Theobroma - Dogfish Head Brewery

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.4/5  rDev -11.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

On tap at Mr. Goodbar's. Golden body. Expected hotter peppers but it was muted, more cinammon and cloves. Little head. More like a roobis tea with flavouring addd to a beer. So-so drinkability. Not for everyone. Average mouthfeel. Might be better on cask.

Serving type: on-tap

09-20-2011 03:17:16 | More by northyorksammy

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

2.7/5  rDev -29.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Sunny Sunkist tangerine with light showers of fine yeast. With cocoa powder and cocoa nibs as ingredients, I was expecting the beer to be much darker. The ecru-ivory colored cap is on the crackly side and isn't very sticky. A few sorry scraps of melty foam are all that make it to the glass.

The nose is different in a way that is hard to put into words. It's fruity and spicy, although none of the rather unconventional ingredients are appreciated per se. I'm probably talking myself into smelling the cocoa powder. In the end, the aroma isn't very interesting, which is the one thing that I thought this ale would have going for it.

The story behind Theobroma's inspiration and creation is available at the top of this page, so I won't recount it here. Suffice it to say that this is another one of those Dogfish Head historically-accurate brews that could have done anything from succeed admirably to fail miserably. It does neither, but it comes disappointingly closer to the latter.

Carob (or malted milk) is the first flavor that engages the taste buds. It's quite an odd vibe coming from such a lightly colored beverage. Honey contributes a light sweetness without adding much flavor. Ancho chile adds a modest amount of heat and possibly a little earthy flavor as well. Annatto is supposed to be slightly sweet and peppery, but then how would one know with honey and chile peppers in the house?

In the end, the flavors never really come together into a unified whole and simply aren't interesting enough to make me want to keep on keepin' on. Historical interest aside, this simply isn't very good beer. On a positive note, almost no alcohol is appreciated on the palate. The central nervous system is another matter entirely.

The mouthfeel is no great shakes either. It's medium in heft, is somewhat slick, and lacks bubbles, which leads to a lack of volume and a shortage of creaminess. It looks like 'look', also known as appearance, is the highlight.

Theobroma is not one of Dogfish Head's better efforts. I appreciate that Sam likes to push the envelope (and I applaud him for it), but good beer has to be the end result or nothing else matters. For my money, Chateau Jiahu is the much better 'ancient civilization pottery fragment residue recreation' beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2009 21:03:06 | More by BuckeyeNation

mikesgroove

South Carolina

3.9/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Dark as night, with nothing, not a drop of anything coming through the other side of this beast. The delicate and evil reverse cascade of the deep chocolate colored head just sealed the deal as it rose up to nearly an inch it stays, never settling more then a couple of inches

The aroma was heavenly. Rich cocoa layered upon warm roasted coffee with touches of chili and sice are what comes across at first. Warming though brings out all the subtleties and richness that I would have come to expect. Cinnamon and vanilla and fighting it out to provide a hint of sweetness and character. Each sip seemingly more complex then the one before. It is literally just a bath in warm, malty flavors

Serving type: bottle

08-27-2011 13:42:29 | More by mikesgroove

womencantsail

California

3.23/5  rDev -15.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: The pour is a light golden amber sort of color with a short lived white head.

S: For a chile beer with so many special ingredients, I don't get much out of the nose. Some light fruitiness, almost melon-like, with some corn, perhaps. I don't really pick up any chile or cocoa, etc.

T: The flavor is similarly lackluster. A definite sweetness that is somewhat like apple juice. The chile flavor is mild at best, and the cocoa is barely noticeable.

M: The body is on the lighter side of medium with a lively carbonation. Probably the best thing about this beer.

D: I suppose I'm glad this beer wasn't horrendously bad like it certainly could have been. But, it wasn't really any good either.

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2010 05:40:51 | More by womencantsail

Thorpe429

Illinois

3.73/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a hazy tangering with a white head. Lots of sweetness in the aroma--sweet malt, some breads, honey, spices, and a bit of chocolate. The taste is very similar with a lot of sweetness balanced out by quite a bit of spiciness. Both the flavors are fairly extreme but balance well. Some cocoa in the finish. The mouthfeel is medium and quite carbonated; the spices linger on the tongue and create a dryness after the swallow. Fairly complex.

Serving type: bottle

10-04-2009 18:44:55 | More by Thorpe429

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

3.53/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Pours a clear, lightly effervescent, golden-orange body with a smallish, white head.

Smell: Coarsely chopped chile peppers smothered in an overkill amount of honey. Other notes of fragrant, over-toasted seeds, a winelike fruitiness, and last (as well as regrettably least) is cocoa. I'm sure the chocolate will wholly redeem itself in the flavor.

