Theobroma

Appearance: Pours a hazy amber color with a rocky head; average retention and a few squiggles of lace here and there

Smell: Clearly meadlike, with plenty of honey, and the cocoa powder is also discernable

Taste: Sweet, graham cracker malt and vanilla, up front, with a growing honey character; by mid-palate, the malted milk and ancho chile flavors arrive in force; cannot detect the nutmeggy annatto flavor other than through the power of suggestion; after the swallow, the chile and chocolate flavors persist and blend with the honey; memorably hot finish

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body; rather creamy; with moderate carbonation

Drinkability: Interesting how the hotness of the chile takes on the role of the bitterness of the hops in modern beers; worth a try but not sure I would want to re-visit very often

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 11-29-2009 23:39:06 | id: 1048769

A: amber honey. very thin head, due to a bad pour.
S: honey, very very light chocolate. no hops or malt
T: honey is very powerful upfront, with chocolate in the middle favors, and the chiles coming in the aftertaste. the peppers and chocolate become even more prominent as it warms up.
M: light carbonation, with a thickness like watery honey.
D: not a sit down and have "a few" beer.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 11-27-2009 03:04:03 | id: 1046905

I picked this up at Atlantic Liquors in Rehoboth Beach, DE. Poured chilled from the 750ml into a willybecker.

A - A light russet amber which is mildly hazed w/ rocky eggshell head. The bead is unevenly sized w/ mild lace stickage

S - A light fruity scent of honey w/ subtle fruit nose w/ light toast and hint of pepper w/ a floral accent

M - The feel is light for the strength w/ creamy and fruity tinges and mild heat of alcohol and spice. The gentle toast texture and light caramel smoothness comes through as it finishes

T - The flavor has light chile notes and mild floral honey flavor w/ a nutty cocoa tinge w/ slight creamy yeast taste. The flavor of honey is prominent w/ a light floral hint which seems to segue into the chili taste that is slightly spicy and also gives a light tingle in the back of the throat.
The cocoa is more floral and nutty than roasted. Theobroma has a slightly crisp taste w/ dry effect of the honey and spice adding a nice sweet/spicy counterpoint in the flavor. A nice balance and complex with a sweet overtone. The cool thing about the flavor to me is how the chile is the star and the cocoa really plays as anchor w/ the honey

D - One of the best 'experiments'w/ honey, cocoa and chile to me. The taste has great interplay yet still is a drinkable beer I could enjoy this frequently and think anyone who likes honey and chile together would enjoy it. I find the mix of sweet/spicy in flavor/feel/aroma interesting-highly drinkable!

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 11-24-2009 19:56:54 | id: 1045146

Poured into a wine glass. Produced a nice clear golden color, with a fluffy two inch head. Poor retention, not much lacing.

Sweet clover honey and floral aroma. A nice spicy hint is wrapped up in there.

Flavor up front is reminiscent of a mead; sweet honey with a wheat backbone and a nice spicy flavor from beginning to end. Complex to say the least. A slight chocolate flavor at the end.

Medium bodied, not too thick. The spice is not overpowering and everything seems balanced.

Could probably have more than one. High abv is probably the only thing that keeps it form being a session brew. Definitely different, but overall a good chile beer.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 11-24-2009 05:11:26 | id: 1044897

(Served in a snifter)
A- This beer pour a warm orange clear body with a sea of tiny bubbles supporting a tan cream/bubbly head.
S- This beer has a soft banana honey aroma that turns into dry apricots qualities. There is a slight musty roasted cocoa nibs note in the finish.
T- This beer has a soft pale malt and corn faintness with a warm finish of raw grain. There is a soft chocolate note that follows with a red chili pepper note.
M- This beer has a medium mouthfeel with a tight fizz and no alcohol heat until it warms a bit then the burn of chili pepper adds to the alcohol heat.
D- This beer has a light flavor with a soft chili heat at the finish. There is a smooth quality with not much alcohol heat and a faint fruity quality that is interesting in the mix. Interesting experiment not necessarily a good drink.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 11-19-2009 16:41:49 | id: 1041382

A-poured in a snifter. Golden in color with a hint brown. About a quarter inch head, white, disolved fairly quick.

