Brewed By: Southern Tier Brewing Company in Lakewood, New York
Purchased: Giant 22oz Bomber bought at in Binny's in IL; 2012
Style/ABV: Imperial Stout (American), 10.0%
Happy Easter (or zombie Jesus day)!!! Today was a beautiful day, with gorgeous weather, and some exciting Chicago baseball. The Cubs finally won today, and the White Sox are about to start their game in a bit and go for their second win. Unfortunately, the Bulls lost today, but they will hopefully pull it together come the Playoffs. In the spirit of zombie Jesus day, I'm going for something savory and over-the-top. Southern Tier's "Choklat" seems to fit the bill, clocking in at a ridiculous 10% ABV.
The bottle art features a block of chocolate, with the words, "A Stout Brewed with Chocolate" on the front. There is also a snifter on the bottle with a 48 degrees Fahrenheit marking; the bottle says, "best at 48 degrees Fahrenheit." This beer clocks in at a mean 10%, and is brewed with 2-row barley, caramel 60 malt, barley flakes, chocolate malt, and bittersweet Belgian chocolate. Can you say yum? This beer also feature some hops: chinhook and willamette are added to the kettle. Chinook are mild to medium-heavy, spicy, piney, and grapefruity. Willamette hops are mild and pleasant, slightly spicy, fruity, floral, and a little earthy.
This is an American-made Stout that happens to clock in at 10% ABV. Because of that, this probably qualifies as an American Stout, although the definition doesn't exactly fit (and is honestly outdated). I'll have to taste this and see if it flirts with the Russian Imperial Stout category, but I'm expecting something with over-the-top chocolate. It's also possible that because this beer uses bittersweet Belgian chocolate it might qualify as a Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer. Honestly, I couldn't care less what the BJCP thinks, and I'm sure Southern Tier couldn't care less as well. I'm calling this bad boy an American Imperial Stout, so let's dig in and review this beer.
This beer pours like an Imperial Stout. The beer pours a pitch-black color, and about half a finger's worth of dark/coffee-brown head. The head dissolves fairly quickly, as you might expect with a 10% ABV beer. There is a nice cauldron effect, with a hazy layer of bubbles sitting in the middle of the glass, and some thicker bubbles clinging to the edge of the glass. There is some lacing when I swirl the beer, and there are some mean alcohol legs on this. Around the edges are hints of brown, but this beer is black as night, with no light escaping. If I had to guess, I would guess this is well-carbonated.
The aroma...well let me tell you, what we have here is something awesome. The nose is a lot more subtle than I was expecting. I was expecting to smell something with super-sweet, rich chocolate. The nose is a lot more subdued, with this huge note of Tootsie-Rolls. I'm pulling out Tootsie-Rolls, Hershey's Dark Chocolate, cocoa, a slightly grainy chocolate malt note, hints of boozy alcohol, and definitely a hint of spicy/earthy/floral hop in there.
Wow...the taste is a wonderful follow-through of the aroma. You get hit with a huge Imperial Stout punch: including some wonderful citrus hops. But there is a ton of chocolate and dark malts in this, and it is sweet, almost like a Milk Stout. I'm getting sweet bitter chocolate, orange, earthy hops; and then a blast of Imperial Stout including woody and earthy notes, and some roasted notes. I'm tasting Tootsie-Rolls, Dark Hershey's Chocolate, a slight creamy and smooth chocolate note, and hints of cream.
Happy Easter (or zombie Jesus day)!!! Today was a beautiful day, with gorgeous weather, and some exciting Chicago baseball. The Cubs finally won today, and the White Sox are about to start their game in a bit and go for their second win. Unfortunately, the Bulls lost today, but they will hopefully pull it together come the Playoffs. In the spirit of zombie Jesus day, I'm going for something savory and over-the-top. Southern Tier's "Choklat" seems to fit the bill, clocking in at a ridiculous 10% ABV.