Taste: Spicy, heat-bringing chilies mixed with with a large enough jug of honey to make even Pooh-bear blush. Sip after sip it's never more than slightly sweet. Sadly, there's only a distant, vague, possibly even imagined hint of cocoa. The vaguely nutty annatto is, at times, slight or effusive. I'm over here biting my lip in anticipation of a cocoa return, but it's looking bleak. Meager amount of bitterness. Splash of white wine. Fleeting hint of undercooked waffles and fruit just before hitting the semi-dry finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. Medium carbonation. Slightly sticky mouthfeel.

Drinkability: These droll historical renditions peak my interest every time and always make for a ripping good time. Chateau Jiahu was mighty fun. Didn't we have one hell of a time with Midas Touch? Though, it is true I was ready to behave like a petulant child for want of more chocolate.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2009 21:16:08 | More by ChainGangGuy

brentk56

North Carolina

4.03/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

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

11-29-2009 23:39:06 | More by brentk56

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

2.53/5  rDev -33.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Bottle: Poured a light golden color ale with a medium pure white foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of Chiles and staled grain is not as interesting as I had expected. Taste is more geared toward Chiles then anything else and chocolate notes are very hard to distinguish. Body is about average with OK carbonation and no sign of alcohol. I kind of understand the experience but I am not sure why someone would want to drink this more then once.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2010 03:02:46 | More by Phyl21ca

BEERchitect

Kentucky

4.22/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

This is more like a 'kitchen sink' beer than a chili beer. It's got all the crap that the ancients could think of, including a little bit of malt. The beer has a bright copper-amber hue at first, but poured a hazy rusty hue toward the end of the bomber. Head formation was fair, as well as retention and lacing. Rich aromas of honey, chocolate, toffee, and molassas fills the nose along with herbal and perfumy notes. Flavors strongly favor the honey and mask a lot of the malt base. Very sweet to taste with a powerful underlying taste of cocoa, almonds, pecans, and cashews. Again, hints of corriander, orange peel, cherries, cumin, and a flowery note give the beer a lot of complexity. Flavors of the chilis gain intensity and are noticed going into the finish. The beer's weight favors the honey as well, but allowing a soft malt blend to substantiate the beer. Quite warming from mid-palate on from a blend of the chilis and alcohol. The heat never offends but does give the beer a little something extra. The chilis also seem to balance the sweetness with the low hop (if any) additions. A very nice experimental beer. I'll have to see how this one ages out.

Serving type: bottle

10-29-2008 13:06:33 | More by BEERchitect

oberon

North Carolina

3.2/5  rDev -16.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I have been wanting to try this beer for awhile,I picked it up today and well...I wish I hadnt spent the money I did for it.Poured a clear golden with no head what so ever,it looked flat.Aromas are fruity with a light shot of spice,not like ancho's though,more heat than expected.Very light chocolate on the palate with the alcohol showing thru,the chile comes thru in the aftertaste.Eh not what I thought it would be,the spicey burbs are the best thing about this beer in my mind.

Serving type: bottle

08-22-2010 21:16:25 | More by oberon

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev +7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From the DFH website:
"This beer is based on chemical analysis of pottery fragments found in Honduras which revealed the earliest known alcoholic chocolate drink used by early civilizations to toast special occasions. The discovery of this beverage pushed back the earliest use of cocoa for human consumption more than 500 years to 1200 BC. As per the analysis, Dogfish Head's Theobroma (translated into 'food of the gods') is brewed with Aztec cocoa powder and cocoa nibs (from our friends at Askinosie Chocolate), honey, chilies, and annatto (fragrant tree seeds). Theobroma is 10% abv and will be available in Champagne bottles for a September 2008 release.

... I had no idea that this beer existed until I saw the bottle on the shelf, and when I read the label listing "...cocoa nibs, cocoa powder, ancho chilies, & ground annatto" I was quite excited. I thought of dark milk chocolate with chilies - yum! But what I skipped right past was the "honey", and there's more honey to it than cocoa. Oh sure it's there (as are the chilies in a perfect quantity!), but I'd have liked to have more chocolate flavor. Surprisingly, perhaps - or perhaps not - the annatto comes through loud and clear. It's kind of nutmeg-like, and it lends a nice, kind of earthy or woody edge to the beer. But I'm getting way ahead of myself...

To re-start off, as usual, DFH has created a great label. I love the Mayan/Aztec look to it, and the cartoonish (and even sexy) girl rounds it out perfectly.

It's a slightly hazy deep-amber beneath a creamy head of off-white. The nose is enticing with a combination of clear pepper, cocoa, and honey. You'd have to know the annatto was in there to associate it. Or maybe not.

