Upland Chocolate Stout

Brewed by Upland Brewing Company
Style: Sweet Stout
Bloomington, Indiana USA

Opaque dark brown with a quickly dissolving thin tan head. Aroma of chocolate, roasted malt, oatmeal, mild coffee and a kiss of the hops. Taste of chocolate, oatmeal, dark chocolate, roasted malt and light coffee. Creamy texture and some chocolate bitterness on the back end. Overall I was impressed and will seek this one out again.

Dark brown pour with a thick, but fast-fading tan head. The nose is quite chocolatey. Nice sweet milk-chocolately initially with a little bit of light earthy undertones. The palate is quite nice. It has a slightly silky feel without being overly rich. A bit of herbal earthiness toward the back. It’s pretty simple, but it works for what it is.

Bottle. Darkest brown pour with a medium tan head. Malty aroma with lots of chocolate. Malty flavor up front with a bit of alcohol, some chocolate and a semi-roasty finish.

This Stout pours black with brown around the edges and has a medium tan head that recedes quickly. Small patches of lacing on the glass. Chocolate malt aroma with hints of burnt coffee. Medium, dry body with flavors of malt and dark chocolate plus hints of coffee and oatmeal. The finish is roasty with a dark chocolate aftertaste. Above average overall.

Her pour is clean and not very thick. Dark brown with black highlights, light peaks through rather easily while a small head is reduced to a spattering of bubbles. Coasting on up to my nose are sweet and bitter chocolate esters followed by café latte cream and fresh espresso. Her chocolate is enjoyably prominent, though I detect none of the standard American milk chocolate notes. Instead, I smell richer, harder, bitterer Belgian or Swiss chocolate notes which could be attributed to the chocolate being organic and not a product of mass production. Will her palate hold up to her nose? My first quaff is unexpectedly rather thin and very clean. Crunchy dark chocolates are backed up by espresso in the finish. A faint citric bite tingles on top of my tongue while an overall dry, roasted presence clears the moisture from my palate. The thin body is a bit of a distraction from her continuous chocolate parade, but overall she is highly enjoyable. Near the end, crunchy chocolate covered espresso beans join the mix, while more citric esters clean my palate for my final few quaffs.

Overall, I rather enjoyed the Upland Chocolate Stout. Her only downfall would be the unusually thin body. As a chocolate stout, I expect more depth and weight to give her a full body to match her full palate. That aside, an excellent desert beer or after-dinner aperitif.

12oz. bottle thanks to 17thfloor. Opaque black with frothy, burnt brown head. Aroma is roast, heavy chocolate, some smoke and coffee. Flavor is chocolate, roast, slight cold coffee, smoke, some bakers chocolate, medium sweet, tasty but sweet and weird alc finish as it warms. Medium and light carbonation. Tasty but sweet and smoke is a little overpowering in this beer in particular.

12oz bottle. Pours a very dark glassy brown with a large foamy tan froth. Strong gritty roasted malt aroma, dark chocolate pieces, some coffee, quite nice. Really strange flavor, very different, dry coffee beans, espresso for sure, gritty dark chocolate, moderate acidity, nice bitterness, the sweetness is actually kind of off-putting, would be much better as a dry stout, lovely depth. Interesting palate, creamy but thin, crunchy carbonation.

Dark brown pour with tan head that ends up just a ring around the glass. Chocolate, roasty aroma with some coffee. Flavor is dry, dark chocolate, tobacco. Nicely dry and roasty. Smooth, smokey. Bitter finish. Pretty tasty.