (most famously Schlenkerla but there are others).

It tastes oddly like cheese or smoked ham. I like it, but many do not.

A Nonny Moose

#39: “This Sapporo beer is much like the Belgian chocolate beers, very different, and surprisingly tasty, although to be honest, not really beer like.” So you’ve tasted it? I’m going to guess not, since it hasn’t even been released in Japan yet, and you seem to live somewhat west of there.

Anonymous

Young’s Double Chocolate Stout, which has been mentioned is not only a chocolate beer, but also a VERSATILE chocolate beer.

Top your pint of it with a dollop of vanilla or chocolate icecream. It is an extremely awesome icecream float.

Beer is awesome.

I’m curious about the Sapporo one featured here.

Craigger1

Chocolate = Good
Beer = VERY Good!
Chocolate Beer = Not Good

Despite the fact that both are good, when combined together I’m just not thinking this is going to catch on.

Much like I don’t think the Mantyhose idea will catch on either!

http://activerain.com/blogsview/875214/Proof-That-the-Apocalypse-is-Closer-Than-We-Think

Anonymous

For those talking about Chocolate Stout, etc: In most cases, this beer doesn’t contain actual chocolate. It contains Chocolate Malt, which is barley roasted fairly dark so that it ends up with the color of, and hints of the taste of, chocolate.
So, it does have a slightly chocolately taste, but not ’cause they’ve added actual cocoa. This beer is a different beast.

http://www.skotrat.com/skotrat/recipes/ale/stout/recipes/80.html
http://www.2basnob.com/specialty-grains.html

Anonymous

A buddy of mine made a homemade chocolate stout using Govida liqueur. Pretty freaking excellent!

afo

chocolate? try barley, white Muscat grapes, honey & saffron!

good new yorker article on “extreme beer” here:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/11/24/081124fa_fact_bilger

Brownie

Chocolate beer has been around for ages and can be great — think rich and bitter not sweet! I even have a recipe from an old homebrew book circa 1994.

Also, a great dessert invented by my brother many years ago is a Guinness float — a glass of Guinness with a scoop of dark chocolate ice cream in it. Fantastic! The only thing you have to worry about is making sure to add the ice cream carefully or you will have foam everywhere.

Marshall

Sapporo used to brew a stout called Sapporo Black – the best thing they ever brewed, and something that is much, much missed at my table. It was particularly bitter, a little chocolatey, and made the best stout floats I’ve ever had.

I wonder if the recipe for this brew is in some way based upon Sapporo Black? Maybe Sapporo Black + Chocolate?

And I’ll agree with several earlier comments – most “chocolate” stouts do not contain a lick of chocolate. The chocolate referred to is chocolate malt, which just refers to a particular colour-based roasting point for malted barley. It’s roasted just shy of black malt, and lacks black malt’s super bitter taste, but has an awesome nutty, full flavour that definitely can add a chocolate note to a stout.

Edward

While on the subject of unusual beer flavorings, traditionally there was “cock ale.” I first read of that in one of the standard books on the history of ale, but the recipe (both traditional and a modern version) is on the web at

http://brewery.org/cm3/recs/13_23.html

No chocolate, but various spices. Yum, if you like your beer with tough chicken.

Ted

Edward

While on the subject of unusual beer flavorings, traditionally there was “cock ale.” I first read of that in one of the standard books on the history of ale, but the recipe (both traditional and a modern version) is on the web at

http://brewery.org/cm3/recs/13_23.html

No chocolate, but various spices. Yum, if you like your beer with tough chicken.

Ted

Talia

There is a NY-made wine called Chocolate Lab which is exactly what it sounds like, Chocolate flavored wine.

It is AMAZING!!!

Caroline

Richard Kirk, your Error 404 taste drives me towards food and drink. I never categorized it as such, but I know exactly what you mean now that you’ve said it. When I taste something that gives me an Error 404, I tend to decide I like it — just because it intrigues me so much and I like being intrigued, even though I’m not sure if it’s actually delicious.

I love chocolate and coffee stouts — quickly moved beyond “I like it because I’m intrigued” to “I like it because it’s delicious” in that case. I order them frequently at bars. But I tend to prefer darker beers anyway. Give me any two beers and I can about guarantee that I’ll like the darker one better. (The exception is Belgian tripels.) I can’t stand most American lager-style beer.

