Cordillera Blanca (White Chocolate Ale) - Sonoran Brewing Company

johnnnniee

New Hampshire

3.31/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3.25

Bottle received in trade from EyePeeAyBryan, thanks for the opportunity!
Pours a fairly clear medium straw with a huge fluffy white head that fills half the glass amd takes forever to recede. Serious over carbonation from this bottle and it was opened at fridge temp. After everything settles down the aroma is lightly spicy with some light sweet males and a subtle but present chocolate aroma. The flavor is a mildly sugary sweet with a bit of sharp spice and a mild chocolate flavor. Medium body with an asinine level of carbonation and a sweet bubbly mouthfeel. Decent brew once everything settles down, not horribly complex, but a nice drinker.

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2013 01:44:15 | More by johnnnniee

JerzDevl2000

New Jersey

4.13/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

So I'm the Total Wine a few miles from my hotel in Arizona last week and ask the person working what I should try while I'm out west for vacation. A few minutes later, I get this placed into my hand see the price of $5.99. "Looks interesting", I said, as I placed it aside for checkout later on. Sure enough, it was...when I finally got around to this a few days later. I wouldn't call it a dessert beer but this would have certainly fit the bill, as it was unlike anything I ever had before and was a perfect end to a day of watching baseball and soaking up the sun!

The pour to this was nice , with a golden hue, fluffy head, and somewhat decent lacing to match. Not a strong aroma here and both the hops and wheat weren't that present. Lots of white chocolate kicked in the mouthfeel though, with a hint of tangerine, wheat, and oil. This was a very wet beer that had the feeling of something complex without the booze, espresso, or spice that I thought might be found here. It almost tasted like a light Hefeweizen with a somewhat drier finish because of the chocolate.

This went down so quickly because of how easily enjoyable it was and the low alcoholic content. I always wondered why more beers don''t have this as a feature and after enjoying this, it's only more apparent that this shouldn't be such a rarity on the shelf. For the warmer months, this would be wonderful as a dessert or with some citrus fruits. The wheat and chocolate balanced each other nicely and left me wanting more in the end!

Serving type: bottle

03-18-2013 08:47:35 | More by JerzDevl2000

vfgccp

New York

3.75/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Unbelievable cap of creamy white foam. One of the best heads I've seen in a long time. Stellar retention and thick, chunky lace. Cream soda body.

S - Dusty short bread, Hershey's cookies and cream candy bars, unripe blueberries.

T - A ton of the nose comes through in the flavor profile. Short bread, Oreo cream, hay, white chocolate, dr. Brown's cream soda.

M - Nice carbonation with a creamy, medium-light body.

O - A really clever take on an AWA; the white chocolate works surprisingly well, and the brewers were dead on with their seafood pairing recommendations. Nice job.

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2013 01:51:13 | More by vfgccp

AnotherImperial

Arizona

4.16/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

It is what it says it is. Smells like white chocolate and tastes like white chocolate. Though I only consume stouts, I somehow found this beer to be very unique and drinkable. It is also interesting to mix a bit of this into a chocolate or coffee stout.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2013 23:47:16 | More by AnotherImperial

nickfl

Florida

3.3/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - pours with a small head of white foam on top of a clear, golden body. The head settles rapidly and leaves light lace.

S - bready malt, vanilla, and chocolate.

T - grainy malt with some spicy wheat notes up front. An oily chocolate note in the middle with some vanilla and honey in the finish.

M - medium body, moderate carbonation, and a somewhat dry finish.

D - it is somewhat odd to find chocolate added to a light colored beer, but it works reasonably well. Nothing complex, but drinkable.

Serving type: on-tap

03-27-2012 05:50:34 | More by nickfl

cosmicevan

New York

3.95/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

many thanks to trappistlover for tossing this one my way many, many, MANY moons ago. been looking at this in the fridge for a LONG time. tonight it called my name. hopefully the age hasn't harmed it.

a - opened and filled my blue point snifter. poured a pale transparent straw yellow with a generous fizzy head made up of millions of tiny bubbles stacked upon each other. champagne like carbonation danced to the surface.

s - like a chocolate bar. very subtle.

t - pretty unassuming. white chocolate. i LOVE me some white chocolate, interesting to have in a beer, but it works. some wheat in there.

m - crisp. a touch fizzy. leaves my mouth feeling like i ate some white chocolate. very light and spring like, but still beery. sweet though.

o - overall, as a fan of white chocolate, this is cool. don't know why it took so long to pop it. not at all what i was expecting, but enjoyable. not sure if the age effected this one or not, been in the fridge for a while...but the white chocolate still shines through. i'd have this again. really unique...and cool.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2012 04:36:06 | More by cosmicevan

Phelps

Arizona

3.7/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Enjoyed at Antar's, shaker pint.

