Choklat - Southern Tier Brewing Company

waltonc

Colorado

2.25/5  rDev -47.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 1

Review from 4/17/09 notes. Pours black with creamy tan head. The only thing I smell is chocolate. Tastes, again, like bitter, super rich, chocolate. Just absolute chocolate overkill, much like creme brulee is also overkill. Tastes like ST liquified brownies and blended it in with stout. Mouthfeel is thick and creamy with plenty of carbonation. Because of the unbalanced chocolate, this was a drain pour. Unfortunately, the last four Southern Tier brews I've had now - Cuvee One, Creme Brulee, Pumpking, and Choklat - have all been drain pours.

Serving type: bottle

09-17-2009 12:25:47 | More by waltonc

bulletrain76

California

2.3/5  rDev -46.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 1.5

22oz bottle. Dark brown, bordering on black in the glass, with a small, dissipating head. The aroma is super-sweet caramel and chocolate syrup in a dead-on Hershey's impression; add on some marzipan and hazelnut. That in itself is interesting to say the least. The flavor is shockingly sweet chocolate syrup, light roasted malt husk, and smooth alcohol. The body is full and sticky, with low carbonation. In all honesty, this was interesting in how well it impersonated Hersheys syrup, but it did not make for a good beer; no complexity or anything nearing balance, just all sweet sugary alcoholic syrup. Definitely couldn't finish a bomber of this.

Rerate: Interesting experiment: I had half a bomber of this left last night, even after having two of my roommates take a shot at it as well, so I froze it overnight. This evening I partially thawed it and poured off the flat, concentrated remains. Holy chocolate liqueur! You could make a mean choco-tini with this stuff. I would have, but I seem to have misplaced my chocolate vodka as well as already pouring this down the drain. Maybe I could have made chocolate pudding with this?

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2009 22:38:50 | More by bulletrain76

Arbitrator

California

2.33/5  rDev -45.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1.5

Re-review of a lightly chilled bomber into a glass. Received from Buddha22 in a recent trade. Thanks man.

A: Pours a pitch black in the glass, with a surprisingly light tan head that rises to half a finger in height. Retention is short; the head collapses into a very thin collar, with no lacing.

S: They're serious about this bad boy. Plenty of bittersweet chocolate in the nose; there's a roasted, grainy quality to it, but I can't pick up much else. It's quite inviting, if a bit one-dimensional.

T: The taste initially promises to be one-dimensional, as well. But it shapes up quite nicely. Lots of chocolate on the initial taste; it's milky, but there are some darker bittersweet elements to be found, too. A small roasted malt presence introduces coffee-like counterbalance. This is a very fresh bottle, and the hops are noticeable; they contribute an herbal, almost tannic bitterness that carries a light astringency into the aftertaste. The beer is far from saccharine, which is unusual for Southern Tier; just the same, the sweetness builds up, especially halfway through the bottle.

M: Full-bodied and chewy. Definitely a warming stout; the ABV is noticeable but hardly dominant in the flavor. As mentioned above, the beer builds on the palate. The low carbonation isn't enough to scrub the residual flavor, but the bitter, almost tannic hoppiness (sure to fade in non-fresh bottles) contrasts it a bit.

D: Unfortunately, I wound up drinking a bomber of this alone. The first few sips were tasty, but they became progressively heavier and sweeter by the middle of the bottle, and I threw out the second half. I think this experience has beaten any future craving I might have had for Choklat out of me.

Serving type: bottle

02-19-2011 07:38:43 | More by Arbitrator

scott

Ohio

2.42/5  rDev -43.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 1.5

V.07

Dark & viscous, with subdued carbonation after an intial explosion. Hershey's syrup in the nose, and not much different with the taste. Buying an offering given the name, I was expecting copious amounts of chocolate. It's there, and not much more is going on, aside from some rounded lactic notes. No real complexity. This finishes with a nasty, bitter aftertaste. I'm glad I didn't stockpile.
I like the experimental aspect, but this doesn't taste much different than your friend's concoction where melted chocolate was simply poured and blended into a beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2008 02:24:45 | More by scott

bskrtz

Illinois

2.5/5  rDev -41.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Pured from bomber, served cold -- approx. 40 degrees

A: A rather flat, pitch black bold coffee. Not cloudy or yeasty, just black

S: Burnt chocolate, bitter herbs, a sort of sour mash note as well

T: Truthfully, I was let down. Rather flat, lacks carbonation. Dark, bitter chocolate dominates or rather over powers.