And to weave in the Douglas Fir eau de vie: in San Francisco last May, I had a beer called Will Work For Tips — brewed with redwood tips. It was pretty Error 404, and therefore I decided I liked it.

Antinous / Moderator

If you’re a connoisseur of Error 404, may I suggest this?

LagerHead

Sam Adams Chocolate Bock is one of my favorite chocolate beers of all time. It tastes like beer first, with chocolate at the end. Delicious.

kidmissile

@#61, yeah, Founders Breakfast Stout is one of my favorite beers! For the last few years I’ve had a very difficult time finding it in stores, but I was happy to discover that a local bar carries it (the Brewhaus in downtown Springfield, IL for anyone who happens to be visiting the Capital :).

things

chocolate stout is my favorite beer by far

Cnoocy

Buddy66 @67,
What do figs have to do with it? I’d expect to see them in a fruit beer, like a lambic or something.

Jim Rizzo

@#91: You’re just plain wrong. There are many beers made with actual chocolate and not just chocolate malt.

Southern Tier Choklat is, in my opinion, the best chocolate beer ever made.

Stone’s 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout is another (wasn’t good when it was fresh, but a little age has helped the flavor).

Dogfish Head made one recently with cocoa nibs called Theobroma (from an ancient recipe, so it looks as though chocolate was used before chocolate malt).

Harpoon in Boston just made a Chocolate Stout with actual chocolate (I’m not a fan, but others really liked it).

True, I’m pretty sure Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout or Young’s Double Chocolate Stout are not made with actual chocolate, but that does not mean that there are not a lot of beers that do use actual chocolate. I’m sure there are others I am forgetting. I know there’s an Italian beer that uses it.

Tom Hale

I can’t imagine this tasting good, but I’ve only tasted a few beers that I’ve actually enjoyed and wasn’t drinking just to get drunk. So far the only foreign beers I’ve tried is Heineken and Guinness. Guinness was gross, but I like Heinekin. I know this says a lot for my tastes in beers, since the only American beer to make the top 100 beers on Beer Advocate was Samuel Adam’s Millennium and it was actually an ale.

That reminds me of a quote about American beers made by some famous person from Europe, can’t remember by whom. “American beers are like having sex in a canoe, they’re fucking close to water.”

picklefactory

Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence Stout. Not a bitter chocolate like the Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, but it is absolutely superb and utterly drinkable; they use Belgian chocolate (which must be easy when you’re owned by the rather well-known Flemish Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat).

Tanuki_Tim

OK, everyone, please listen. Young’s and other chocolate stouts DO NOT have chocolate in them! The mane comes from the deep roasted malt taste that hints at chocolate flavor, just as you may taste hints of rice, corn, etc. in the beer.

On the other hand, this Sapporo beer actually contains cocoa and thus is a beer with chocolate, unlike a chocolate stout. However it will likely taste like a move chocolaty version of one.

It is probably good, though the poster of this article seems to be thinking of something like miller lite with a chocolate bar in it. If it is a dark porter or stout it will actually be a great flavor combination.

edinblack

Unless I missed it somewhere in the thread, I’m surprised no one’s mentioned the famous beer + chocolate milk shakes from the (now defunct) Brooklyn/Red Hook restaurant SchnÃ¤ck…
MENU:
http://www.schnackdog.com/menu.html
MAIN PAGE
http://www.schnackdog.com/

wolfiesma

Oh AFO, You had me at Dogfish.

Mary Robinette Kowal

I’ll chime in and say that I’ve been seeing Chocolate Stouts on the market for at least a decade. Belmont Brewery in Portland, OR makes a Chocolate Oatmeal Stout that is fantastic.

@#47 Brother Provisional: Have you actually tried the Douglas Fir eau de vie? We have a bottle here and it’s like drinking a Christmas tree. It does add nice aromatics though if you use it in something like a gin fizz. I’m thinking that using it instead of vermouth in a dry martini might be interesting.

Baldhead

Well it claims to be a bitter- at least on a label. Not sure I want chocolate in a bitter, but unsweetened cocoa should work.

