Chocolate Stout - Rogue Ales

bbothen

California

3.13/5  rDev -25.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A - Pitch black with a fluffy/creamy 2 finger head.

S - Well, chocolate along with vanilla, coffee, & sweet malt.

T - Bitter chocolate. Coffee. Faint hops as well.

M - Bit too carbonated for me. Not as creamy as I'd like.

D - Fairly good. A bottle was no trouble.

You can taste the chocolate for sure. Would be good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

I love stout. I love chocolate. But this combo missed the mark for me.

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2008 02:47:02 | More by bbothen

kmatlack

California

3.15/5  rDev -24.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 22 oz bottle into a stemless wine glass. No bottle date from what i can tell.

A- Pours a dark brown/black color with a creamy looking light mocha colored head. Dies down into a small film on top of the surface.

S- Lots of chocolate and coffee up front, a little bit of roasty malts, more chocolate. Smells to be a little oxidized maybe? Some very subtle hints of cardboard that is reminicent of vomit. Weird. Doesnt take away from the chocolate onslaught that this beer provides.

T- Follows the nose, coffee and chocolate, a little sweet, alot of bitter. Relatively high IBU, not the norm but interesting nonetheless. The intense chocolate is the only reason that this beer gets a slightly above average rating in this catergory. Lingering bitterness.

M- Average mouthfeel on this one, creamy, not bad. Get a little bit of metallic taste that bounces off the roof of my mouth. Kindof strange.

O- Only slightly above average. Good for the style. I like Rogue alot, maybe this one isnt as fresh as id like but i can only rate this on what i have in front of me, it is what it is.

Serving type: bottle

10-09-2011 23:41:02 | More by kmatlack

sinistrsam

Maryland

3.18/5  rDev -24.1%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

This nice-looking stout pours thick and creamy, with a medium-sized dark-tan head that is populated by large bubbles. It dies off quickly, leaving almost no lacing. It looks completely opaque, even when held to the light.
I took one whiff and immediately fell in love; almost completely chocolate, but smooth milk-chocolate, not overpowering. A very light malty nose, with hints of hazelnut and coffee. I was excited to try it and hoped the sweet smell didn’t leave me disappointed.
I hate to say it, folks. I was. I’ve come to expect great thins from Rogue, and everyone else seems to be in that boat. The sweet, chocolaty smell led me to believe it would be a bit sweeter than it was. I know, I know it’s a stout, and should be treated as such, but the first thing I noticed was the bitter and highly carbonated mouthfeel. It was dry, smoky, with less chocolate than I was expecting. It most closely resembled chewing on a coffee bean; more bitter than anything. The feel wasn’t flat, but rather the taste. I thought I must have served it too cold so I waited a few minutes. And waited. And waited….and still, an even slight sweetness wasn’t there. I suppose it got slightly sweeter after a few minutes, but it was more or less flat tastes of bitter cocoa, oat, alcohol and coffee. It wasn’t very rich.
I’m not writing off Rogue by any means. It could be a bad bottle; I might have served it incorrectly. I don’t know, but I have to admit I was hoping for a little bit more drinkable beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2005 03:52:26 | More by sinistrsam

jwc215

New Jersey

3.18/5  rDev -24.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

650 ml bottle, "Made with imported chocolate" stamped on bottle.

Pours almost black with a foamy tan head that descends to a thin cover.

The smell is of sweet chocolate with some cherry notes.

The taste is of bittersweet chocolate truffle upfront. Slightly chalky. Some metallic/plastic notes. Opposite of descriptiion - start off sweeter and ends more bitter. Not too fond of the way the Cascade hops work together with the dark malt and chocolate.

The feel is a bit thinner than expected, but holds up decently. Doesn't quite coat the mouth the way I would like it to.

I love chocolate and stouts, but this one doesn't thrill me. I much prefer the Shakespeare Stout.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2007 00:21:31 | More by jwc215

JISurfer

South Carolina

3.2/5  rDev -23.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

I think I got a bad bottle or something, cause I got no choclate in this whole beer. The most I got was a heavy bite from hops, which I don't care for too much. I have had the Brooklyn Chocolate Stout and that blows this one away, as far as balanced out malts and hops, as well as taste. This one was way too hoppy for me and had little balance. I got very little malts in it at all, which was a huge let down. The best thing about this brew, for me, was the apperance. This is simply one of the best looking beers you will ever see. Nice head retention and super dark color. The color was so beautiful, I couldn't see through it, so that's a plus in my book. Other than that, this was below average, as far as chocolate stouts go. I couldn't finish the bomber, and that says a lot to me.

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2003 07:53:02 | More by JISurfer

LPorter33

Massachusetts

3.2/5  rDev -23.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

22oz bomber from Martignetti's

Appearance = Beautiful dark, ruby brown, close to black as you can get. Great 1.5'' head, thick and creamy, faded to 1/4'', decent lacing.