M: Dense and chewy.

This is a unique style, that does have an air of quality -- may appeal to some, but was not for me.

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2009 01:10:31 | More by bskrtz

piakiev

New York

2.53/5  rDev -40.9%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Poured into a us tumbler

A: Black, can only see a bit of red if held up to a bright light. Thick head about 4 fingers tall that persisted for a long time

S: Strong chocolate smell, smells like alcohol. I did not like the smell.

T: Very sweet, bitter chocolately flavor, then turns into a malty flavor then dominated by alcohol.

M: At first very smooth and thick then again dominated by alcohol.

O: If I wanted to get drunk I would drink a 22oz bottle of this as it has plenty of alcohol. A lot of people really like this beer so take my review with a grain of salt, but I really didn't care for it, I found the smell, taste, and mouthfeel all dominated by alcohol.

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2012 16:39:57 | More by piakiev

ampzilla

Massachusetts

2.55/5  rDev -40.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 2

As dark as can be with half inch tan head. Minimal lacing.
Smell, well, exactly like chocolate Necco waffers. Not bad, per say, just not "quality" chocolate.
The taste was more of the same. All bland sweet chocolate with just a bit of alcohol and bitterness in the finish. Bad aftertaste that was a real flem machine.
Really the only good thing I can say is this one is it has got a rich and full mouthfeel. Almost creamy in texture.
I can understand some people digging this for beer floats or whatever, but otherwise it is way over-hyped IMO.
No interest in finishing the bottle, but the wife was happy to.

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2008 02:33:05 | More by ampzilla

FatheadBrew

Wisconsin

2.58/5  rDev -39.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

A: Pours a deep black with some ruby highlights. Foam is almost non-existant

S: Chocolate. Basically thats it. Some malt and alcohol coming through, but not much else

T: I've noticed other people referring to the cheapness of the chocolate taste. It took me a couple of sips to identify it, but finally it came to me. This tastes exactly like a chocolate tootsie roll pop. Kind of a "fake" chocolate taste. Overpowers all else.

M: Low for an IS. Kind of watery.

D: I struggled to get through the whole 22 oz bottle.

Overall, I would say this is my least favorite IS that I have tried. I wouldn't recommend it...unless you love tootsie roll pops.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2008 03:32:14 | More by FatheadBrew

JDV

Texas

2.73/5  rDev -36.2%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Thanks to jjpm74 for the bottle.
Hmm, another disappointment from Southern Tier... From a brewery I have always been excited about trying beers from, I haven't had a single one I would ever get again, from them and this was no different... Pours a rich black, with only slight shades of ruby coming through, and next to no head which didn't last even from a vigorous pour. Smell is very light alcohol and cheap chocolate and an artificial chemical component. Reminds me of the Shenandoah Chocolate Donut Beer in a bad way... Taste is somewhat rich, fake chocolate again and little else. Moderately balanced bittersweetness with a nice mouthfeel and light carbonation, but when its coming from something that smells like cheap melted hersheys, wax and preservatives, who cares? If you're going to add this much of some outside ingredient aside from the actual brewing process, you ought to make it fresh, or high quality, and I don't get the impression they did that at all here. Drinkable, but I would never recommend this as more than a mere novelty.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2008 02:24:18 | More by JDV

praufs01

Pennsylvania

2.8/5  rDev -34.6%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Appearance - Very dark with a creamy mocha colored head.

Aroma - Dark chocolate dominates the nose.

Mouth feel - Full bodied stout with small bubble carbonation.

Taste - Bitter bakers chocolate with an alcohol finish.

Overall - It smells much better than it tastes. The bitterness of the dark chocolate is overwhelming and in my opinion ruins the experience.

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2008 04:38:04 | More by praufs01

BitterPachyderm

Indiana

2.88/5  rDev -32.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

A HUGE thanks goes out SBALDWIN for this controversial brew. I owe you one buddy!

I couldn't find a freshness date on the bottle, but did read a nice little snippit about the Mayans and xocoatl (ch-co-atle). Let's do this!

I poured it into an oversized wine glass despite wanting to pour it into the usual pint glass. The bottle told me not to...this bomber poured an opaque black with a thin brown head that bubbles and fades as fast as it took me to type this out. A little ring of brown creams leaves a minute amount of sticky lacing. This is one DARK brew!

I think I smell a Tootsie Roll...there are lots of super sweet chocolates in the nose. Smells spectacular! It's almost synthetic, however, which leads to some notes of oats and leather that make it through.

