Bison Organic Chocolate Stout

Brewed by Bison Brewing Company
Style: Stout
Berkeley, California USA

Black with a rich chocolate colored head. Smells of cocoa with a hint of fresh cherries. Flavor is thin and almost watery. I can taste coffee, and maybe a hint of chocolate. Hoppy aftertaste. Too light bodied for a stout. As the beer warms I can taste more chocolate. But it still smells better than it tastes. Not bad. Could be better.

Bottle from Whole Foods in San Ramon, CA. Pours a dark brown almost black. Smelled of chocolate and coffee. I was expecting more chocolate in the flavor, but instead got coffee and roasted malts. Not a bad beer, but like many of the other organic beers I’ve had it lacks the robust flavors.

Bottle @ Bob’s Bar: Pours black with a light tan head. Aroma, roasted notes, nutty, chocolate, coffee. Flavor, chocolate, roasted notes, coffee, spices, sweet finish.

Pours solid black with huge foamy/frothy/creamy head of course. At this point I am very excited however both the aroma and taste of lacking. Bison falls short of Rogue’s Chocolate and even Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout. Not nearly as robust. Still very good.

Bottle. Dark brown, nearly black body, roasty nose with dark chocolate notes, very small tan head. Fairly rich body with chocolate notes, perhaps a hint of coffee. Smooth and drinkable.

Putting chocolate in the mash seems like a little bit of a cheat, but it really works well here. Rich chocolate aroma, jet black color with a tan head. Light toasted flavor blends well with the chocolate. Silky mothfeel, low carbination. I’ve found some organic brews to be a little harsh and rough, but this is the very opposite. Kinda sexy brew!

Pours a thick black color with a moderate brown head. Has a strong roasted chocolate aroma, perhaps a mild coffee scent. Flavor is sweet chocolate up front with a burnt and bitter finish. Very Good.

Pours black with almost no head. Cocoa powder aroma with some sweet malts. Sweet with light bitterness. Average.