Smell = Deep, dark chocolate with robust toasted malt. Fainter and lighter than expeected but what's there is good. I expected it to be much more intense.

Taste = Disappointing given the hype. Chocolate is there but overwhelmed by a sourness that drowns out the other flavors.While I like hoppy flavors this sourness feels wrong on every level, especially in this particular style. This feels like a mismatch that isn't balanced. It's not bad though with average taste and drinkability but very disappotining given the huge expectations. The mouthfeel is also thin and watery, not what I'd expect from a stout.

Overall = An OK stout that I draink with apathy. I can't really recommend it, , but it's worth a try for stout fans.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2005 03:05:00 | More by LPorter33

DavoleBomb

Ohio

3.2/5  rDev -23.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured into a pint glass.

4.0 A: Pitch black color. Two fingers of brown head, which starts out really foamy and dies down to frothy. Good retention and lots of lacing.

4.5 S: Nose is full of bittersweet chocolate. Real chocolate, not artificial. I feel like I'm in Hershey, PA. Pretty one dimensional, but it's a good dimension.

3.0 T: Taste is a huge letdown. The burst of chocolate in the nose is nowhere as strong as I expected or would have liked. I would liken it to drinking a Coke with ice and letting all the ice melt. The diluted coke is worse than either coke or water. Thus, this beer would be better if the chocolate were ramped up or completely removed. Suprisingly bitter and much less malty than I would have expected.

2.5 M: Light body, which is the exact opposite of what I would want in a chocolate beer. A bit overly carbonated too. Not creamy at all.

2.5 D: Based on the appearance and smell I was expecting something akin to ST Choklat. The taste and mouthfeel eliminated that thought on the first sip. This is a bad beer, which could easily be salvaged by ramping up the chocolate flavors and thickening the mouthfeel.

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2009 06:12:13 | More by DavoleBomb

scottfrie

California

3.2/5  rDev -23.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

22oz bottle into Delirium Tremens glass. Split with friends.

A: Pours a flat black with thick dark brown head that slowly faded into a thin film that left a million specs of sticky lace down the glass.
S: Dominant whiffs of dark chocolate with a hint of smoke and grassy hops.
T: Not as potent as I was expecting. Smooth hints of chocolate and coco with a light grassiness to the finish. Aftertaste has a touch of smoke.
M: Rather watery actually. The body is a bit disappointing but this beer is still smooth and the carbonation is milky and creamy.
D: Not a bad stout, but I'm not sure if it is top 100 worthy. Definitely an easy drinker, but in my opinion there are much better.

Serving type: bottle

10-12-2010 00:08:19 | More by scottfrie

chickenm

British Columbia (Canada)

3.2/5  rDev -23.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours dark brown with a fluffy tan head and some sediment. Aroma is basically just sweet chocolate, can't smell much else. Not a fan of the taste, it's mostly chocolate cocoa and a little burnt coffee. Mouthfeel is a little light but decent enough. Overall this one was a let down, I'd prefer it if it wasn't completely dominated by the chocolate.

Serving type: bottle

04-23-2011 01:33:57 | More by chickenm

ChadQuest

Illinois

3.23/5  rDev -22.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A overpowering strong chocolate impression that doesnt go the route of cloying sweetness and surupy, cool. This happens by using a more roasted coco powder format then a nestle sweet style like Choklat and other personally offensive beers. So take roasted oat flavors and light hoppy brightness and use it to tame cut through the sweetness, this is the lesson other brewers need to learn too.

A decent bomber to pick up to try, it's enjoyable.

Chad

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2010 06:32:49 | More by ChadQuest

ThisWangsChung

Maryland

3.23/5  rDev -22.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

Portion of a 22 oz bottle into a regular glass.

A: Pours a dark burgundy color with good opacity. The head is a two finger mocha shade. Good lacing is left down the glass.

S: There's a decent chocolate character backed by some roasted malts and citrusy hops. The chocolate is sweet, though a touch off putting. Far from bad, though.

T: Chocolate gives way to a roasted barley finish, laced with some bitter hops. It strikes a better balance than the double version. All in all, the flavor profile is simple, but not cloying.

M: It's dry and light...at first. This initial sensation cleanses the chocolate sweetness well, however it doesn't fully clean it up. Therefore, it strikes me as unfocused, as it's caught between 'dessert beer' or 'drinkable dry stout'. Drinkable, though.

O: This would make a rock-solid everyday stout if it were A) in 6 packs and B) less expensive. It's still a decent offering, and better than the double.