Where did the chocolate go? It's a malty mess with only a hint of burnt chocolate. I was expecting sweet and instead I get hit with this burnt, bitter, fakeness...from the supposed chocolate I presume.

The mouthfeel is way too thin for an impy stout. It seems they went a bit overboard on the carbonation too. It bites the tongue and holds it prisoner, and not in the good way either.

There is no way this can be percieved as drinkable. The alcohol might not be present, but the overwhelming power of the fake chocolate and burnt malts kills any chance of this beer being quaffed, let alone enjoyed in my book.

I wanted so badly to like (LOVE) this beer, I really did. I've just begun my imperial stout journey and this beer has got me a bit nervous. This brew was just too one dimensional for me. I was expecting chocolate cake in a bottle and instead I got a smellavision hologram with no substance...huge letdown. I might be stupid for saying this, but I am curious about it's cellaring prospects. I normally give a beer a second chance and unfortunately (or fortunately, it depends on the outcome) this beer is no exception.

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2009 00:38:13 | More by BitterPachyderm

biglite351

Pennsylvania

2.9/5  rDev -32.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

A - tall dark tan head. A bit more Ted around the edges than I would expect from a chocolate imperial stout.

S - smells of a mix of chocolates. Quick mix mostly though, some expensive truffels, and a Hershey bar tossed on for good luck

T - actially, too much chocolate for me. I can not fault it for that though since that is what this brew is about. Multiple chocolate typemixed together in liquid form, with a mild alcohol finish

M - mild coating and only a slight alcohol burn in the throat.

D - not my bag, only as a potential "dessert wine" type of thing.

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2010 02:06:58 | More by biglite351

trumpetego

Massachusetts

2.93/5  rDev -31.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

This beer was recommended to me by a co-worker, so I was very excited when I had the opportunity to try it on tap at The Lower Depths in Boston.
Poured into a 12oz tulip glass, this beer was pitch black with a small off-white head. The head dissipated after a few minutes, but provided nice lacing all the way down.
Smell is of sweet chocolate. Not much else. The tiniest hint of hops is detected in the nose as the beer warms.
Taste is very sweet, intense chocolate. Something like chocolate milk, and (sorry, Southern Tier) about as complex. I didn't get much from this other than chocolate. That's fine if that's all they were going for, but I wish there was something else to this beer. A bit of alchohol? Some hop bitterness? After a while the sweetness gets to be a little overpowering. Too ST's credit, the alchohol is very well hidden. It isn't detectable in the nose or the taste.
Mouthfeel is thick, as a double stout should be.
I didn't find this to be very drinkable. With a tart desert it would be excellent, but on it's own I found it to be a struggle to finish the glass. Although I couldn't smell or taste the 11% alchohol, I could certainly feel it by the time I was done with this beer.

Serving type: on-tap

01-21-2008 03:11:16 | More by trumpetego

ATPete

New Jersey

2.93/5  rDev -31.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

22oz bottle

Pours an inky black color with a small brown head. Nose of pure chocolate Tootsie Roll pops, not much else either. Its very impressive how aromatic ST got the chocolate character to be. Thick, dark bitter chocolate invades the tongue, initially this beer is very nice, creamy and semisweet, however, mid to late palate a huge bitter wave packing lots of alcohol heat totally catches you by surprise. Ive never seen a better bitter beer face on a few of my friends. The aftertaste of burnt chocolate malt lingers for quite a while. Full bodied, slightly coating, id had enough after my 4oz. serving.

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2008 01:37:44 | More by ATPete

OtherShoe2

Massachusetts

2.95/5  rDev -31.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Pours jet black with a thin tan head that was gone in an instant.

Smell is hershey syrup, a whiff of alcohol, and some roasted malt, but by far the dominance is the chocolate.

First sip is as if you mixed hershey syrup with vodka. You get some roasted malt in there, but chocolate dominates -- very strong. I looked for a sweetness and a bitterness, and there is a fine balance here. Sweetness is not sugary, but the sweetness of the malt. Finish is extremely clean, which is a great surprise, as I thought this would be cloying. You just get this light chocolate aftertaste.

A heavier beer that some carbonation -- not much - cuts through. A real sipper.

Drinkability. Have to be honest here, this is a very well made, carefully balanced brew that I half drain poured. Overpowering chocolate syrup flavor made this nearly undrinkable for me. Where's the beer? The boozy chocolate liquor aspect made this a tough one to get down. I could probably share a 22 0z bomber, but could not choke down the entire thing myself. Just my palate, but I'll never buy this again. I think I wasted $9.00.