SeattlePete

@69 Tom Hale – Not sure which BA list you’re looking at, but the top rated beers contain plenty of American brewers:

http://beeradvocate.com/top_beers

I tend to agree with the BA ratings. The Abyss is probably the best beer I’ve ever tasted in my life, and I am a serious beer nerd. I was able to buy 5 this season by running around to different stores the day it arrived in Seattle. Most places had a one bottle limit and the entire town was sold out by 11 am….

Jason Rizos

Cannabis Ale should be called Weer. That is all.

Kay the Complainer

75 comments in a thread about chocolate beer?

I loves teh net.

Anyway, #34, the brewery you’re thinking of is called Mill Street:

http://millstreetbrewery.com/

The coffee porter is awesome – also an Error 404 taste to begin with, but totally awesome after a few sips. Not sure if they export to the US, but it’s widely available in Ontario, at least.

#46, you are right about Rauchbier. It is terrible. It tastes like old rubber tires. Maybe it tastes better to smokers, though – my husband quite likes it, and he smokes. What does it say about a beer, that you have to kill half of your taste/smell apparatus to enjoy it?

zeek

I’ve tried banana beer before. Smells like banana, tastes like sick.

buddy66

I spent a year in Germany drinking beer. When I got home I drank six or seven American beers at an NCO club at Ft.Dix. (This was before minis, etc.) The result? Nothing but one

looooooooooooooooong piss!

arlopickens

@69 Tom Hale : “the only American beer to make the top 100 beers on Beer Advocate was Samuel Adam’s Millennium and it was actually an ale.”

Ale is beer. Beer is divided into two main categories, ales and lagers. The difference is in the strain of yeast used to ferment. Unless you want to go all the way back to the 14th century, when there was a difference between ale and beer : beer was ale hops in it. Lager wouldn’t be around for another 400 or 500 years. The terminology has changed a bit since the 14th century probably because it’s nearly impossible to find an non-distilled fermented beverage made from barley which does not contain hops although if you try hard enough you might be able to find a sahti made with no hops which, according to 14th century definitions, is an ale but not a beer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahti

Foolster41

Hmm. I normally don’t like beer because it’s bitter, but this sounds pretty good.

Anonymous

There’s another similar one called Imperial Chocolate stout in Japan from last year
http://japansugoi.com/wordpress/coffee-beer-now-chocolate-beer-in-japan/

erroneus

Chocolate Beers are great. I’m brewing a chocolate stout myself right now. Used a pound of chocolate for a 5 gallon batch. Sweet/semisweet doesn’t matter, since the sugar will be consumed by the yeast anyways. The thing that concerns me about the Sapporo is that Japanese beers are a much greater proportion rice over barley (~40% grain by weight, much like budweiser) than Young’s or Rogue’s chocolate beers, and chocolate-rice doesn’t sound too appealing.

Tom Hale

Seattlepete, Arlopickens – Thanks – I last looked at beer rating about a year ago and I may have been looking at a different list on BA, because I was attempting to find a good beer that I might buy at a local grocery store. I’d heard Samuel Adams was pretty good and wanted to see what BA thought about their line.

Profession

I have to add my endorsement of Brooklyn’s black chocolate stout.

Also, speaking of pine flavored drinks, Rogue and Yards both make fantastic Juniper flavored beers. Yards is supposedly based on an old Philadelphia recipe by Benjamin Franklin -great if you love quirky beer.

Beergirl

We will be holding a Chocolate Beer tasting at Bear Creek Beers on Friday – the line-up? Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence, Sam Adams Chocolate Bock, Siletz Chocolate Porter, Rogue Chocolate Stout, and Young’s Double Chocolate Stout. I’ve had everything except the Ommegang, but I expect it to be delicious too.

@#82 Seattle Pete, let me know if you get really desperate for the ’09 Abyss, Southern Oregon is a tad bit flooded….

http://www.beercreekbeers.com

Clifton

Another plug for Rogue’s Chocolate Stout. I just tried that a week or so ago when I was in Oregon and it was excellent – it tastes extraordinarily like a dark chocolate bar. I’ve got a bottle of Bison’s Chocolate Stout sitting in the fridge waiting for me to open it, for comparison.

