Black Oak Double Chocolate Cherry Stout

Brewed by Black Oak Brewing
Style: Sweet Stout
Etobicoke, Canada

Thanks to HogTownHarry for the bottle. Pours near black with a large head. Good retention. Good lacing. Aroma was mostly chocolate with a bit of coffee. Tastes sweet and rich; chocolate and lactose. A bit of cherry, but I was really surprised at how subtle it is. If I weren’t searching for cherries, I’m not sure I would have found them. Mostly sweet with some sour (cherry) taste in there. It’s a fine sweet stout, though.

This fresh LCBO bottle is courtesy of Pootz. Pours black, with some chocolate and cherry aroma. A chocolately smoothd rinking stout, with one flaw of burnt edges. A minority of geeks will really like that, but most people while really liking the chocolate will be repelled by the burned tar characteristic,

VEyr good, nice chocolate flavour and cherry features. Dark and heavy but excellent foam with some dark features.

On tap at BeerBistro. Very nice light cocoa notes, hint of roast, really didn’t taste cherry or it was masked in the sweetish ale fruit tones. A stout with a sweet personality, although I assumed the ’cherry’ had nothing to do with what was in it.

On tap at Volo. Loved it! Tasted more like a porter to me. Fairly thin to medium mouthfeel. Not quite what I expected. Taste is bursting with mild chocolate (if you know what I mean), with the cherry kicking in when you breathe out through the nose. Sweet, a little tart and a clean finish with a light bitterness to follow. Pretty nice brew.

On tap at the Winking Judge. For some reason I was expecting the worst from this one but it very pleasantly surprised me. Nice rich roasted malt/chocolate aroma with a hint of cherry. Instead of the medicinal cherry I was expecting, I got a full earthy chocolately stout with a hint of cherry... and good cherry at that. Medium body with a clean finish that leaves just a little cherry and chocolate on the tongue to savour till your next sip. Cheers!

Very dark and thick in colour and head. Rich toasty malts and hints of cherry and chocolate. Sweet malty flavour with a very light cherry and chocolate aftertaste. Quite nice, but not the best stout I’ve had.

Cask at the Victory Cafe - came very dark, with some faint ruby highlights at the edges, and a smallish tan head. Very faint aromas of roasted malt and some hops, but pleasing all the while. The mouthfeel is a bit more watery than I would have liked....especially for a stout. Not much at the front of the palate, but a big rush of flavour at the end, with roasty malt, some hops and a touch of sweet and sour cherry, especially as the glass warmed, all followed by a lingering roasty finish. Overall, too thin bodied and too subtle, especially on the chocolate/cherry notes, which, if you are going to call a beer "Double Chocolate Cherry Stout", should be fairly evident. Update - had on tap at the Magpie last night and it was a revelation - much more cherry sweetness/sourness in the finish and a fuller, more robust character overall. This is not the same beer I had earlier on cask, and benefits greatly from the added carbonation and slightly cooler serving temperature of the keg. Excellent, and highly recommended.