Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout - Aging In My Cellar
By jason on Nov 14, 2007 in Aging Well, Porters and Stouts, Reviews
Name: Black Chocolate Stout
Brewer: Brooklyn Brewery
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Vintage: 2007
Cellared On: October 19th, 2007
Original Tasting: November 10th, 2007
Since I enjoyed the tasting of my first cellared Brooklyn beer (Local 1) I decided to come right back with a second Brooklyn offering. The eagerly anticipated Black Chocolate Stout (or BCS) is Brooklyn’s late fall/early winter seasonal offering and is held in very high regard by beer cellaring enthusiasts. Check out the message boards over at RateBeer.com and you’ll already see several active discussions about this beer and it’s previous vintages.
As you might expect, this beer is black, black, black. As black as can be. Even using a very aggressive pour, only a very small brown head developed. Even that dissipated pretty quickly. There’s a beautiful aroma to this brew,with smells of roasted malts and chocolate dominating. I also detect a touch of caramel-like sweetness in the air.
BCS starts off very smooth and much lighter in body then you would expect. The initial tastes are of roasted malts and the advertised big chocolate flavor. I find the chocolate a bit hard to pigeonhole. There’s not a straightforward milk or dark chocolate flavor here, it’s something else entirely; but still unmistakenly chocolate. Other tastes present in this brew are reminders of espresso and burnt toast. Even though I was getting a bit of caramel on the nose before I drank, I find the sweetness here to be more reminiscent of dark molasses then caramel.
As the taste progresses, the alcohol starts to come on in a big way, and threatens to overwhelm everything else. Fortunately, a hoppy bitterness also kicks in. The bitterness brings some pine flavors to the party and combines with the alcohol for a surprisingly light, dry, bitterly pleasant finish. Bitterness and chocolate lingered on my tongue for a long time afterward.
Six Month Tasting: April 15th, 2008
Still pours as black as night, with smells of of dark roasted malts, espresso, sweet chocolate/caramel sweetness. A little bit of alcohol on the nose as well.
Just a delicious, complex flavor here. Six months have done this brew well.
The dark roasted malts have developed an even more intense chocolate presence, which pairs well with the caramel tones. Bitter espresso flavors come on as the beer develops, which is further accentuated by the hoppy bitterness. Where’s the alcohol? Six months have calmed this brew right down, almost no trace of alcohol at all. Espresso bitterness and sweet chocolate/caramel on the finish.
Just a fantastic tasting, two big thumbs up as Ebert would say. I’d give it four thumbs up if I were a monkey.
Cellar Outlook: Fantastic, there’s really no doubt here. It’s a proven winner in the cellar. Get some and stash it away while you still can!
Six Month Outlook: No reason to think anything is going to change here. I expect even more chocolate/caramel flavors to come out, with an even smoother finish.
Next Tasting: October 2008
Jason
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I just put in a few bottles of the Brooklyn myself this past weekend. Also threw in a couple bottles of this years World Wide Stout from Dogfish Head. Can’t wait to see how they both play out.
Ray | Nov 14, 2007 | Reply
Sorry mate, but Brooklyn beers aren’t bottle conditioned - so this isn’t going to improve at all in your cellar - it’ll just get progressively worse.
Stonch | Nov 14, 2007 | Reply
Hi Stonch, thanks for posting. Love your site, I’m a subscriber there!
Yeah I know this beer isn’t bottle conditioned (although Brooklyn’s latest specialty beer the Local 1 is), I’m just relying on the mass of reports you can read at BeerAdvocate and Ratebeer.com where people really seem to like this with a few years on it.
I suspect the basic flavor profile of this brew just matches up really well with some of the flavors you typically see from age.
jason | Nov 14, 2007 | Reply
You know, I might be wrong on this - but my understanding has always been that a beer which isn’t bottle conditioned won’t improve with age, as it’s effectively a dead product. Having said that, I suppose if it’s unpasteurised, microbiologically it isn’t quite finished.
Stonch | Nov 15, 2007 | Reply
PS. I have added you to my blogroll. Cheers!
Stonch | Nov 15, 2007 | Reply
Just because it isn’t bottle conditioned doesn’t mean it won’t improve over time. I’ve read most of Jason’s articles on how beers change over time, and they are %99.9 correct. Various chemical reactions take place including oxidation, which doesn’t need yeast to happen. Sometimes, this adds complexity to a beer, like a fine sherry. The beer usually mellows, as the alcohol and hops fade and the malt backbone is more pronounced.
Ryan | Nov 15, 2007 | Reply
I have two 2005 bottles of BCS in the cellar, along with two Monster Ales. There in lies the dilema - drink one now, and only have one left for later; or save them both for later and have none for now. Now I know why the wine folks store wine by the cases…
Jim L | Nov 20, 2007 | Reply
I added 4 to the cellar, the first commercial beers that I have added to the cellar. Drank two, couldn’t help it! I am blessed with a fab root cellar that maintains 50-55*f year round and hoping this is going to be a plus. Love your blog!
Ellie | Nov 22, 2007 | Reply
I know what you mean Jim. That’s why I picked up a case of this stuff! Although a six pack is already gone….
Hi Ellie, Thanks for the kind words. I’m definitely jealous of your root cellar, did you make it yourself?
jason | Nov 22, 2007 | Reply
Nope, came courtesy of a very old house with a dirt floor basement and an adjoining root cellar.
Ellie | Nov 24, 2007 | Reply
I know this is an old post I’m replying to here, but I happened to stumble across it. I have aged this beer, and it is quite possibly the best aged beer out there. Granted, it was only a year old that I tried, but that year brought out sweetness and nuances that I never could have foreseen.
So, beer does not have to be bottle conditioned to age well.
Nick | Jun 4, 2008 | Reply