Perfectly clear pale gold, with a half finger of fuzzy pure white head. Thin, silky top layer.

In the nose, white chocolate and lots of it. In fact, crumbled white chocolate is pretty much the only noticeable aroma. Maybe some sweet, wort-like malt as well.

Lots of white chocolate in the flavor as well, mixed with substantial toasted biscuits and earthy hops. Sweet and grainy.

Light, crisp body. Fairly high carbonation, smooth fizz. Bright and sparkly.

Interesting. Sonoran White Chocolate is a great introductory craft beer for the ladies, and fun to mix with stouts. Hard to have more than one glass, though.

Serving type: on-tap

01-09-2012 05:11:49 | More by Phelps

AgentZero

Illinois

3.48/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Interesting concept for a beer, a which chocolate Wheat Ale.

A - Golden colored beer with a white head that faded leaving some random lacework on the sides.

S - Well, there's a kind of chocolate smell here, a little bit skunked, kind of not great.

T - It tastes like white chocolate. Pretty interesting, and very different. I'm not a huge white chocolate fan, but it's good for what it is.

M - Lighter bodied beer, moderate carbonation.

O - This is fine for what it is, although I don't really care a ton for it. Interesting to try, but that's about it.

Serving type: bottle

09-30-2011 03:34:26 | More by AgentZero

ccrida

Oregon

3.98/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bomber poured into a tall tumbler, Sonoran White Chocolate Ale is gold with thin off-white head that leaves light, scattered lace.

Smell is pretty intense white chocolate, exactly as advertised.

Taste is also rather big on the chocolate. A light grainy, wheat background, light cereal sweetness. Interesting, tasty. Nice to see such a refreshing take on a chocolate beer, like Fantôme's, but with more chocolate and less base beer.

Mouthfeel is a bit dry, crisp, with a light body.

Drinkability is pretty high, a flavorful, hot weather quaffer. I'd tire of the chocolate if I had another bomber, but the one was quite pleasant.

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2011 04:41:32 | More by ccrida

mikereaser

Pennsylvania

3.63/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Reviewing this beer as part of the Blind BIF 4 from Phelps.

Poured into a tulip as per instructions from a brown paper bagged 22 oz. bottle

This one pours a very hazy straw yellow with lots of bright white foarm that has no intention of leaving the party.

The aroma really caught me off guard and I went back to the cupboard to make sure it wasn't the glasses that carried the aroma. I'm picking up a very strong chocolate aroma, sweet chocolate candy bar type aroma.

Again, the flavor is very interesting and unexpected. The chocolate flavor is there but not as prevelant, kind of hiding in the background peeking its head out to say hi and then disappearing again. There is also a slight grainy taste and a bit of lemon and maybe orange. Its just an interesting flavor overall.

It has a very lively mouthfeel but then finishes flat at the end. Its very light bodied

I just have no guesses whatsoever for this.
off rips the paper bag like a cheap dress...
Sonoran Brewing Company White Chocolate Ale
So i'm not completely crazy after all. It has a really interesting flavor, just not sure i'd want to make it a regular, but it sure was a nice twist to throw my way.

4/4/3.5/3.5/3.5

Serving type: bottle

03-05-2011 05:44:26 | More by mikereaser

TurdFurgison

Ohio

3.4/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

22oz bottle courtesy of Jale, thanks Jim. A white chocolate wheat ale from Arizona. The cap came off with a gush, not too fast and easy to catch if you're ready for it. It looks like a pale wheat ale I guess, golden color with a little haze, lots of foam.

It doesn't exactly smell like white chocolate, but I didn't get any horribly off aromas like it sounds others did. But the taste is very much white chocolate. You get what's advertised on this one, but for me the flavor gets tiresome. I liked the first few sips but then wanted to move on.

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2010 02:02:20 | More by TurdFurgison

jrallen34

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

22oz bottle provided by Jale at Jackie O's. Thanks for the Arizona tick and a unique beer. This beer just sounds terrible and if not for the Arizona tick I wouldn't have tried it. However, this is an amazing surprise...Gusher warning. Pops with lots of thin foamy white head, light off white poor lacing. A lightly clear gold, not much to look at...The aroma is terrible, skunky, fake, as generic as it sounds. No hope for this at all...The taste is amazing. Its not amazing great or highly drinkable but it tastes EXACTLY like white chocolate. This is a very skillfully crafted beer. Its dominated by white chocolate, nothing else comes through, but luckily its not so sweet you can't drink.

If you like white chocolate and sweeter beers by all means give this a shot. Not close to being a great beer, but worth trying.

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2010 23:36:30 | More by jrallen34