And Tanuki Tim, you’re wrong in this case – re-check your info. The “chocolate” malts used in brewing are just a dark roast which contains no chocolate or cocoa, but a number of chocolate stouts or porters, including the two I just listed, are brewed with cocoa. The Bison proclaims it on the label. (Chocolate flavoring seems kinda like cheating, though.)

BTW, to add to the list of coffee-based beers, the Kona Brewing Company makes a seasonal Pipeline Porter with Kona coffee and a selection of dark malts.

oodja

The other week I had an excellent Double Chocolate Raspberry Stout at McGuire’s Irish Pub in Destin, Florida. Delicious! And with an alcohol content that knocked me on my ass for the rest of the evening.

sikanna

so, i am from sapporo, and i have had royce’ “raw” chocolate as well as having been to sapporo beer factory. while this particular beer i have not had (as others mentioned, it won’t go on sale until 1/14, which is basically tomorrow US time), i know how well received royce’ chocolate is.

in fact, i brought a few boxes of raw chocolate here and all my friends loved it! so, i am very confident this beer will be good. can’t wait to try one! (though i am slightly allergic to chocolate…)

L33tminion

I had a chocolate stout recently (Souther Tier, I think, I’m not sure but I remember that they spelled it with a K and that it was 10% alcohol). It was quite the experience. It’s definitely a dessert beer (if there is such a thing), and would make a great beer float.

Anonymous

All you people saying that chocolate beers are already relatively common are WRONG. CHOCOLATE STOUTS DO NOT CONTAIN CHOCOLATE. They are brewed with “chocolate malt” which is called that for it’s color and vaguely chocolatey flavor compared to other malts. I’ve heard of a few homebrewers trying recipes with chocolate added in varying ways, but it is pretty rare.

Anonymous

I’ve tried the chocolat beer while visiting Japan. I thought it was delicious. It was my favorite beer there. Much better than the chocolate stouts I have tried in USA. It wasn’t very sweet, and had a bitter chocolate taste. It was very creamy and had a smooth finish.

nelliego

Bison brewery (http://bisonbrew.com/) in Berkeley, Ca had this stout at least 15 years ago when I first tried it. It was actually really good. Very much worth a try!

DanielZKlein

On the subject of odd flavours, Porterhouse (microbrewery and pub) here in Dublin makes an *amazing* Oyster stout. Yes, you can actually taste oyster, and yes, it works, somehow. I love the stuff.

2HourHiatus

I have experienced a chocolate stout once before. It’s the kind of thing you’d drink very rarely just for the hell of having choco-beer. It did taste good though.

Clifton

Tom @ 80:
I find Samuel Adams lager to be drinkable but pretty blah – nondescript. Some of their specialty brews (seasonal, etc.) are pretty good though. I got an assorted case from Costco recently which had a number of good ones – their Winter Lager with cinnamon is tasty, and so is the Porter, Cream Stout, and Fezziwig Ale (a spiced holiday ale.)

They always seem to include one totally undrinkable creation in their assortments though. This time it was the Cranberry Lambic, which tasted sickly sweet and just plain nasty. The previous assortment it was the “Scotch” Ale, brewed with smoked malts; it sounds like it must be rather like the Rauchbier described up-thread, and I couldn’t stand it. (There are real Scotch ales, which are nothing like this.)

In general, if you’re looking for something good you might find at the supermarket, look for some of the ales or porters from the Deschutes brewery or Rogue; if you can’t find those where you live, I like the Sierra Nevada or Red Hook brands for their ales and bitters, followed by Pyramid for their Hefeweizen or (he said defensively) their Apricot flavored weizen.

KidDork

While I haven’t had this particular brand, I’ve had a chocolate stout before. The chocolate doesn’t make it sweet–it just adds a deeper richness to the taste.

Don’t fear the chocolate!

A Nonny Moose

I haven’t seen this yet, but there are some chocolate stouts on the market that are quite tasty. Young’s Double Chocolate Stout is the first to come to mind. If it comes to the US I will definitely try it, although there aren’t many Japanese beers I like.

velvetchokolet

Chocolate AND Beer…my favorites! I can’t wait 2 try it! Can anyone tell me where I can get it? I’m in NC.

freshacconci

I’ve also had a chocolate stout. I enjoyed it and I’m thinking that chocolate works best in a dark beer. Not sure if Sapporo sounds too appealing this way, however. Coffee beer is quite excellent too.

