1001 BEERS: #68. BLACK CHOCOLATE STOUT

# 68: BLACK CHOCOLATE STOUT

Brooklyn Brewery - USA (Est. 1988)
First Brewed - 1994

10% ABV - Stout
IBU's - 51

Ingredients:

Malts: Roasted barley, black barley, black malt, chocolate malt, caramel malt, pale malt, malted wheat
Hops: Willamette, Fuggles

Tasting Notes:

E: Thick black, tar like in colour, with no opaqueness.  Big thick beige head.

N: On the nose there are sweet malts that deliver a coffee aroma with a hit of chocolate that almost has the characteristic of tiramisu.  There is a slight hop spice on the nose as well.

P: The palate is hit by burnt malt bitterness and then there is a slight sourness, the sweetness on the nose doesn't feature so prominently on the palate, but features in the form of dried fruit and chocolate.

M: The mouth is left with a creamy dark chocolate finish, some bitterness and a drying that has some astringency to it.

Other comments:

Black chocolate stout is one of those beers that has a marmite effect on people, they either love it or hate it.  Created by Garret Oliver whilst brewing for a microbrewery, he brewed a winter beer on behalf of the growing Brooklyn brewery, this beer took the form of Black chocolate stout, a beer with a warming alcohol intensity, velvety creamy mouthfeel, and an intense coffee and chocolate flavour, yet the irony is that no chocolate is used in the making of this beer.

BCS is a robust beer at 10% it is brewed to the same style as an imperial stout, taking three separate mashes to produce enough wort for this beer to exist.  It uses a vast array of grains that when combined with the two bold hops used help in balancing the beer creating a full bodied and rounded intensity that is satisfying.  Naturally this beer is at its best in the winter months as a slow drinker or when paired with food.

Food Pairings:

Stout's with their rich full body and burnt coffee flavours work well with strong cheese's and big meaty flavours such as pie's and of course oysters.  Black chocolate stout though with its chocolate flavours and dried fruit characters is more adept to desserts as well as strong cheese.  

The perfect accompaniment would be to embrace the chocolate flavours and the creamy mouthfeel and go down the route of chocolate tarts, ganaches and fondants.  Throw some fruit into it as well, as you have the prune, raisin like flavours in the beer.  Another great pairing is ice cream, where the sweetness can cut through the hop bitterness, and the creamy texture of the beer can match perfectly with the cream in the ice cream, cleansing the palate.

If you prefer a savoury dessert then for your cheese's go bold, think aged gouda, stilton, aged cheddar's and cheese with a real intensity and bite that can stand up to the alcohol strength.  If you want a fruit compote or chutney to go with it, then go raisin and dark grape.

My food pairing recipe for Black Chocolate Stout is:

Chocolate Truffle Tort

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1357/decadent-chocolate-truffle-torte

SCORE: 3.35/5

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