Southern Tier Brewing Company is based out of Lakewood, New York. The brewery was founded in 2002 by Phineas DeMink and Allen "Skip" Yahn. Using equipment purchased from the old Saddleback Brewing Co., the company began production with the vision of reviving traditional small batch brewing to the region. By 2003, the brewery was distributing their small batch ales, and by 2005 their sales covered New York and Pennsylvania. Before the brewery had any seasonal beers, it produced a Pilsner, Mild Ale, and IPA. Due to popularity, in 2009 a 20,000 square foot facility was built to allow for the brewing of large-scale beers. Since then, Southern Tier has continued to expand, and continued to invest in better equipment to keep up with the increasing demand for their beer. You can read more about Southern Tier's history on their history page.Today's beer, "Choklat," is a big and mean American Imperial Stout. This beer is not part of the brewery's "Seasonal Imperial" series as I thought it was; according to the bottle this beer is part of the "Black Water Series." The bottle states: "The Popol Vuh, the sacred book of the Maya, unfolds a complex web of mystery around a beverage known as xocoatl (ch-co-atle)." I can't find any information about this beer on the brewery website, but fortunately the bottle features a lot of good info.
The bottle art features a block of chocolate, with the words, "A Stout Brewed with Chocolate" on the front. There is also a snifter on the bottle with a 48 degrees Fahrenheit marking; the bottle says, "best at 48 degrees Fahrenheit." This beer clocks in at a mean 10%, and is brewed with 2-row barley, caramel 60 malt, barley flakes, chocolate malt, and bittersweet Belgian chocolate. Can you say yum? This beer also feature some hops: chinhook and willamette are added to the kettle. Chinook are mild to medium-heavy, spicy, piney, and grapefruity. Willamette hops are mild and pleasant, slightly spicy, fruity, floral, and a little earthy.
This is an American-made Stout that happens to clock in at 10% ABV. Because of that, this probably qualifies as an American Stout, although the definition doesn't exactly fit (and is honestly outdated). I'll have to taste this and see if it flirts with the Russian Imperial Stout category, but I'm expecting something with over-the-top chocolate. It's also possible that because this beer uses bittersweet Belgian chocolate it might qualify as a Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer. Honestly, I couldn't care less what the BJCP thinks, and I'm sure Southern Tier couldn't care less as well. I'm calling this bad boy an American Imperial Stout, so let's dig in and review this beer.
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| Southern Tier Choklat |
The aroma...well let me tell you, what we have here is something awesome. The nose is a lot more subtle than I was expecting. I was expecting to smell something with super-sweet, rich chocolate. The nose is a lot more subdued, with this huge note of Tootsie-Rolls. I'm pulling out Tootsie-Rolls, Hershey's Dark Chocolate, cocoa, a slightly grainy chocolate malt note, hints of boozy alcohol, and definitely a hint of spicy/earthy/floral hop in there.
Wow...the taste is a wonderful follow-through of the aroma. You get hit with a huge Imperial Stout punch: including some wonderful citrus hops. But there is a ton of chocolate and dark malts in this, and it is sweet, almost like a Milk Stout. I'm getting sweet bitter chocolate, orange, earthy hops; and then a blast of Imperial Stout including woody and earthy notes, and some roasted notes. I'm tasting Tootsie-Rolls, Dark Hershey's Chocolate, a slight creamy and smooth chocolate note, and hints of cream.
At 10% ABV, this is a sipper. The mouthfeel on this beer is heavy, especially up front. The chocolate flavor is a little bit thinner than I expected, and the finish is dry, but there is a lot of flavor going on in this beer - even if it is subtle. I would call this moderately complex, with large palate depth. Up front you get big chocolate notes that are laid on thick; some Hershey's syrup, Hershey's dark chocolate, Tootsie-Rolls; the middle is sweet and balanced with some hops (orange, and earthy notes); the finish is big Imperial Stout notes, including earthy wood, hints of roast, and lingering chocolate. The finish is dry, and not as boozy as I was expecting.
Rating: Above-Average
Score: 88%
I've heard a lot of people say that this beer is super sweet. This beer is definitely sweet, but the chocolate notes are a lot more subtle than I was expecting, and there is some nice balance from the hops. Is this a beer I would reach for all the time? No, this is definitely a "specialty" beer, with a very unique profile. This beer is something I could see myself reaching for once or twice a year, to share with a friend, and pair with some dessert. I guess you could also pair this with a really raunchy burger or barbeque. All-in-all, this is a really good offering from Southern Tier, and this is definitely a beer you need to try if you enjoy chocolate or Imperial Stouts. I will definitely be drinking this again.
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