Serving type: bottle

01-17-2009 16:29:39 | More by OtherShoe2

mugglesandhops

California

2.98/5  rDev -30.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

22oz bottle received in trade. Shared with Davey and a few others. Poured into snifter a Black that was lighter around the edges with a very minimal head and no laceing, very oily looking. Smell was Hershey's chocolate syrup. Taste was the same as the smell but some soy saucy flavors in there as well. I am not a huge fan of this beer. Mouthfeel was fairly thick and oily.

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2009 18:30:08 | More by mugglesandhops

jdg204

Pennsylvania

3.03/5  rDev -29.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Ever since Jahva, Pumking, and Unearthly knocked my fricken socks off I've been jacked up to try this brew! Finally found it, so I had to give it a go.

A: Dark Brown with a light brown head that lasts and lasts as a thin skim.

S: Boozy and Tootsie roll like sweet chocolate too.

T: (Cheap tootsie roll) Chocolate dominates, making up perhaps 90 plus percent of the profile. Touches of roasted malt and crème fill in the rest. Tastes way too sweet and comes off cheap.

M: Boozy but only lightly burning, bittersweet, but still surprisingly light considering the abv.

D: Not good at all. Maybe the most disappointing brew I've ever had considering how excited I was to try this. The cheap chocolate flavor dominate and made this disgustingly sweet. I do have to respect that ST does these extreme brews and goes all out and when you like it they're golden, but this just wasn't for me.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2009 12:04:44 | More by jdg204

mfgeorge

Ontario (Canada)

3.03/5  rDev -29.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A very hard one to review. The first 1/3 was an A beer. The middle 1/3 was a C. The last 1/3 was almost an F, so I'm gonna split the difference here.

Pours to a very dark chocolate brown with a dark tan head that disappeared right away. Smell was heavy bakers chocolate with a bit of booze. The first 1/3, while cold, was one of the best chocolate stouts I've ever had. It was smooth and flavourful without being bitter or boozy. A real dessert beer. It all started to unfold, however, as it warmed. The middle 2/3 was boozy and lost some real dessert appeal. The last 1/3 was just hard to drink. Sweet without being chocolaty. Alcohol not hidden at all. Quite bitter.

At 650ml, it's a big bottle and at 9.5% there is a lot of alcohol to go around; my suggestion, split this with three friends, making sure it's super cold, and you've got a great liquid dessert. But by yourself, as it's packaged now, I say skip it.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2011 21:04:15 | More by mfgeorge

DoctorDog

Ohio

3.05/5  rDev -28.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Presentation: 1 pint 6 oz bottle into a snifter.

A- Deep mahogany / black and opaque. Harsh pour produces ~1 finger medium-brown head, which fades quickly, leaving a thin island and a ring.

S- Sweet milk chocolate/caramel mix, and a slightly earthy note. These odors blend awkwardly with the alcohol kick to an OK, but quite less than stellar effect.

T- A bit of chocolate, and a bit of burned coffee. Fairly astringent/boozy bitterness on the finish. Certainly nothing even remotely resembling the "Hershey bar" or "chocolate syrup" that I've seen mentioned so often in descriptions about this beer. The nose has a lot of chocolate, but in the taste, pretty minimal. The flavor here just isn't working for me.

M- A wee bit watery for a RIS.

D- Too astringent, and ABV% way too high for this one to be very drinkable. If you're going to try this one, I'd split it up amongst 3-4 people and consider it a sipper.

Future outlook: Pretty big disappointment. Highly unlikely that I'll get this again.

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2009 03:46:50 | More by DoctorDog

AgentZero

Illinois

3.05/5  rDev -28.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

A - Jet black with minimal head that quickly disappeared leaving no lacing.

S - It's all chocolate. Slight roasted malt smell, which definately helps, but it's chocolate through and through.

T - I'm not a fan. It's not that it tastes bad, but it pretty much tastes like chocolate milk. If you wanted a chocolate drink with alcohol in it, this would be your drink. Granted, it tastes like good chocolate, but the fact that it is a beer here is not really adding anything to it that makes it stand out from some sort of chocolate beverage. I'd rather do car bombs I think.

M - Medium to heavy bodied, decent carbonation, fairly viscous.