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2013 21:54:17 | More by ThisWangsChung

lordofthewiens

Maine

3.25/5  rDev -22.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This poured a very dark brown, almost black with a substantial cafe au lait head. It had a sweet, chocolate odor. The taste was a little off-putting. It was very sweet, almost too sweet for me, and had a pronounced chocolate taste, It felt very carbonated in my mouth, and wasn't as substantial as I expected.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2006 20:05:19 | More by lordofthewiens

jaxon53

Connecticut

3.25/5  rDev -22.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Served this at just about cellar temperature, into a pint glass, from a twenty two ounce brown bottle.

Appearance: This one pours out a deep midnight black, that looks to be like a spent motor oil, and not a single ray of light could pass through. About two and a half fingers of mocha brown head formed. Head was thick and creamy and just seemed to hang there forever. Great head retention leaves generous gobs of thick lace behind.

Smell: Aroma is thick with milky chocolate, some roasted/toasted malts and oat aromas. A bit of licorice and brown sugar are in there as well along with a hint of hops. The aroma of this beer is quite strong.

Taste: I really prefer the smell of this beer to the taste. The choclate isn't really rich and creamy like it is in the smell, and has an almost burnt flavor to it. A bit of coffee and caramel come out from the background. A rich maltiness with just a touch of hops. Not quite what I expected, I guess my expectations were set a bit high.

Mouthfeel: Mouthfeel is very thin. No chewiness or thickness here. Almost watery.

Drinkability: Decent drinkability, but lacking some body here. A very middle of the road in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

02-10-2008 17:47:23 | More by jaxon53

HatTrick

Washington

3.25/5  rDev -22.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: Was a very nice and typical black with a creamy head. Reduced down quickly to a very thin fingernail.

S: Smelled like coffee, chocolate, and cloves.

T: Really strong chocolate - very bitter. Mild coffee flavor, weak on the malts. The bitter chocolate was very over-powering and kinda killed the normally yummy malts.

M: Was good mouthfeel for a stout. I liked the thickness of it.

D: Was pretty good with food. Wasn't that fantastic by itself.

Serving type: on-tap

02-15-2009 06:11:41 | More by HatTrick

bulletrain76

California

3.25/5  rDev -22.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Draught at The Red in Santa Cruz. Black with a dense tan head. The aroma is super chocolate powered; leaning a little toward the dark side, but still milky and creamy. The flavor takes that and adds in a roasted bitterness that doesn't completely blend, but works out alright. The body is a little thin, but pretty smooth. This is a really nice smelling beer, with a pretty good flavor to back it up, but the chocolate and roasted malt don't seem to gel as well as they could

Serving type: on-tap

05-11-2009 23:28:44 | More by bulletrain76

Invisoclam

Florida

3.25/5  rDev -22.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

My wife and I have tried this one several times,including buying it from the local Whole Foods where it is kept cold, and well it has been bitter every time -so it is either my wife and I's taste buds or just the way this one is. Everything else about it is pretty good - juts always seems to be bitter.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2010 20:43:40 | More by Invisoclam

harrymel

Washington

3.25/5  rDev -22.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.5

Bottled: Unk

A: Pours a nice dark brown ale with a single finger of fine latte head. This dissipates over several minutes to a thick sheet of the same. cobweb lacing. Excellent clarity when one can see light.

S: Milk chocolate, cocoa, dark malts. Sweet, raisins, some hints of prune. Slightest metallic scent. A little yeast on the finish.

T: Nose>taste. Dry, dirty, slightly bitter. Some coffee grounds. The milk chocolate is left behind and only the bittersweet baker's chocolate is left in the finish. For a stout the flavors don't add up to much IMO.

M: Medium to thin with moderate carbonation. Would like to see more creaminess in the body, a bit too dry on the palate.

O: Everything seems to go great until the taste, then things don't go so well. I think the flavor is a bit one-dimensional and fails to highlight the chocolate as adverted. The body is thin and forgetful. Not a beer of fame for me.

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2011 15:54:07 | More by harrymel

tjthresh

Indiana

3.28/5  rDev -21.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

22 ounce bottle. Almost opaque black with a lasting frothy light brown head. Nice looking. Pretty light on the aroma side. The chocolate comes of like obvious extract to me. Theres some slight coffee, and a good punch of hops in the flavor. Palate is okay. easy to drink. Not something I'd want to drink again though.

Serving type: bottle

02-13-2009 17:52:32 | More by tjthresh

bierschmecktgut

Massachusetts

3.28/5  rDev -21.7%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Received from tap with shallow head, super dark, not much color when held up to light either.

Smell was faint of burnt coffee and chocolate, minimal aromas leaping off pint. Even after a few swirls I felt the smell could've stood out a bit more.

Very clean, chocolate is immediate with hints of roasted coffee. The bitterness reminded me of unsweetened bakers chocolate rather than any hops. Bitterness was medium on the finish but left a chocolate-coffee aftertaste.