Xyonz

Young’s is good — Brooklyn brewery has a Black Chocolate Stout which is really good (its also like 10% ABV). Sam Adams also has a special edition chocolate beer out this year that I’ve heard is great. Definitely not something you’re going to want to pound down a six pack of, but it’s nice after dinner.

isaac

for me, rogue’s chocolate stout tops young’s and most others. there are a few special, seasonal, or otherwise expensive chocolate beers out there, some of which are quite tasty, but if you are looking for a good standard entry, rogue’s your best bet.

Pipenta

I’ve had stout with espresso in it that was pretty good. I’d certainly give this stuff a try. Sapporo does some pretty neat beer. If you ever got a chance to try Sapporo Draft on tap (Hard as hell to find, but there used to be this place near Wall Street that had it.), you’d notice that it had tomato blossom notes. It magically transported you to a summer garden and even made your knuckles itch the way you do when you are harvesting tomatoes off a big and slightly prickly tomato plant. I know it sounds weird, but it was great. It was genius.

So I’d totally trust those guys to put chocolate in their beer.

Anonymous

Chocolate beer?… No big deal. Here in Chile there are some breweries fabricating it for 2 o 3 years allready.

Not everthing curious is “Japan only”.

jowlsey

The Youngs Double Chocolate that comes in a can with the nitrogen widget is much better than the bottle version, IMHO. I feel the same way about Guinness.

Anonymous

I have had a Michelob Chocolate Beer before and it was disgusting. Young’s Double Chocolate Stout is by far the best chocolate beer I have ever tasted. I would give that Sapporo a try.

BastardNamban

No one on earth except the people making it now could have tried it yet- it’s not on sale till’ January 14th (1æœˆ14æ—¥ç™ºå£² in the pic inset means it goes on sale Jan. 14th). That said, I live here in Sapporo, and I had no idea this was going to be coming out. I just went to Sapporo brewery 2 days ago, and I saw no signs for it… Well, I bet I just missed it.

That said, I will probably be the first on BB to get a chance to try this, since I live right where it’s being made, and maybe even get it on DRAFT if they go that way too! I’ll give it a shot, and let you all know if it’s any good, or worth importing. You might be able to get it in San Francisco, but I doubt it- this stuff is always limited to Japan, and even here, their best beer, Sapporo Classic, can only be bought in Hokkaido! Even Tokyoites have to come here to buy it (much better than normal Sapporo beer)

Last- Royce is a local Sapporo chocolate company that became really famous all over Japan/world for their ç”Ÿchocolate (“raw chocolate”). It’s better than anything I’ve ever had from Europe- melts in your mouth like snow, same feeling- it’s like a finely compressed powder. If you get a chance to try some, do- it’s so much better than any niche chocolate it will blow your mind through the back of your skull!

Brother Provisional

@ #72 Mary Robinette Kowal

Oh yes, indeed I have. Drinking a Christmas tree is actually my idea of heaven. Granted, I used to chew on fir buds when I was a kid… (Lots of vitamin C!) Pine needle tea is pretty good for you, and supposedly a good idea in survival situations (again with the vitamins).
Vermouth substitution seems like a good idea. I’ll have to try it sometime with my bottle. The Eau de Vie of Douglas Fir does have a rather distinctive flavor. I did a tasting at the Clear Creek distillery up in NW with some friends and they made us wait until after we had tried everything else before they let us try the Doug Fir. They were concerned that it would skew our palate or something. I wonder if it could be incorporated into any baking recipes? The gal at Clear Creek had mentioned that a noted Portland chef uses their Kirchwasser (cherry liquor) as a secret ingredient in her confections. BTW, if you’re a Portlander, I highly recommend doing a tasting at the distillery. Call ahead to set it up. They’re super nice and really geek about what they do.

nhvzr

It’s pretty rare for a chocolate stout to have any real chocolate in them â€“Â the taste generally comes from a modified roasting process. Southern Tier makes a beer called Choklat, though, that is basically alcoholic dark chocolate.

Anonymous

Chocolate stout is pretty tasty stuff!