In the mouth it's medium-full in body and creamy with a fine-bubbled, seemingly natural, moderate carbonation.

The flavor is at first sharply fruity and honeyish. It quickly yields to maltiness, woodiness, and cocoa-notes accented by nutmeg (annatto). The malt is rich, toasty, and somewhat similar to Vienna malt... kind of like a 'beefed-up' Maerzen. The pepper kicks in just as it crosses the palate, and then lends a minor burn to the swallow and the lingering, surprisingly cocoa-ish finish. There are some grassy notes, but whether they come from hops or something else is a bit of a mystery. Overall, the combination of honey, fruitiness, cocoa, chilies, and spice is quite intriguing! They don't exactly come together in a perfect balance, yet that gives it some charm, and to a certain extent, even greater depth of character. It's unusual, and complex, even though all of the flavors are pretty boldly right out there.

Without question, and regardless of anything else, I'd have to say that this is one of the most unique beers on earth at this point in time!!! That's not too unusual for DFH, however, as I think they did that years ago with Immort Ale. And there have been quite a few more in between. That said, it's a bit of a 'must-try'. Beyond that, it's actually pretty drinkable. At 9 or 10% abv, it's small glass fare, meant to be savored not quaffed, and a bottle can be split between 2 - 4 people easily. Not to be missed!

Serving type: bottle

10-03-2008 01:12:35 | More by NeroFiddled

TMoney2591

Illinois

3.98/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served in a Dogfish Head shaped pint glass.

Food of the gods, indeed. It pours a clear copper topped by a few piles of large tan-green bubbles. It's not really foam, just several rows of tangential bubbles. The nose comprises mandarin oranges, chile peppers, greens, wet hay, and a dash of cayenne. The taste is much the same, though with more citrus notes and a touch of that cocoa they put in there. A nice tiny flash o' heat comes creeping up from the bottom, but serves only as a tease. The body is fairly light, with a light carbonation and a humid finish. Overall, possibly the best chile beer on the market (though that ain't sayin' too much).

Serving type: bottle

07-11-2010 02:06:13 | More by TMoney2591

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

3.93/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

dogfish head theobroma

750 ml bottle. Naked big-eyed cartoon native-type chickee on the label, feather dressing, facial markings, something all over her exposed boobage. Is this what you're drinking, sweetie? I'll have what the high priestess is havin'!

Pours out heavily hazed amber hue, small white head on top.

Sweetness hits first in aroma, sugar and fruit, honey and apricot, then come the spices, some chiles and peppers, and cinnamon, maybe...or similar to it. Hot, warm, and sweet. Nice. Very nice.

Taste: Oddly, I don't get the cocoa and chocolate yet, only sweetness and spice. Very smooth and unruffled so far. Let's further partake....Okay, there it is...no hops, though, and just the merest of malt, just enough to do the job. Though I'm getting a fruity impression, it must only come through with the malt, because it's not a main ingredient, and the cocoa component is not really saying anything.

I'll drink more and see... what the heck is "annatto", someone tell me that...okay, the chocolate is down there somewhere, but smothered by the honey, and to a lesser degree, the pepper.

This is another in the long line of experimental, historical incredible beers that only Dogfish Head seems to be interested in, but it's not what I'm into right now. I'm wishing it was a 120 Minutes or even a WWS...but it's a damned fine beverage, and will suit me well through the night.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2010 04:07:11 | More by feloniousmonk

WesWes

New York

3.58/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

The beer pours a hazy amber color with a thick frothy offwhite head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is decent. It has a very complex array of aromas from pale and crystal malts to cocoa and chilies. It's unlike anything I've ever encountered, but in a cool unchartered territory kind of way. The taste is decent as well. It's smooth with hints of cocoa, but warming in the finish with a hot pepper hit. The peppers are there, but are hidden in the cocoa flavor. You don't feel it until it hits your stomach. It kind of burns. The mouthfeel is fine. It is a medium/full bodied beer with adequate carbonation. This beer is interesting to say the least. I'm not sure I'd buy another one at $12 dollars a bottle, but it was an experience.

Serving type: bottle

10-17-2008 00:42:22 | More by WesWes

drabmuh

Maryland

3.58/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a bottle into a St. Bernardus goblet. Yellowish / orange in color, low carbonation and no head. A smallish head to begin with but it falls away quickly and stays away. The smell is sweet and has a character that i cannot identify. The flavor is simple, almost wheaty, but the brightness of the chili is there, easily. The spice builds on you but does not overwhelm. From all the weird beers from DFH, this has not been my favorite, but it is one of the better chile beers i've had. Good effort.