Medium/Heavy body with a typical stout palate coating to the tongue. The creaminess was nice and went down pretty easily.

It paired well with dessert but wouldn't consider as a session beer or anything outside of a dinner/dessert beer.

Serving type: on-tap

03-27-2011 02:42:14 | More by bierschmecktgut

TheAlamoWrocker

Texas

3.28/5  rDev -21.7%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

Reviewed January 1, 2012. Poured a 650 mL bottle into a mug.

A: This poured quite an interesting head, the head was thickly carbonated with over 4 fingers in size. This poured black, but it seemed almost like a black molasses color. Laces quite amazingly.

S: This has a strong chocolate malt smell. The head that stays strong is odd in the smell that it adds because its almost bubbly (to an extent soapy). The chocolate malt oddly comes in strongest during the swallow of the drink.

T: This carries an odd taste in that it's not really sweet. This was a drink that I've heard praise about its chocolatey goodness, but it's not at all what I was hoping for. This carries like a powdery chocolatey taste, extremely malty almost like a fountain malt shake.

M: This hits the tongue heavily carbonated (almost like a soda), but then it transforms into a full bodied thick drink. This definitely carries a nice creamy thickness.

O: I'm not quite sure that this is rated as high as it is. This as a decent taste and all, but it doesn't really feel like a beer. The taste are simply to simple in this.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2012 12:29:22 | More by TheAlamoWrocker

hopbar

New Jersey

3.3/5  rDev -21.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Sal's Bar and Liquor in Wash. Twp., NJ.
22 oz. bottle
Pint Glass

A: Poured black with a real dirty, off-white, fluffy, one finger head.

S: Some great scents: chocolate syrup, roasted coffee beans and toasted oats.

T: Not as sweet as the smell; very burnt and not as much chocolate as expected.

M: Not overly thick but bubbly and carbonated.

D: I was truly looking forward to this one for some time now but it came up a little short. I definitely want to try it on tap to get a second opinion.

Serving type: bottle

02-23-2007 04:01:00 | More by hopbar

tayner

Arizona

3.3/5  rDev -21.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

22 oz bottle

Poured dark, dark brown with tan head

Smelled of chocolate (as the name would imply) and roasted malts.

Tasted of bitter chocolate, earthy hops, and roasted malts. fairly good balance, although slightly bitter for me.

fairly thick, but not oily and not too tongue coating.

Drinkability at 6% is very good, alcohol not dominant, but i am not a huge fan of the bitterness in this one.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2008 23:40:37 | More by tayner

jwhawkins81

Ohio

3.3/5  rDev -21.2%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Aroma - Roasted malts like crystal malts to be specific.

Appearance - Dark brown with a brown tan head that quickly dissipated.

Taste - Roasted malt and then tons of bitter hops and chocolate. Maybe too much bitterness for my taste. I think I'm too sensitive to hops to enjoy this beer. Not enough of the roasted malts to redeem this for me.

Notes - Good mouthfeel with a decent level of carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

11-13-2009 18:26:54 | More by jwhawkins81

hero27

Iowa

3.33/5  rDev -20.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Appearance: 22-ounce bomber. Dark, dark brown in color..very opaque. Very thin brown head even with a vigorous pour.

Smell: Nice smell of roasted coffee and obvious chocolate aroma.

Taste: Tastes strongly of dark chocolate and very apparent roasted flavor. The roasted malts are good, but maybe a little too much? I dunno, the taste just let me down a little given the other offerings I've had from Rogue. I didn't like the combination of bitter coffee and chocolate in this one and didn't enjoy the aftertaste. I think without the coffee bitterness, I would have enjoyed the taste a lot more.

Mouthfeel: Decent carbonation from this one, but the body is definitely fairly full. Soft, creamy finish.

Drinkability: The thick body and full flavors make this one beer you won't be drinking in large quantities.

Overall, I think other Rogues have spoiled me, because this didn't live up to my expectations like I hoped it would. Either way, I recommend it because it is still a great, very tasty chocolate stout...just not exactly to my taste.

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2004 20:58:54 | More by hero27

BeerCheese

Wisconsin

3.33/5  rDev -20.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Took the bottle from the fridge and poured it right into a clean glass. Completely black with a big brown head. Great head retention and lacing. Almost odorless, which was strange. May have been a hint of chocolate in the smell, or it could just be in my mind because of the name. Medium carbonation with a medium/full body. Seemed a little bland for a stout, but the little bit of flavor that was there was very nice. I could certainly taste the chocolate and roasted malts. Good balance of hops too. No taste of alcohol present. Overall, a slightly above average stout that's very drinkable. I'm still stumped by the lack of smell, though, which really brings the score down for this one.

Serving type: bottle

02-24-2007 04:30:33 | More by BeerCheese