Chocolate Rain - The Bruery

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BA SCORE
99
world-class
-
606 Ratings

rAvg: 4.5
pDev: 11.56%
Reviews: 191
Hads: 415

Ratings Help

Brewed by:
The Bruery

California, United States

Style | ABV
American Double / Imperial Stout | 19.50% ABV

Availability: Rotating. bottle (149), cask (28), on-tap (14).

Notes:
Black Tuesday with Vanilla Bean & Cocoa Nibs.

2011: 18.5% ABV
2012: 19.5% ABV

View: Beers (69) | Reviews (50) | Events (0)

Reviews

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Reviews by brystmar:

brystmar

Texas

4.8/5 rDev +6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 5

HUGE thanks to blatantdream for gifting me one of my whales! Shared this 2010 bottle at a tasting last month, reviewed from notes. Opened alongside Black Tuesday '10 for comparison.

Looks about the same as BT, not quite as much head, but who cares? Time to subtract arbitrary beer geek points for something that in no way detracted from my enjoyment.

Massive aroma emanates from my glass upon first pouring and remained potent for hours afterwards as I savored my pour. So incredibly much going on here, but the overwhelming scent is heavily vanilla and reminds me of vanilla cake frosting. Specifically, red frosting. Caramel, booze, cocoa, some roasted malts too. But yeah, cake batter & frosting out the wazoo!

Loved this aroma so much -- I kept about 1oz in my glass for the rest of the night and took a whiff every few minutes. On par with the best aromas I've ever experienced (Morning Wood & Passionfruit Berliner from FB, Cable Car Kriek). Where are the Chocolate Rain scented candles?

Taste is decadent; layers of flavor with strong vanilla leading the charge again. Deeply roasted malts, caramel, chocolate, toffee, dark fruits, and plenty of booze. The alcohol doesn't bite at all; rather, it blends in with the other flavors exceptionally well and warms nicely as it descends too. Again: vanilla cake frosting. *Red* cake frosting.

Flavor profile was shockingly different from its base beer (Black Tuesday) -- to the extent that I never would have known they shared the same base just from tasting them both. Also, the huge, creamy body from BT'10 was somehow absent in Chocolate Rain. Needs a LOT more body to carry this much flavor. No idea how it disappeared either, but its return is needed! :)

Overall, this is one of the best beers I've ever consumed. Glad I got to share it with a great group of BAs too! Met or exceeded all of my expectations, minus the body. Cannot wait to sample it on draft this weekend at the Bruery Reserve Society event, and I'm excited about the bottles I'm getting from this year's batch!

Serving type: bottle

03-13-2012 05:26:11 | More by brystmar

More User Reviews:

taylor714914

Pennsylvania

3.5/5 rDev -22.2%

06-18-2013 23:07:11 | More by taylor714914

Hefewiseman

Florida

5/5 rDev +11.1%

06-16-2013 02:05:28 | More by Hefewiseman

MrNate

Florida

5/5 rDev +11.1%

06-16-2013 02:04:40 | More by MrNate

afallon86

California

4.25/5 rDev -5.6%

06-15-2013 09:15:54 | More by afallon86

zestar

California

4.5/5 rDev 0%

06-14-2013 08:09:51 | More by zestar

mhenson42

Texas

4.5/5 rDev 0%

06-13-2013 00:40:34 | More by mhenson42

DrJoe82

Illinois

4.75/5 rDev +5.6%

06-12-2013 21:37:54 | More by DrJoe82

Schlais

Minnesota

4.5/5 rDev 0%

06-12-2013 01:13:48 | More by Schlais

sarge27

California

4.5/5 rDev 0%

06-11-2013 04:56:01 | More by sarge27

jimmy82063

Connecticut

4.78/5 rDev +6.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

2013 Version, poured into a Bruery Tulip.

A) - Jet black with a head that quickly dissipates. Small amount of foam rings the glass.

S) - Chocolate, vanilla, bourbon and Oak.

T) Really digging this the chocolate is semi sweet and it is complimented by the vanilla. The bourbon is very pronounced. This does not drink like an 18% beer. The alcohol heat is well muted and only shows up a bit at the end. Still though this is a sipper as you want to keep the experience going.

M) Velvety smooth.

O) An experience I was glad to have had!

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2013 21:35:53 | More by jimmy82063

ezperkins2

California

4.5/5 rDev 0%

06-10-2013 19:46:00 | More by ezperkins2

homersapien619

California

4.5/5 rDev 0%

06-10-2013 19:44:25 | More by homersapien619

truthcontortion

Ohio

4.75/5 rDev +5.6%

06-10-2013 15:48:17 | More by truthcontortion

ThickNStout

Georgia

4.86/5 rDev +8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75

750mL bottle acquired through the Reserve Society. The Bruery has apparently stopped bottle dating but this is the 2013 vintage just released in April. Served in a Red Brick snifter.

Pours jet black with about one finger of brown head. Head receds to a tiny halo which doesn't lace. Swirling my glass shows nice thick legs that fade slowly.

Smells incredible! Bourbon chocolate cake and vanilla dominate with oak, roast and booze thrown in.

The nose, while excellent, couldn't prepare me for how awesome this tastes. Rich chocolate cake, strong yet smooth bourbon, vanilla bean ice cream, sweet creamed coffee, booze soaked dark fruit, heavy roasted malts, that kind of funky sweet almost signature Bruery yeast character and a little alcohol burn. So freakin delicious with the rich flavors coating my tongue. The alcohol is present but this drinks so smooth like only half of it's 18% abv bill.

Thick, heavy, chewy, viscous feel with light carbonation. Coats the mouth for a long, sweet bourbon chocolate cake aftertaste.

Truly outstanding! This was one of the main reasons I joined the Reserve Society and I couldn't be happier. So rich and full. Even better than the already stellar Black Tuesday. Very highly recommended.

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2013 13:30:39 | More by ThickNStout