Fort Collins Chocolate Stout

Brewed by Fort Collins Brewery
Style: Stout
Fort Collins, Colorado USA

BOTTLE: very dark brown/black pour, small frothy head. Nice chocolate nose, creamy body, a little hop bite right at the end. Good stuff.

Pours a dark dark brown look with a light brown head: mocha atop chocolate. The smell is some slightly sweet raisin-like malts, then some sharply bitter mocha coffee. Pleasant but not much chocolate in the aroma; more coffee really. The taste is sweet, like rasins or dark berries. Bitter coffee finish. The chocolate is sadly absent. Nothing wrong with the flavor, but it doesn’t stand out. More of a sweet porter than a chocolate stout. The feel is watery but ashy at the end. Not smooth, not dry. Overall it’s strictly average, and though drinkable, not something I’d find myself craving.

I bought this because I figured I need to sample more Colorado beers. Very dark black with a tea colored head. Smells a little roasty and coffee. Taste is nice roasty flavor with some hop bitterness at the end. pretty drinkable but not my favorite stout. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 11-26-2007 03:32:03

My first beer from Fort Collins Brewery. I’ve noticed that they are being shipped down here to Orlando lately. Pours a deep, creamy black with a medium tan head. Aroma is very roasty with notes of dark chocolate and coffee. Drinks very smooth with a creamy mouthfeel. A very roasty beer that is well balanced and easy to drink. This stout drinks very big and balanced for its small ABV. This could be a great session stout (if those exist). Not bad at all, better than I predicted. Great job FCB.

12oz bottle from Lukas Liquor. Pours very dark brown with small tan head. Aroma is chocolate with roasted malt and bit of caramel. Flavor is all chocolate with roasted malts and little caramel. Finishes dry.

There was really no doubt that this was a Chocolate Stout once the smell hit me...or so I thought. On the nose, this black baby just oozes chocolate...but not in a real decadent way. She’s more classy. She doesn’t put it all out on the table at once for you. You have to dig a little deeper. Once you get past the woozy smell, the taste better make good. And...it does. Judging on the flavour alone, I’d say that this is a commendable effort to preserve the delicious malty balance with the fine chocolate nutty appeal. It’s not overly sweet or overly bitter and the basic elements of both beer and cocoa bean have succesfully merged into one respectable...Stout? Oh wait...is this a Stout? The mouthfeel tells me that this is a Porter. And therein lies the rub with Fort Collins Chocolate Stout. Should have been listed as a Porter, methinks. Mouthfeel is nice and mellow, but the body is just thin for a Stout style. Plus the robust aspects that one expects from a hearty, bready, beefy Stout just are not hapenning here. So, if you are expecting a big bodied manly Stout with a heavy chocolate drive, then look elsewhere. If you can handle a very well made, tasty Chocolate Porter mislabled as a Stout, then crack one open today and enjoy. Cheers~!

Had this a long time ago at a tasting at a liquor store where I worked in Iowa and didn’t take good notes unfortunately.

He poured brown-black with a decent tan head which resembles a layer of chocolate mousse. Trails of lace decorate the sides of my glass and chocolate nibs drift from her nose to mine. An impressive nose of dry, crumbly chocolate nibs fresh from the chocolatier. Espresso grinds perfectly compliment while licorice root, figs, and dates fade in and out. A bit simple, but he hides nothing and definitely allows the chocolate to take center stage. A promising start, I dive into the first of many contemplative quaffs. While his aroma impressed, his palate is a slightly disappointing quandary. A bit thin, but full of rich dark roasts which exudes chocolate and espresso grinds. There is definitely some cream action playing out within his mouthfeel and body which prevents the body from being too thin. The chocolate and espresso centers around the front of his palate while licorice root and gentle notes of dates and figs linger in the background. A snap of lemon begins to linger in the finish the further along in my glass I delve. As we bid our final farewell, I am left somewhat befuddled.

Neither great nor bad, he was just alright. I feel if his nose hadn’t been at such odds with his overall palate, then the Chocolate Stout from Fort Collins Brewing would have fared better. It was if I could smell and taste the effort to try and create a stupendous chocolate stout, but in the end, effort alone doesn’t always make the finished product. Ironically enough, he is so far the most impressive beer I have tried from them.