Youngs Double Chocolate Stout

Bottle at the LCBO - Pours very nice and black with a nice brown head. The aroma is reminiscent of mocha, roast with hints of dark chocolate. The taste is a fairly dry, soft malt taste that is also similar to mocha. At first I thought the taste was ok, but as you keep drinking and as it warms the chocolate taste starts to come out more. However, it’s not as chocolaty as I expected. Very tasty and very smooth!

I had anticipated a more chocolaty experience but this was still a great beer. I expected double chocolate but received more like single chocolate. The pour was beautiful, a majestic sight of swirling foam and black magic akin to Guinness. Huge, thick head that just wouldn’t quit. Malty smell. Taste was chocolate, coffee and caramel with warm smoky undertones. Not as sweet as some chocolate beers I’ve had, which was a nice change of pace. Felt velvety and finished smooth. Tasty beer.

Holy CHOCOLATE Batman! Poured into a trappist glass. Black with tan head and nice lacing. Enjoyed after dinner on the porch with a good cigar. It took me over an hour to finish but enjoyed it immensely.

Really? Aroma was cocoa and some caramel malts. Appearance was black with creamy mocha head. Flavor was one note: chocolate. Palate was creamy. Another overrated English "classic".

Bottle @ Metro. 5.2%. Dark brown pour with a non-existant head (lost carbonation in import/bottle?). Anyhoo, aroma was rather plain, sweet. Taste is very rich in chocolate, and malts, with a dry finish. An excellent stout.

Chocolate is a ladies best friend, though I am no such lady. Beer is my number one best friend in terms of exciting and delighting the senses like practically no other pleasure can. That isn’t to say I don’t like chocolate; I do, but please bring it to me dark, dry, and full of as much uncultured cacao as possible. Bitter and sour is the new sweet, and that is exactly how I like it. Fitting that bill perfectly is the Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, but there are times where I crave something a bit softer, a bit smoother, a bit sweeter, and that is where Young’s Double Chocolate Stout steps into the picture to answer my call. Always a pleasure, I have no doubt that she will once more woo me with her sinfully delicious visceral pleasures.

I savored my first pint of Young’s Double Chocolate Stout on draft at a little beer bar of epic selection in St. Augustine, FL. It was a rather scandalous torrid love affair, some of which is not appropriate for print, and yet here I am back for more. She fills my awaiting glass with her rich, chocolaty brown presence while a voluminous head of dark and light browns bubble to the surface to form a comforter as soft as the heavens. I don’t even have to ruffle her covers to partake of her rich, chocolate-infused nose which reaches for me with desperate arms. Warm hot cocoa accompanied by milk chocolates, freshly drawn cream infused with vanilla, and soft notes of wood tantalize while a fresh pot of coffee can be found percolating in the background, her exotic origins remain unknown. Is that a whiff of Belgian richness I detect? No artificially sweetened faux chocolates here; this is the real deal, unlike the large majority of mass-produced, silver foil wrapped chocolate we unfortunately have to choose from. Completely smitten, I close my eyes and dive head-first into her open arms. Rich and smooth as velvet, her embrace is softer than I expected, which only serves to win me over even further. Her mouthfeel is milk chocolate and cream which gently coats the top of my tongue before leading into freshly brewed coffee which leads back into a milk chocolate kiss. A whisper of dryness flits and floats, cleansing my palate just enough as I dive deeper and deeper into bliss. Never once does the chocolate grow cloying, thick, or overtly sweet. She is perfectly balanced by a gentle dryness, fresh cream, vanilla, and elegant coffee. Pass the cheesecake, please.

As with all torrid affairs, there must be a somber farewell. With a tear in my eye and lips moist with memories, we bid farewell till once more we meet again. Interestingly enough, Young’s English website shows no evidence of their Double Chocolate Stout which makes me wonder if it is an export only brew, much like their Oatmeal Stout which was just recently discontinued. I pray that the Double Chocolate Stout doesn’t face such a tragic fate, or I might have to seek the nearest “lovers leap”.

Bottle as shown. Pours a very dark brown with a large frothy light tan head that lasts awhile leaving behind good sticky lacing along the glass. The aroma is a strong roasted malt with chocolate and nuts. Medium mouthfeel with a chocolate and cocoa taste with a nice dry finish. Easy to drink, a very good stout from Wells and Youngs.