With the Winter season in full swing, Imperial Stouts are in their glory. The shelves at my local beer store are swimming with Stouts of all varieties: chocolate, oatmeal, coffee, etc. One I’ve been wanting to try is Southern Tier’s Choklat, and Imperial “Chocolate” Stout. Reasonably priced at about $7 for a 22-ounce bottle, not only was this worth trying but considering Southern Tier’s awesome reputation, it’s worth picking up a few.

I’ll forewarn you if you’re not expecting a Chocolate Stout, and don’t want one, this may not be for you. The Choklat pours a deep black, inky colored body with a mocha brown head. The dissipation was steady and leaves a nice foamy cap atop, though the lacing is on the weaker side, which isn’t too surprising at 11% ABV.

The smell and taste are what really sets this apart from any other Chocolate Stout you may have had prior. The drastic and overpowering notes of sweet chocolate morsels are first, followed by cold chocolate milk. This is a seriously sweet and creamy base and the roasted malt imparts a cocoa nib spin, while removing any notion of hops from the nose.

Full and flavorful, the palate is immediately coated in many different chocolate-based flavors: chocolate chip cookies, Hershey’s Chocolate syrup, and cold milk are blended together with a sweet malt base. Once again, the roasted qualities of the malt are subtle, yet still provide enough diversity with hints of caramel and toffee to prevent this from being completely one-sided — though, not by much. The mouth feel is perfectly medium to full-bodied without being syrupy and evenly carbonated.

Hands down, this is one of the best Chocolate Stouts I’ve tasted. It’s richer and more flavorful on the chocolate aspects than you’re probably used to, and that may or may not be a good thing for some. Don’t get me wrong, this is cloyingly sweet and definitely a dessert sipper, so I’d recommend splitting the bottle like I did. At 11% ABV, this would surely hold up in the cellar and may smooth things over even more. At least, that’s what I’ll be doing with my other bottle.

Rating

96
out of 100

Title photo from: Flickr