Serving type: bottle

09-17-2009 02:42:56 | More by drabmuh

Mora2000

Texas

3.78/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to thirdeye11 for sharing this bottle. Pours golden orange with a small white head. Aroma is lots of fruit, but not the chocolate I was expecting. The taste is also mainly fruit with mango and pear. Maybe a little cocoa, but not very much if any at all. Finishes very dry.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2010 17:46:21 | More by Mora2000

metter98

New York

3.73/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: The beer poured a clear light golden yellow in color with only a few bubbles floating on the surface. A moderate amount of carbonation is evident from the rising bubbles.
S: There is a moderate amount of sweetness in the nose, which has light aromas of honey and grapes.
T: Like the smell, flavors of honey and grapes dominate the overall taste. There are some hints of chili peppers and cocoa in the finish.
M: The beer feels medium-bodied and very smooth on the palate with a touch of carbonation. The finish has a very mild amount of dryness and a bit of heat from the chili peppers.
D: Although the alcohol is masked rather well from the taste, this beer still tastes strong and is one that needs to be sipped given its amount of cloying sweetness.

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2010 02:37:46 | More by metter98

Gueuzedude

Arizona

2.9/5  rDev -24.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

2009 release; Sampled August 2009
A vigorous pour into my 25cl tulip glass produces a four-finger thick, pale tan colored head. The beer is a rich copper color that shows a brilliantly clear, copper-gold color when held up to the light. The aroma has such a clean malt character to it that it smells like candied maltose; fairly sweet and a bit cloying in its simplicity, I seem to get this in a lot of Dogfish Heads stronger beers, a sort of house character. This has quite a bit of fruitiness to it, it reminds me of concentrated pears, green apple, a touch of honeydew melon and some green raisin notes. There is a touch of an artificial smell to the nose, not quite chemical like, but it is something that I can't quite place; perhaps it is a touch of herbal honey character mixed with some phenolic fermentation character. Despite the complex promise of the ingredients, the nose ends up being fairly simplistic and completely lacking in the interesting ingredient list.

Soft and creamy feeling up front, the beer picks up a light prickle of carbonation as it moves across the tongue. The cocoa nibs / powder are non-existent at first, but then a faint, white-chocolate like note starts to creep in towards the finish. The finish has that sort of phenolic, chemical like note to it that I noticed in the nose. A touch of bitterness is barely noticeable and doesn't do much to balance the sweetness. There is perhaps a hint of spice / chile heat to the finish; it isn't noticeable until a couple seconds after the beer has left my mouth, and it is incredibly subtle (though it might be more noticeable to someone that doesn't enjoy spicy food as much as I do). The sweetness reminds me of honey with an herbal bite, bad apple juice with a chemical aftertaste, and some sulfurous green raisins. While the sweetness isn't overly excessive here, the lack of balancing bitterness or spice in this beer tends to make this beer lean towards the cloying side of the spectrum.

I was really excited to try this beer as the promise of a mix of cocoa, ancho chiles and ground annatto sounds really exciting, unfortunately both the aroma and flavor are almost devoid of these. The flavor does have the cocoa, and there is a touch of spice in the finish, but both are pretty tame. My expectations of this beer were a bit too much I think, I still think these ingredients could come up with a much more interesting beer. Unfortunately I didn't really enjoy this beer all that much.

Serving type: bottle

08-23-2009 03:27:47 | More by Gueuzedude

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

3.98/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On-tap 8/3/09 at Julian's in Providence, RI, served in a small wine glass.

A: The beer is a dark gold color, with a thin white head that fades quickly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is of spices, fruit, caramelized malts, some hops and a hint of smoke.

T: The taste starts out much sweeter than I expected with flavors of citrus, caramel and spices. Then a hearty malt character comes in and is followed by a good hops presence. I didn't get much honey or chocolate out of it, but there was just a subtle amount of smoke and heat in the background. There's a mild alcohol sting. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: Smooth and crisp, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is clean and dry.

D: Tasty, goes down easily, not too filling, strong kick, nice representation of style without over-powering you with the chili pepper heat, it's not a beer I could drink consistently but it's a good diversion from your typical beer.

Serving type: on-tap

08-04-2009 01:48:15 | More by TheManiacalOne

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.93/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

When I first picked up this beer and read the description of it on the label I assumed it was going to be a dark beer. Turns out I was completely wrong and it poured out as a really vibrant orange color. I can only assume that this beer has more surprises in store for me. The smell of the beer had some earthy chocolate aromas coming off of it. I wasn't able to pick up much Chili pepper on the nose though. The taste of the beer gives off that same bitter earth chocolate note with just a hint of the pepper in the background. It's a very subtle chili beer, not one of those that is undrinkable because it's like drinking fire. The mouthfeel of this brew has a good thickness to it much like DfH's big bottles. Overall I really enjoy this beer quite a bit, I don;t buy it too often but I feel like I want to have it again sometime soon.

