Samuel Adams The Vixen Chocolate Chili Bock

Brewed By: Boston Beer Company in Boston, Massachusetts 
Purchased: 22oz bottle from Sam Adam's Small Batch Collection "gift set" [Batch No. 2]; 2012
Style/ABV: Spice/Herb/Vegetable (Bock), 8.5%

Reported IBUs: 20

I didn't ask for much this Christmas, so I was surprised to unwrap the Small Batch Collection "gift set," which was a nice treat. Mi familia knows me well. The Small Batch Collection features "limited release beers" that are slightly more experimental or unique in nature, and may or may not be brewed again. About Sam Adams:

Samuel Adams was founded in 1984 by Jim Koch, and currently the Boston Beer Company is the largest American-owned beer company in the United States. Sam Adams is also the largest craft brewer in America, with over a million barrels of beer being produced annually. You can check out the Sam Adam's website for more info.

Today's beer, The Vixen, is a Chocolate Chili Bock brewed with cinnamon, spices, and cocoa nibs. I'm hoping this beer fares better than their Chocolate Bock. The Vixen is described as smooth and rich, with a touch of sweetness and spicy heat. This beer is brewed with 2-row pale malt, Munich, Caramel 60, and Weyermann Carafa I malts; it also uses Hallertau Mittelfrueh Noble hops. But the real allure to this beer is the fact that it is aged on a bed of cocoa nibs from Ecuador, and then ancho and chipotle chilies are added, along with spices and cinnamon. Let's glass this up, and see what's going on.

The Vixen Chocolate Chili Bock

In low light, the beer pours a dark brown color, with two fingers of thick, creamy, light tan/khaki head. When held to a bright light, the body of the beer is a reddish-brown color. This beer is transparent and filtered, and features good carbonation in the form of tiny bubbles. Head retention on this is pretty nice, and I'm kicking up head as I swirl this (classy, I know). You get some clingy lacing, and some alcohol legs. (seriously, it's been like 10 minutes now, and there is still a centimeter of head hanging around)....

The aroma on this is pretty clean and mild...I'm getting chocolate, cocoa, molasses, powdered cream (the stuff you dump in your coffee if you suck), hints of coffee, hints of dark fruits (plums mainly), caramel, and maybe hints of floral and bread. I'm not getting a whole lot of spice or chili on the nose.

Well, this is not the Chocolate Bock. This tastes fairly rich, and has reasonable density (which you expect at 8.5% ABV). You get chocolate and cocoa up front, along with molasses and caramel, and hints of plums and raisins. I'm getting very subtle chili flavors on the back end, with hints of chili spice and cinnamon. As I continue to drink this, the spice starts to creep up into the front of the palate, and it compliments the chocolate in a very nice and subtle way.

Everything that wasn't fun about the Chocolate Bock is improved here. This has a fuller and denser mouthfeel; this is a medium-full beer, supported by tingly carbonation, and a peppery/cinnamon/chili backbone. Palate depth is average, and complexity is moderate. At 8.5%, this is very drinkable. Up front is chocolate, mocha, cocoa, molasses, hints of coffee and powdered cream; this rolls into more sweetness, raisins, plums; the back end terminates with lingering cocoa sweetness, and a hint of chili and cinnamon. As you drink this, the chili and cinnamon starts to creep towards the front palate, but it never grabs hold to dominate this beer.

Rating: Average

I'm feeling a Strong Average here. This is a nice improvement over the Chocolate Bock, and adds a much-needed layer of complexity. Still, I wish the chili and cinnamon were a touch more assertive, and this isn't the most complex beer in the world. But this is a really solid beer in many ways, and I could see myself trying to mix this in with some chili. I would pair this with chili, or a burger, or go the complete opposite direction and drop a scoop of ice cream in this float style...I bet that would be delicious. This is pretty solid stuff, and MUCH better than the Chocolate Bock. Recommended...especially if you can snag it for less than 8 or 9 dollars.

Random Thought: Time to go watch the Denver vs. Baltimore game....I'm conflicted, I like to cheer for the underdog, but I want to see Manning face off against Brady in the Championship game.