S-candy like, chocolate hints, very light.

T-light hint of chocolate. Like almost the first taste of hot chocolate. Very light carbonation. As it hit the back of your mouth you can taste the ancho chilies as well down your throat. Swish it alittle and you get the honey taste.

M- light carbonation, slightly sweet with a following of warmth. Nice transition.

D-a drinkable ale. Very surprising to the palate. Something I would have again.

Serving type-tap

Had it at Redlight Redlight

Serving type: on-tap

Reviewed on: 11-19-2009 00:05:20 | id: 1040938

What in the world is this foul thing? Dogfish Head does some weird stuff sometimes, and sometimes it works... but this is an abomination.

Appearance takes me by surprise. And not in a good way. Pour is a slightly murky golden yellow color. A fizzy off-white head that recedes almost immediately to nothing. No lacing. Very nondescript so far, right? Surely not worth much, but not enough to be horrible. Except for one thing. Even in the first pour, there were tons of yellowish chunks floating around. These do not look like yeast chunks - yeast, I can deal with. These things look like boogers picked from a sick nose. Or maybe... yes!... they look like the shit that you wipe out of your eyes when you wake up in the morning. When you have pinkeye. Absolutely wretched. I almost don't even want to drink this thing.

Smell is nondescript and underwhelming. I get a hint of cocoa powder, an overripe vegetable component, maybe some yeasty notes? I dunno, it's somewhat difficult to pick stuff out of this. I'm still grossed out by the appearance.

Taste. Meh. DFH so routinely puts out massively flavored brews that I didn't expect this to be so weak. It's boring. A little hint of the chiles, a little hint of the cocoa, a little bit of a weird herbal twang... and a long finish that highlights the chili component. Not good. Not the worst part of this brew... but not good.

Mouthfeel. Tell me, good reader... how do you think a thin, fizzy beer that has weird chunks floating around in it would feel in YOUR mouth?

Drinkability is awful. I do not like to drainpour beers. I have probably averaged 1-2 beers a day for the last 3 years, and my best guess is that I have poured about three of them out. I drank about 4 oz. of this monstrosity and that was enough.

Perhaps I got a bad bottle. If I ever try this again, and it turned out that this bottle was bad, then I will revise my scores here. But I don't see a scenario in which I try this beer again. Absolutely horrid.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 11-16-2009 07:26:18 | id: 1039330

Lost review from 10.24.09. Pours a slightly hazy golden brown color with a very small tan head that dissipates into nothingness. The aroma is sweet, a bit grainy, light honey and a touch of copper. The taste is a dusting of cocoa, metal and a heavy honey malt. This is followed by a noticable chili flavor that adds a very slight amount of heat. Kind of an odd flavoring but not terrible. The feel is moderate with prickly carbonation, sweet with a touch of heat from the anchos. The brew is interesting indeed. It could use a bigger malt and cocoa presense to offset the honey and chilies. The overriding penny flavor needs to go.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 11-07-2009 09:24:23 | id: 1032842

A surprizingly light beer considering the ingredients. I expected a beer made with cocoa powder and ancho chilis to be heavy, but light malt and honey combine to create a beer with low residual sugars that is quite drinkable. The cocoa and chilis are evident in the flavor and aroma, but their effect is subtle. The chilis give it a spicy kick and a slight fruitiness that turns to a more vegetable-ly pepper-like note as it warms. The beer is a light color with a reddish hue from annato seeds. Very drinkable and quite nice, though I'd have liked more cocoa presence.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 11-03-2009 16:53:01 | id: 1030153

A- Golden in color with a protein particulate cloudiness. The head is white, thin, and fades quickly.

A- The honey note comes through up front. There is a slight alcohol note in the nose paired with some subtle chocolate. There is also a slight funk aroma that is very earthy and spicy.

F- The bready, biscuit like sweet malt notes give way to sweet honey notes up front. this is fruity and also contains notes of chocolate. The ancho chilies come through mid palate and are brought to the finish with a nice warming alcohol note.

M- moderate carbonation gives this brew a medium to heavy feel that coats the mouth. The finish is chewy and warming.

O- This is a very drinkable brew that it intriguing and unusual.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 11-02-2009 04:50:52 | id: 1029298