So…beer is pretty good stuff. You probably wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t think so yourself. And if you’re like most people, you probably like chocolate, too. Just throwin’ that out there. I apologize if you’re not one of those people; maybe you’re allergic (horrors!). Or maybe you’re just crazy and really don’t like the way beer and/or chocolate taste. It’s ok … you can stop reading now.
For the rest of you, it’s time to kill two birds with one bottle. Rogue Chocolate Stout. Boom. Your beer- and chocolate-craving birds just got annihilated. This brew keeps it simple and rocks your face off. I can’t be positive, but I’m fairly sure this is the process brewmaster John Maier follows:
Step 1 – Make a killer stout.
Step 2 – Import some Dutch chocolate.
Step 3 – Combine the two using magic powers.
Step 4 – Stop.
Step 5 – Drink.
Step 6 – Smile.
Step 7 – Sell.
Truly, it’s a singular experience that your eyes, nose, mouth, and stomach need to experience to believe. In my opinion, never have chocolate and beer combined so effortlessly. It pours pitch brown, it smells like freshly baked brownies … and it tastes like chocolatey beer (or, perhaps, beery chocolate) … because that’s what it is. 69 IBUs of smooth bittersweet gold, with hints of oat, coffee, and even citrus (Cascade hops). What more could you ask for? A nice tan head? Done. A low ABV? Sure thing. Pure joy? Easy. It’s delicious, it’s nutritious*, and it’s available year-round. I’m beginning to wonder why you’re still reading this, and why I’m still writing…
*This may or may not contradict the Surgeon General.
You, sir, are a gentleman and a scholar.
Rogue’s Chocolate Stout is very good… but I can’t rank it as top-notch.
I drained a bomber this weekend and, while it seemed to grow on me towards the bottom of the bottle, it never really caught my attention. Perhaps my preferences are geared less to the sweet stouts.
Sure, I’ve had stouts that disappointed me more than this one… but I’ll stick with Great Divide’s Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti.
Dave,
I’ve had Yeti and Oak Aged Yeti and cannot wait to get my hands on a bottle of either the Chocolate or Coffee variation. While I do agree with Noel here, I also resinate with your sweet stout comment. I like a dryer, astringent bitterness in my stouts.
Thanks for your thoughts.
The beauty of beer. Thousands of unique beers to surely please everyone’s taste. Rogue’s Chocolate Stout is a fine drink for sure, as is Young’s and Fort Collins. I like to keep all of these on hand and enjoy their differences. Rogue has some really good beers, and this is one of them.
There are plenty of people who don’t consider this a top-notch beer. And certainly beer reviewing is subjective. But I think 25 national and international awards speak pretty loud. Personally, I’ve always found it to be well balanced…I certainly wouldn’t classify it as a “sweet” or “milk” stout.
I love chocolate stout. I also love well-written reviews.