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2011 02:20:20 | More by Knapp85

russpowell

Oklahoma

3.53/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Got this in a trade with chefmikeanderson, cheers mike!

09 Vintage pours an effervescent apricot with 1+ finger of cream colored head, dropping away quickly...

S: Apricot & banana??, plus a bit of white pepper once warm. Average head retention 7 lacing

T: Fruittyness, bananas, a touch of chile powder, plus dryness up front. More banana, plus a bit of chile powder warmth, once warm, hints of candi sugar & a touch of toffee. Finishes fruitty, doughy, with red pepper sting on the top & tip of the tongue, dry with hits of lemon & more banana. Complexity helps this pull a 4.0

MF: Medium bodied, smooth carbonation & somewhat chewy

Drinks alright for the ABV, I appreciate what DFH was shooting for here, but this isn't a great chile beer by today's standards. Got better it warmed way up, but still not great...I'm sure this would've been in my top 3 beers list 3000+ years ago...

Serving type: bottle

08-28-2009 03:24:25 | More by russpowell

Halcyondays

California

3.53/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

On-tap at Beachwood BBQ, the first time I've seen this beer in the Southland,

A: Pours a translucent burnt orange with a fizzy, bubbly head, some floaties.

S: Some nice malt, hint of chocolate, nothing too substantial.

T: Has a relatively innocuous Belgian amber type malt. The chocolate is nowhere to the forefront as I thought it'd be. Minor notes of chocolate and chiles to the finish.

M: Medium-bodied, a bit fizzy, adequately smooth.

D: Honestly, I thought they'd do more with this. It tastes a bit like a more pallid Pangaea with a bit of chocolate and chile thrown in. Just wanted more, this is the 2nd time I've had this and was underwhelmed both times, but still I give props to DFH for their experimentation.

Serving type: on-tap

08-14-2010 22:19:32 | More by Halcyondays

emerge077

Illinois

3.7/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On-tap at the Map Room.

Served in a fluted tulip glass. It was light orange with a high level of clarity. Visible streams of carbonation and a lasting head. There was a little bit of broken lacing around the edge.

Aroma wasn't all that complex or unusual. Overripe fruit esters, some faint background maltiness.

Earthy flavors presumably from the cacao nibs or chiles, or maybe annato seed. No tingle or heat from the chile, but there was that herbal earthiness that hinted at it. Some dried orange peel, with mild bitterness there also.

I guess I was hoping for something exotic, and it just seemed a little half-hearted. Carbonation was light and carried it nicely, but I didn't want any more after the one glass.

Serving type: on-tap

10-14-2008 18:08:27 | More by emerge077

Gavage

New Jersey

3.53/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: light orange in color with a short 1/2" head.

Smell: light citrus, some earthiness, and spiciness is detected.

Taste: moderate malt presence with some pepper spice, a bit of chocolate, and some honey sweetness.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied beer. Light crispness throughout. Short aftertaste.

Overall: a very interesting beer that is best as a one glass per session beer.

Serving type: on-tap

06-17-2011 21:58:34 | More by Gavage

jwc215

New Jersey

3.35/5  rDev -12.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

Bottled in 2008:

Pours dark golden with a thin white head that disappears to a vanishing patch. Some lacing sticks.

The smell is of yeast (and chili's?) There's Something going on - a fruitiness with cocoa, but not in sweetened chocolate way - that I like but the yeastiness really stands out, as does the fruity, peppery alcohol.

The taste is yeasty/bready and fruity. It tastes of honey with cocoa - not sweet chocolate, but rather bitter cocoa. Not the malt sweetness and hop bitterness, but instead honey sweetness and cocoa bitterness with a late-coming chili spiciness that adds to alcohol to make it burning hot. Finishes with a restrained honey sweetness.

It is medium-to-full-bodied. Carbonation is just enough to keep it from being too thickish or syrupy.

An "interesting" sipper. Yeasty/bready, but with subtle complexities, then a hot pepper kick that cleaned out my sinuses. A hot, even burning, brew, though with noticeable breadiness and honey that should take some of the heat off. This is one of those that is better to be shared and discussed (as a "conversation piece"), IMO. This bottle states 9% abv, but maybe because of the chili, it seems hotter.

Serving type: bottle

10-18-2008 05:25:42 | More by jwc215