Although a Caffrey’s cream ale is very very tasty…

hatmike

It’s been around for a while; there are some anthropologists who believe chocolate was accidentally discovered by Peruvian beer makers:

papercup mixmaster

I’ll jump in with an affirmation of what’s been said so far. I’ve also had Young’s Dbl Chocolate Stout and it’s surprisingly good – with the not so much sweet, but the rich flavor. Especially good when taken with some chocolate. @#7, if you do manage to track it down – by all means, let us know how it fairs!

Jack

I like my beer like I like my women: normal.

nyam

Re: is only available through internet order between 14 & 23 Jan to be delivered 10 Feb.

So they developed this product solely for Valentine’s Day @ Corporate Japan aka asskiss your boss day.

freshacconci

Sorry for the cliche, but, really, what’s normal?

ocarolina

I am aware of this beverage, and I can confirm that it is not double chocolate milk.

Anonymous

I’ve had stouts which were brewed with a chocolate element before but this is definitely the first time I’ve seen someone try it with a bitter, which is an entirely different sort of ale.

I’d be very interested in seeing how it tastes.

wellwatch

I’ve tried a chocolate stout, it was mixed with some kind of raspberry beer. I generally like my beer pale, thick, and hoppy. This beer (mixture) was surprisingly tasty.

Tiki Wahine

Our local Longboat Double Chocolate Porter by Phillips is a very tasty chocolate beer. This type of thing isn’t rare in the craft brewed circuit. I suggest you get out there and have a micro-brewed beer adventure.

Anonymous

“It’s pretty rare for a chocolate stout to have any real chocolate in them.”

Not actually true. Young’s Double Chocolate stout has plenty of chocolate in it, as does every other chocolate beer I’ve ever had. True, there are roasted malts which can build a chocolatey flavor, but there is chocolate in chocolate beer.

Anonymous

I haven’t tried chocolate beer, but i have tried Creme Brulee beer. I liked it! But then again, i don’t normally like beer.

Random_Tangent

You throw a scoop or two of ice cream in that, and you got yourself a good Beer Float dessert right there.

Anonymous

@nhvzr there is a kind of malted barley roasted dark called “chocolate malt”, but if a beer is called a chocolate stout (or chocolate bock in sam adams case) these days, it likely does contain chocolate.

Young’s double chocolate stout tastes really chocolatey because….
*drumroll*
It has chocolate flavoring in it!! (Cheating!!! but it is really good though….)

I was curious about the significance of the beer in this post though; chocolate in beer is old hat for US microbrewers (and for the aztecs, if you want to believe dogfish head).

Verlier

I think the flavors are a good mix, I tasted palm honey beer and its sweetness is really good!.

Robbo

I like to put bacon in mine.

The best of all worlds.

Anonymous

I brew my own beer and have made chocolate stouts.

Please keep in mind that there is such a thing called “chocolate grain” which is used for the malt. This provides a chocolate/coffee flavour to the beer.

OT: In an attempt to find some info on “chocolate grain,” Google asked “Did you mean: chocolate rain”

Daemon

I can’t imagine it would taste all that much worse than any other way that people contaminate delicious chocolate with the vile taste of alcohol.

Antinous / Moderator

people contaminate delicious chocolate with the vile taste of alcohol.

What, no Stoli and Nutella?

Ajani

As Bastardnamban (good handle btw) pointed out, it’s not out until the 14th, so no one has tried it. But they do have a few chocolate beers out here in Japan. I’m located in Osaka, and I’ve been able to try two that I can think of. One, the name of which escapes me (Schokoladen…) and the other is Kirin’s Beer Chocolat. Seems that it’s a seasonal thing, and everyone is trying to release a chocolate beer because it’s in style.

In any case, I think it is a good mix, it adds a deep richness to the beer.

gnovark

Robbo:
Try a German Rauchbier (smoked beer), particularly Aecht Schlenkerla Marzen. This beer is commonly referred to among my friends as “the bacon beer”.

stumo

@91 and others claiming that Chocolate Stouts don’t contain chocolate – some do.

http://www.wellsandyoungs.co.uk/wellsandyoungs/beers/ales/youngs-double-chocolate – “Chocolate malt and real dark chocolate are combined” *

While we’re on the subject of unusual beers, I really like Banana Bread Beer – http://www.wellsandyoungs.co.uk/wellsandyoungs/beers/ales/wells-banana-bread-beer – smells of the chemically banana sweets that we’ve all had (don’t let that put you off!)

