Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout

Brewed by Brooklyn Brewery
Style: Imperial Stout
Brooklyn, New York USA

I like stouts, right up there with porters. This one was black with tons of chocolate aroma that made me check the label to see if it was brewed with chocolate (it’s not). It tastes toasty, coffee, chocolate - all the good dark flavors.

12 oz. bottle - thanks to grownfool for the bonus bottle; cracking this before the kickoff and hoping for a big win against the shegals; dense black with thick chocolate colored head settling slowly; rich roasted malts and milk chocolate on the nose; not the most aggressive aromas, but subtle and smooth; drinks with some obvious warmth as it goes down; creamy, smooth and nice level of chocolate; some coffee too, but mostly just a delicate chocolate and creamy roast; nice to try this again after so many years as it’s kind of a classic at this point

Pours black with small off white head with a little lacing. Aroma of dark chocolate, coffee and alcohol. Flavor is a nice bitter sweet combo. Palate is thick, rich and delicious. Really solid beer.

Purchased in Chicago, from the ’09-’10 Winter batch. I’ve heard some great things about this stout and it pretty much lives up to the hype. Pours almost pitch black with a small head that slowly dissipates, not a creamy head, rather fizzy. The aroma is balanced but gravitates more towards chocolate malt. The aftertaste is kind of unique, it drapes the back of your throat as it goes down which gives it a very unique sensation. Rather creamy taste, includes chocolate and coffee like other stouts of it’s kind. Very good stuff.

Pours almost pitch black with a tiny amount of head. I think though that it was my fault due to the initial serving temperature and an improper pour. I like for my stouts to warm up as lots of flavors and smells really start to come out. Chocolate, cream, slight caramel, toffee and coffee on the nose. I am tasting chocolate mixed with coffee. Also have a toffee taste there as well. Very nice stout, highly recommended!

Winter 09-10 release - bottle from LCBO. Pours like midnight with dark ruby colour when held up to light. Alcohol noticeable in nose and prominent in first taste. Very complex - tons of flavours going on here. Chocolate and coffee hit with big time bitterness but is balanced beautifully with a delightful sweetness giving it an almost creamy taste. Thick mouthfeel.

Vintage 2008/2009. Serving date: 2009-02-16. Served in snifter. 355 ml bottle with freshness date printed on the bottle (best before December 2011). The pour is almost black, just one step away from being opaque, with a surprisingly small (half a finger) light brown head that settles quickly and leaves basically no lacings. The smell is mostly of dark chocolate. Although it has less sweet aromas than many other imperial stouts, there are still some notes of blackcurrants and faint vanilla here. Gentle hops and a good deal of roasted barley finish things off. Big flavors of dark chocolate hit the palate and stays on right to the very end of the finish. The chocolate flavors are definitely on the bitter end, leaning towards cocoa, but every now and then notes of sweeter chocolate appear as well. The taste of roasted barley is also quite immense and it blends beautifully with the chocolate. Some fruity flavors (plums?) and maybe some vanilla are to be found as well, somewhere among the chocolate and roasted barley. But still, the sweetness in this one is really restrained. From a few sips, I get a slight acidic flavor, but this might be the bitterness from the chocolate and the roasted grain that’s playing a trick on me. The alcohol, although well hidden, provides a pleasant twang before the finish, which is quite bitter and contains some restrained, yet distinct, hops and long roasted flavors. Not the most complex imperial stout, but still a delightful beer with it’s astonishing chocolaty character. Quite a lot of carbonation considering the style, but thanks to a full body it manages to come out rather smooth. I’ve had this beer quite a few times, and I’m always amazed by the fact that it’s made solely from malt, hops, water and yeast, and no chocolate additives. How one can make ingredients such as these to taste this good is quite astonishing. However, although it’s a rather bold and edgy imperial stout with it’s emphasis primarily on chocolate and roasted flavors, it still lacks some complexity. Serving type: bottle (Copy of old Beer Advocate review)

"Winter 09-10" very dark pour, huge frothy beige head. aroma is very roasty, and a bit sour; there’s chocolate milk, coffee, dark doughy bread, grain, and alcohol. flavor is slightly more sour, with medium sweetness and bitterness, and even a bit salty. body is a bit thin, carbonation is mild but nice. finish is sour and roasty alcohol.