Last Thursday, I made my way to my local brew shop, in
search of something a little different. Do you ever get bored with the
selections that have been stacking up in your cellar, and just crave something
different? Well, that need for the beaten path to be shaken up has led me to
Brooklyn’s Black Chocolate Stout. Usually, I’m a fan of Brooklyn. They manage
to fuse old world tradition; artistry and an outstanding brew almost every
time. The Black Chocolate Stout was one that I was truly looking forward to,
and well…here we are. Here’s what
the website has to say:
THE BEER:
BROOKLYN BLACK CHOCOLATE STOUT
This is the famous Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, our
award-winning rendition of the Imperial Stout style, once made exclusively for
Catherine the Great. We use three mashes to brew each batch of this beer,
achieving a luscious deep dark chocolate flavor through a blend of specially
roasted malts. We brew it every year for the winter season. It is delicious
when newly bottled, but also ages beautifully for years.
SPEC SHEET
Style: Imperial Stout
Malts: American two-row pale malt, caramel malt, malted
wheat and a blend of American roasted malts and barleys
Hops: Willamette and American Fuggle
Alcohol by Volume: 10.0%
IBUs: 51
Original Gravity: 21.7° Plato
Calories: 320
Food Pairings: Served in a snifter glass, Brooklyn Black
Chocolate Stout is excellent with chocolate desserts, cheesecake, fruit tarts,
and ice cream. It is also a very good accompaniment to strong cheeses, such as
Stilton.
Availability: October-March
Format: 15.5 gal kegs; 5.2-gal kegs; 24/12oz bottles;
4-packs
THE BREWERY:
Brooklyn Brewery makes beer. Good beer. Not only does it
taste good and make your meal better but we like to think that since its
founding in 1988, Brooklyn Brewery has brewed flavorful beers that enrich the
life, tradition and culture of the communities it serves. Its award-winning
roster of year-round, seasonal and specialty beers have gained the Brewery
notoriety as one of the top craft beer producers in the world. While striving
to brew the best beer possible (and make time for our growing families), The
Brewery promotes the proliferation of good beer and good food whenever it can.
Brooklyn beers are currently distributed in 25 states and 20 countries.
Throughout 2011 The Brewery underwent an expansion that will double overall
capacity in 2012 and quintuple by 2013. Brooklyn Brewery probably exports more
beer than any other American craft brewery.
The leaders of Brooklyn Brewery have also led the industry
in publishing.
Brewmaster Garrett Oliver, widely acknowledged as the
world’s foremost scholar on beer, wrote The Brewmaster’s Table: Discovering The
Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food in 2003. The book was firmly established
as the first and final word on beer and food pairings in addition to being an
entertaining guide to the world’s best beers and breweries. In 2005,
Co-Founders Steve Hindy and Tom Potter wrote Beer School. Beer School’s real
world stories about starting a brewery from scratch continues to inspire
entrepreneurs today. The Brewmaster's Table is reportedly selling for about a
dollar more than Beer School on amazon.com and that does not bother Steve. More recently, in 2011, Garrett acted
as the editor-in-chief of the comprehensive Oxford Companion To Beer.
Essentially a beer encyclopedia, the book documents everything from malt
disease to beer clubs to the ancient process of bottle re-fermentation.
In addition to facilitating community meetings at its
Tasting Room, brewery employees serve on not-for-profit boards, including the
Prospect Park Alliance, the Open Space Alliance, Transportation Alternatives
and the Brooklyn Historical Society. Each year the company supports many
charitable and arts organizations including BAM, Brooklyn Museum and MoMA, and
partners with food purveyors across the country to produce beer dinners and
tasting events.
The Brewery is open to the public Monday-Thursday from 5-7pm
for reservation-only Small Batch tours, Friday evening for Happy Hour, and
Saturdays and Sundays for Tours and Tastings. For more mind-blowing Brooklyn
Brewery fodder go to facebook.com/thebrooklynbrewery, follow @BrooklynBrewery
on Twitter, and treat your eyes to some videos.
THE WEBISTE:
THE REVIEW:
Wow, it has been long time since I’ve tried a beer that
truly knocked my socks off. I’m talking about feeling as if you were just
smacked in the mouth with a bag full of marbles. I’m talking that kind of wow.
In the Black Chocolate Stout, you get one incredibly well balanced brew. The pour
is slick and thick, with the bitter aroma of a Stout creeping up towards you.
There is barely a head to speak of, but perfect for fine Stout. The taste is
bitter, as it should be, and you can definitely taste the higher ABV. It’s got
that liquor taste to it. Definite hints of Chocolate, licorice and a sweet
flowing flavor wrap this brew up nicely. What we have here is an awesome brew.
RATING:
10 /10 – Awesome
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