Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout - Brooklyn Brewery

jadedlilmonkey

Michigan

3.75/5  rDev -10.1%

01-08-2013 10:38:40 | More by jadedlilmonkey

Honus1

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev -16.1%

05-18-2013 02:38:02 | More by Honus1

carlosega

Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +7.9%

05-17-2013 19:28:03 | More by carlosega

scotv

New York

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

05-17-2013 02:59:52 | More by scotv

SmellsofMahagony

Texas

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

05-17-2013 01:37:31 | More by SmellsofMahagony

verge

California

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

05-16-2013 22:00:25 | More by verge

michaeljstraub

Georgia

4/5  rDev -4.1%

05-16-2013 19:58:37 | More by michaeljstraub

stevied71

Australia

3.75/5  rDev -10.1%

05-16-2013 14:13:18 | More by stevied71

acc88

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -10.1%

05-16-2013 07:13:58 | More by acc88

cmdmzmjm

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

05-16-2013 02:25:48 | More by cmdmzmjm

HawkIPA

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev -4.1%

05-15-2013 17:27:01 | More by HawkIPA

Zimm

New Jersey

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

05-15-2013 17:23:32 | More by Zimm

Jordy777

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -16.1%

05-14-2013 18:46:33 | More by Jordy777

Hugonaut13

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

05-14-2013 13:44:11 | More by Hugonaut13

HinghamRick

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

05-14-2013 13:19:54 | More by HinghamRick

Horse_Mullet

Texas

4.5/5  rDev +7.9%

05-14-2013 13:11:54 | More by Horse_Mullet

ADTaber

South Carolina

4/5  rDev -4.1%

05-14-2013 00:01:52 | More by ADTaber

johntandlich

New York

3.5/5  rDev -16.1%

05-13-2013 22:49:32 | More by johntandlich

russwilliam

New York

4.5/5  rDev +7.9%

05-13-2013 21:59:56 | More by russwilliam

Rand_ale_Thor

Wisconsin

4/5  rDev -4.1%

05-13-2013 18:41:13 | More by Rand_ale_Thor

tectactoe

Michigan

3.78/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Vintage 04-05 bottling, thanks to Jeff. This baby is somewhere between 8 and 9 years old - let's see how it has held up. It pours dark as hell - black with only a slight bit of dark brown showing at the very edges. No head, literally none, even with a straight down pour. I guess that's what almost ten years in a bottle will do to you, eh? Very still and menacing in the glass, seemingly void of any carbonation.

The first glace, Black Chocolate Stout is a bit more pungent on the nostrils than I was expecting, and it actually contains a strong, almost boozy character. It's like rich, dark chocolate dipped in a booze bath. Lots of cocoa on the nose - some milky, some darker, with a touch of roasted malts on the side. Not getting much coffee and hops are probably long gone at this point.

So far, this doesn't smell so much like a Russian Imperial Stout as it does an American Imperial Stout, but maybe I'm just splitting hairs. Unfortunately some oxidation has gotten the best of this beer - or at least the aroma would tell me that. It invokes a slight sherry character, perhaps lending to the booziness, but it also has the slight smell of wet cardboard, slightly musty and stale. Hopefully it doesn't affect the taste too much.

Leading the charge of the first sip is a mound of smooth, sweet chocolate and a solid offering of boozy, dark fruit sweetness - figs, anise, and the darkest dates around. The roasty character takes a bit of a backseat, and oxidation is present from the middle to the end, again introducing both a mild sherry flavor and a bit of the "stale, wet cardboard" that is especially heavy in the aftertaste. Some sweet and dark chocolates help to balance this out, but I can't help but wonder how much better this beer would be fresh. Without carbonation, the mouth feel is pretty silky and smooth; full-bodied and pretty heavy.

It seems like this beer would age well if you could keep it from oxidizing. Hell, even slowing the oxidation down wouldn't be so bad. It was just a little too much, here, but the beer that lies underneath the oxidation seemed to be doing fine. I'd like to have this one again, fresh, just to compare. Very good stout, although there are plenty out there that I'd choose over this one.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2013 11:40:47 | More by tectactoe

acjones

Japan

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

05-13-2013 01:39:32 | More by acjones

kennymule

Texas

4.11/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A- Pour is black as night with slight head which quickly vanishes.
S- chocolate and coffee.
T- Sweet, almost too sweet, chocolate and roasted coffee and bitter finish. Quite a bit of alcohol on the finish as well.
M- Medium
O- I'm not a huge fan of stouts, but this is a pretty good one. At 10% I won't be slamming them down.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2013 17:00:44 | More by kennymule

dar482

New York

4.5/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours out with a creamy light tan head. It dissipates from a fluffy one to a one finger head. Creaminess sticks to the glass and leaves some some lacing.

The aroma has a milk chocolate and oatmeal stout aroma and a creaminess. Black coffee, almost like deep espresso, roasted chocolate malt. There’s a slight booziness in there too. Almost like Nesquick with the milkiness. There's also some Belgian quad deep rich fruits too.

The flavor has this semi-sweet chocolate flavor with a good roasted malt backbone. There’s a The middle has this uplifting bitterness of dark chocolate and a slight booze. The finish has roasted bitterness that climbs up from the middle. There’s definitely some alcohol and licorice in there. There’s a big lingering roasted smokiness that lingers. It really has a huge Russian Imperial stout flavor.

The mouthfeel falls a bit too quickly, but it does leave a great big strong finish on your tongue.

The beer is almost like an oatmeal stout, but huge and with bitter chocolate. It really is quite well rounded. I wouldn’t recommend this as a “chocolate” beer because it really isn’t. It instead is a roasted Russian Imperial.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2013 05:49:34 | More by dar482

SebD

Ontario (Canada)

4.36/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

2010 bottle courtesy of tbeckett.

Appearance: It has a nice almost jet-black color to it. It has a nice thick dark tan head that dies down moderately slow and leaves very nice lacing.

Smell: The aromas definitely give out hints of dark chocolate, roasted coffee, light dark fruit and some booziness.

Taste: Like the aromas, it has a some nice dark chocolate, roasted coffee notes, a light bitterness and faint dark fruit. The booziness becomes more prevelant as it warms.

Mouthfeel: It has a medium carbonation with a very nice overall balance and feel.

Drinkability: It's a very smooth drinkable beer accompanied with great flavors and aromas.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2013 20:20:31 | More by SebD