D - Too sweet, it's like desert in a bottle, not bad, but not really beer for my taste.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2010 19:00:52 | More by AgentZero

daythree16

Tennessee

3.08/5  rDev -28%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 2

Split a 22 oz bomber with the wife. Poured into a snifter. Completely black with no head at all. Looks like a glass of motor oil, especially with the brown film it leaves on the glass as I swirl it.

Smell is 90% chocolate, 10% alcohol. That's all I can really get. Taste is bittersweet chocolate with some smokiness followed by a moderately bitter finish. It also has a pretty healty dose of alcohol burn. After a while, the chocolate becomes almost too much to bear, and it gets really hard to keep drinking it.

Mouthfeel is thick, creamy, and smooth. Drinkability is pretty bad. I don't even want to finish my half of the bomber.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2009 07:07:44 | More by daythree16

DaPeculierDane

Wisconsin

3.13/5  rDev -26.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

Appearance: Dark Brown with a light brown head that lasts and lasts as a thin skim.

Aroma: Boozy and bitter dark chocolate. Tootsie roll like sweet chocolate too.

Taste: Chocolate dominates, making up perhaps 90 plus percent of the profile. Touches of roasted malt and crème fill in the rest.

Mouthfeel: Boozy but only lightly burning, bittersweet, fairly full bodied but still surprisingly light considering the abv.

Drinkability: Not good at all for me. This is too tootsie roll like and one dimensional for my tastes. I have a hard time drinking this in any serious quantity. Good for what it is trying to be though.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2008 21:34:20 | More by DaPeculierDane

billshmeinke

California

3.15/5  rDev -26.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Poured into a snifter at about 50 degrees farenheight.

I get a one finger khaki head from a semi hard pour. Very dark black with some brown hues towards the edges when held to light. Head resides to a ring of foam around the glass.

For a minute I couldn't figure out what the sugary sweet scent reminded me of. After racking my brain for similar beers, I remembered the smell didn't remind me of a beer at all. This smells exactly like a tootsie roll or chocolate tootsie roll pop.

The taste is literally the beer version of a chocolate tootsie roll pop. Sugary candy like chocolate with hints of pine like hop presence. Really sugary tasting. Imagine a liquified chocolate tootsie pop and you are imagining the taste of this beer.

Really thin for an imperial stout. Medium carbonation and a tiny bite on the end. Not very enjoyable mouthfeel on this one.

Honestly this is like chocolate soda. If someone were to hand me a glass without telling me what it is. I would assume it was a soda. No trace of alcohol in my mind which is crazy for the abv. If you are trying to get your sweets loving girlfriend into craft beer I bet this is a good place to start. However, it can be a little much after a glass.

Simply too fake chocolate tasting for me. I looked through some other reviews and found no mention of tootsie roll scent/flavor, but that is exactly what this tastes and smells like to me.

Serving type: bottle

06-27-2010 23:53:29 | More by billshmeinke

mrnobody

Ontario (Canada)

3.15/5  rDev -26.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 2

22oz. bomber poured into a snifter. Pours an impenetrable black with a tan head that dissipates quickly, no lacing to speak of. The smell is chocolate of course, also alcohol, caramel and vanilla. The flavour is chocolate, booze and some coffee. The carbonation is light and lively. The mouthfeel is thin considering how much sugar is in this. I'd say the drinkability of this is not too high, it is quite sweet and hot.

Again, I much prefer the Black Oak approach of cocoa/bitter chocolate to the sweet Hershey's milk chocolate thing going on here. This is the third "big beer" (Creme Brulee, Unearthly) I've had from Southern Tier and I haven't liked any of them much, I think I will stick with their IPA/2XIPA from here on which are great beers in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

10-18-2010 01:30:02 | More by mrnobody

sleazo

New York

3.2/5  rDev -25.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

2007 vintage

A_Pours a very dark black with a small tan head. Nothing really more to be said other than that.

S_The smell is dominated by a scent of fudge or better yet brownie mix. There is a bit of alcohol as well.

T_Very rich fudge is the best way to describe this. There are hints of espresso and alcohol but rich chocolate dominates here. The aftertaste is bitter chocolate again. Not overly complex but very chocolatey which is what I suppose they are going for.

M_A bit viscous with a light but hard carbonation. Works well here.

D_Very potent chocolate which while nice may be a bit too much for a beer. I am sure a year of sitting has tempered the alcohol somewhat which is a good thing. Decent enough but not my cup of tea.

Serving type: bottle

10-04-2008 04:27:07 | More by sleazo