Cocoa Retribution - DuClaw Brewing Company

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

4.1/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The regular version was pretty sweet with plenty of chocolate as I recall, so God alone knows what this will be like.

On tap at Max's today.

The beer pours a blackish brown color with good head retention and lacing. On the nose, what a surprise, I get a boatlaod of chocolate and vanilla. This beer really smells like cocoa krispies, which I guess is OK (albeit a bit unexpeted). There's also some underlying coffee as well, but the chocolate and vanilla clearly dominate in this beer. On the palate... good grief. The beer is delicious, don't get me wrong, but is it really necessary to make it this sweet? In any event, I get considerable chocolate, cherry cough drop, vanilla and bourbon on the palate. That's all great, but the sweetness is just completely over the top. Mouthfeel is full, with a long, incredibly sweet, somewhat boozy finish. Alcohol is noticeable, all the more so with this level of sweetness. Still, while a bit cloying, the alcohol is manageable in this beer.

Can't imagine ever drinking more than the 4 ounce sample size I got today at Max's. This is literally too much of a good thing.

Serving type: on-tap

05-18-2012 20:08:36 | More by johnmichaelsen