* My apologies for actually using evidence in an internet argument, I realise that’s cheating…

arlopickens

@91 Anonymous
“CHOCOLATE STOUTS DO NOT CONTAIN CHOCOLATE.”

Founders Breakfast Stout contains chocolate

Tavie

Japanese chocolate = fail.

daemonsquire

A couple of nights ago, I was lucky enough to have some glasses of both the Rogue Chocolate Stout and Sam Adams’ Chocolate Bock. They were both full of rich chocolate flavor — I didn’t read the labels to find out if that was the result of actual cocoa in the recipe, or of the quality of roast in the barley malt, but they were both super-chocolatey and yet very different from one another. The stout was much more bitter than the bock, and it reminded me of comparing milk and dark chocolate.
I’d order a pint of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Porter without a second thought, Bruce. Thanks for the suggestion! Three great tastes that might could taste great together… If I were Charlie in the Chocolate Factory, that’d be the lagoon I’d “accidentally” fall into.

igpajo

I’d give that a try in a heartbeat! Now if I could just get Redhook to add a bit of chocolate to their Double Black Stout, I’d be in freakin’ beer heaven!

nyam

@#25 good point of it being seasonal, noting 14th Jan is exactly a month ahead of St. Valentine’s Day when Japanese females are pressured into buying heaps of obligatory unromantic chocolate for male colleagues. Chocolate beer seems to fit conveniently into the category of “don’t-get-me-wrong-because-I-sent-you-one”.

OT but agree w/ #9 on Royce. Best affordable chocolate ever.

Anonymous

@24 Chocolate grain / some stay dry and others feel the pain

Tay does AA sing-a-longs now?

Don’t hurt me!

oohShiny

I’ve tried chocolate stout, but for my money i’d rather a nice coffee porter ^__^ there’s a toronto based brewery (in the distillery district), mill street i think it’s called, that makes a good one. not sure where their beers are sold though. if you get the opportunity, try a bottle ^__^

Freddie Freelance

San Diego’s Stone Brewing made an incredible Oatmeal Bitter Chocolate Stout with real Cacao for their Twelfth Anniversary:

http://www.stonebrew.com/12th/ale/

Jamie Sue

I don’t drink beer, but don’t knock the power of chocolate in unexpected places. Chocolate is often a favorite “secret ingredient” in Cincinnati style chili (that and cinnamon.)

Clif Marsiglio

I’ll throw another vote behind the Youngs…I never realized it had real chocolate in it until this thread…I thought it was just the name…much like wineos always talk about I Taste A Hint Of Jasmine Delicately Mixed With Old Spice…in which I can never taste it…I go to tastings and make crap up acting austere and everyone nods agreeing…its bullshits I say.

But looking it up, it appears they do…and its great!

folkclarinet

@#23:

Bacon beer or bacon chocolate???

http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/product/bacon_exotic_candy_bar/exotic_candy_bars

vision4bg

You crazy people. Very few “chocolate” stouts have chocolate in them. In fact, I don’t know of any – it’s always referred to the chocolate malt in the ones I’ve drunk.

This Sapporo beer is much like the Belgian chocolate beers, very different, and surprisingly tasty, although to be honest, not really beer like.

http://www.beermerchants.com/B5151

alexdagrate

Stone’s 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout is brewed with actual Oaxacan chocolate in it.

http://www.stonebrew.com/12th/ale/

And it is unbelievably good, just like most of their beers.

The Lizardman

As a food pairing chocolate with beer can be fantastic.

My jury is still out for chocolate in the beer though.

Anonymous

I don’t think beer pairs that well with too many foods, but Chocolate is often terrific with many types of beer. And there are plenty of beers that have a rather chocolate character to them simply from the roasted grains used in their brewing.

So it could be okay, even very good, with real chocolate.

Cheese and chocolate are the foods I think work best with beer. Pizza seems to be the classic most people think is made for beer, but I don’t think beer is necessarily the best beverage for Pizza. Welsh Rarebit works great. Chocolate usually works well.

