Three Cheers for Chocolate Beers!

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Top 8 Chocolate Beer List (For the Casual Beer Drinker)

 

Foothills Brewing Sexual Chocolate

The man’s drink of choice on Valentines Day.  Whether its better than sex or not is your prerogative, but it definitely delivers on big chocolate taste and smell.  It has a sexy, smooth and creamy dark body, somewhat similar to a Guinness. Hints of coffee and fruit with a distinct bitterness can easily be detected. With an ABV of 9.75%, she can be a sneaky seductress.

 

 

New Belgium Lips of Faith Series Cocoa Mole

Think Mexican hot chocolate. This specialty product from the New Belgium brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado, is brewed with cinnamon, cocoa, and three types of chili peppers: ancho, guajillo, and chipotle. It also boasts a decent ABV of 9%. Needless to say, this beer packs a serious punch. Cocoa Mole is earthy and savory and will likely catch your taste buds off guard.

 

 

Bison Organic Chocolate Stout

Out of Bizerkeley, California, this beer is a light-bodied stout “with a strong aroma of Nestle Quick.” However, the dominating flavor comes from the dark roasted malt, not the chocolate.  Bison Brewing likens their creation to “Barry White’s voice in a bottle” and suggests consumers try it as a tenderizer for meat or with their chocolate stout baked mac n’ cheese recipe (http://bisonbrew.com/stout-mac-and-cheese/).

 

 

Fat Heads Brewery & Saloon Oompa Loompa Chocolate Cream Stout

“Invention, my dear friends, is 93% perspiration, 6% electricity, 4% evaporation, and 2% butterscotch ripple,” as Willy Wonka would say. This especially dark ale is quite the concoction indeed. It is a semi-sweet stout brewed with Belgian dark chocolate and vanilla bean. It has aromas of coffee and vanilla, and carries a full-bodied creamy texture with hints of toffee and brown sugar.

 

 

Charleville Brewing Box of Chocolate

Charleville Brewing claims it is named for its distinguishable scent reminiscent of a box of chocolates. It is brewed with Belgian chocolate and candy sugar, and is recognized as having several complex layers of different chocolate flavors like the inside of a See’s Candy box. This “quad” is medium-bodied, not overpoweringly sweet or syrupy, and actually manages to accentuate its robust chocolatey flavoring. Not to mention, this bad boy has a 10.5% ABV.

 

 

Rogue Ales Chocolate Stout and Double Chocolate Stout

What might be most notable about this beer is its consistent availability – a quality not all beers on this list possess.  The color is dark – very dark. It is a bitter and hoppy stout with a noticeable chocolate flavor and thick tan head (foam) that tends to linger.

 

 

Brewery Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence

This is your typical looking stout with a pronounced chocolate aftertaste. It pours dark brown and “smells distinctly of Ommegang’s house yeast.” The beer itself has a nice creamy texture, but in terms of a bold and rich chocolatey taste, it leaves something to be desired.

 

 

Arcadia Ales Cocoa Loco

If one was ever daring enough to make a chocolate-beer-cake (see below), this triple chocolate stout might just be the one. As a combination of three chocolate malts, cacao nibs, and dark semi-sweet chocolate, it is ideal for pairing with desserts.  Visually it looks slightly like motor oil, but its robust molasses and chocolate-filled taste is rather similar to a thin chocolate shake. It is quite strong, but still very pleasant to drink.

 

 

Bonus: Guilty pleasure chocolate-beer-cake recipe, courtesy of Bon Appetit

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/chocolate-stout-layer-cake-with-chocolate-frosting

 

Help support local charities at the Chocolate and Beer Festival 2014 in Richmond, California, March 30th