Viking Brewing Hot Chocolate

Brewed by Viking Brewing Company
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Dallas, Wisconsin USA

12 ounce bottle from Blue Max in Burnsville, MN (June 2007) served a bit below cellar temperature from a Hair of the Dog glass. Pretty-near-opaque dark maple to black, with a smallish, very dark smooth head that disappears quickly....dark-chocolaty aroma is a bit papery and dull, but there is certainly a hint of pepper to it, also perhaps some plasticy qualities and a little Concord grape......on the palate, the pepper is quite prominent, the chocolate takes a back seat, the middle palate is especiall hot but it grows milder towards the finish, which is a bit dry and cardboardy....some faint raisiny, grapy notes as well; low carbonation, a bit sticky.....this isn’t too bad for a hot pepper beer, I guess, and is actually better than I expected after the last few bombs I’ve had from this brewery, but I can’t say that I’m really enjoying it either.

Turbid brownish black, tan fizzy head. Nose held notes of sweet pepper, dusty cocoa, and hints of vanilla. Slilght burn in the throat from the pepper, but hints of vanilla cocoa douse the heat quickly. Light bodied and thin, soft carbonation, spicy finish. Interesting stuff that grew on me by glass end...

Very dark color, non-existent head. Palate is right on, but the flavor is too much. I get a touch of sweet chocolate at the beginning, but then the pepper kicks in. Yes, its different, but to me its more just like heartburn in a glass. Something to try for sure, but I wouldn’t buy it again.

Bottle. Pours a deep black color with almost no head. Nose is coffee with some slight chocolate notes. Flavor is mocha, a tad bitter, with a very nice heated finish from the cayenne. Kept on drinking this as I was enjoying the heat in the back. I also detected some cherry mixed in with the chocolate which was very nice. I thought this was pretty good, maybe be a bit thin for some, but for me it was a medium to get some chile pepper heat which I am quite fond of.

Picked up a 12-oz bottle at Chicone’s Liquor Mart in Hudson, WI. Pours a thick dark mahogany brown with a tan head that dissipates completely. Aroma is of semi-sweet chocolate and some coffee. Flavor is a thin coffee with some chocolate malt. The finish is that of Cayenne pepper which bites you back. Where was this brewten years ago when I could use it when my college room mate made the blandest and weakest pot of chili this side of the Mississippi. The Hot Chocolate had more bite.

Black body with some head. Chocolate nose with a hint of pepper on this one. Flavor begins with a massive hit of chocolate, fades to a watery nothingness, and then the pepper hits.

12oz bottle- A black body with a nice head and an arma of chocolate. Taste initially of pepper folowwed by chocolate then pepper then the finish again was chocolate. I thought this was awesome but I also enjoy heat and other variations. of heat. Great beer.

02-Oct-06 (22 oz bottle: Obtained in trade with JK, thanks John!) The loud "pffft" when twisting off the cap and the rather voluminous heading on the pour had me thinking I had yet another sour, infected bottle of Viking brew on my hands, but happily, such is not the case. Unfortunately, after taking the first sip, I find the Cayenne Pepper addition to be too heavy-handed for my tastes. And that’s a shame, too, because the sweet, almost candy bar-like chocolate flavor moderately bitter roastiness is balanced and delicious. But the short-lived burning in my throat from the hot peppers is quite simply not a sensation I enjoy when I’m drinking a beer. Body is medium-full and the expansive carbonation I experience initially gradually subsides. Sweet chocolate and roasty, earthy malts dominate the nose, but the spicy aroma of hot peppers is strong enough to make for a bit of prickling in my nose. Color is dark brown but not opaque, and the mighty, tan head takes 10 to 15 minutes to finally settle down. I must admit, though, that after perhaps 4 or 5 ounces, I seem to have gotten used to the hot peppers and I’m able to focus on the more enjoyable aspects of this beer. And it’s every bit as tasty when it’s at room temperature too.