Probably what works against the idea of chocolate being considered a flavor you might want in a beer, is having had too much YooHoo foisted upon you when young, which was Chocolate WATER.

minTphresh

oh yeah, lizardmon. i remember one of my favorite late-nite exercises in excess was an ice-cold bottle of heineken and a snickers bar. yumm, yumm! i enjoyed the sam smith and sam adams chocolate porters, but nothin beat an H&S.

Anonymous

Never had chocolate beer before, but I have had coffee ale (New Belgium’s Giddy Up!) and a vanilla porter (Breckenridge Brewery, IIRC). The porter was good but not too extreme in its flavor, but I wasn’t a big fan of the Giddy Up! ale. Just a little too strange for me.

Bill Albertson

I want to cry now. I found out that I am gluten intolerant or possibly celiacs, and I miss Devil’s Brew and the local Oktoberfest Chocolate Stouts.

Damn. More chocolate beer.

Ah well, I guess I need to find some chocolate covered bacon snacks then…

Flossie Teacake

No. 23, if you like bacon in your beer, you’d love this

http://www.devonshirecat.co.uk/products.php?productId=109

Olie

Scuttlebutt Porter has a chocolate finish. It’s always good. They have been making it for years.

http://www.scuttlebuttbrewing.com/Scuttlebutt_Brewing_Co./Beer_Styles.html

Anonymous

Best thing I had this summer was the Guinness Shake at Wall street burger in NYC.
Chocolate shake with a hint of Guinness in it.
Wonderful.

thequickbrownfox

Not as good as Cannabis brew.

http://www.onr.com/user/liberty/Marijuana/MBeer/MBeer.html

daen

I’m a keen beer buff, but the only Rauchbier I ever tried, I couldn’t stand. I think it was in Cologne, four or five years back, and the smoke taste was so overwhelming, I felt I was drinking an ashtray. I stuck to weissbier after that.

Chocolate stouts, on the other hand, can be to die for. Carlsberg, here in Copenhagen, tried brewing one flavoured with Criollo beans (used in Valrhona chocolate) in 2000, but I have never tried it. The Young’s Double Chocolate Stout is extremely good, and I have quaffed many a pint of that at Dirty Dick’s Pub on Bishopsgate in London of an evening.

And when it comes to *ahem* “hemp” beer, our own dear, besieged, Christiania has a brewery producing a not-too-bad hemp ale, while in Arcata, CA. (of course) the Humboldt Brewing Company produces a VERY good hemp ale. One wonders where they get the ingredients …

Brother Provisional

Chocolate beer is pretty 2003. What really, really excites me is the Eau de Vie of Douglas Fir made by Clear Creek distillery in PDX. Its made from an infusion of the springtime buds of Douglas fir picked by hand into clear brandy which is then re-distilled and re-infused with more buds.
This is the pure essence of my homeland, in liquor form. That excites me.
http://clearcreekdistillery.com/other.html
Don’t get me wrong though, chocolate beer is great.

kdean

Most incrediable chocolate cake I’ve had is made with Guinness, I can see how a stout with chocolate would be equally as good.

Drew Blood

There are plenty of pretty mainstream chocolate stouts. I’ve had Youngs Double Chocolate which is too much chocolate for me, tastes like a candy bar, and Rogue’s Chocolate Stout which is much more stout, with roasty coffee and cocoa overtones.

Not bad, nice winter beer experience. Wouldn’t drink more than a bottle at a time though.

Anonymous

Re: Sapporo Beer vs Royce Chocolate
Down here in the midlands of Japan we know of Royce as the company that does chocolate dipped potato chips. In case you’re interested, they’re ridged and after the initial surprise at the combination, they turned out to be delectable…..

kiltreiser

As long as it’s stout it should be pretty damn tasty, I can imagine the two going together really well. Chocolate lager on the other hand makes me want to vomit as soon as I think about it…

While on the subject of chocolate booze I highly recommend getting hold of some good quality hot chocolate and adding a shot of either Bailey’s, Amaretto or vanilla vodka, perfect drink for a Sunday afternoon :)

ridl

@95 Brother Provisional -

Call me up when you do that experiment, eh? Do want.

Anonymous

We make a chocolate porter here in Australia at the Holgate Brewhouse by adding vanilla beans and powdered Dutch cocoa to the brew in the lagering tank. Jamil Zainasheff raved about it. I find it a pretty nice drop myself.

Chocolate Beer

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