I recently grabbed Boulevard Brewing’s newest release in Oklahoma, belonging to their highly awarded and received Smokestack Series, the Chocolate Ale. This beer has had some hype surrounding it because of Boulevard’s partnership with renowned chef Christopher Elbow. Here’s the brewery’s take on their Chocolate Ale:
One of the brightest stars in a city filled with culinary treasures, Christopher Elbow has been hand-crafting masterpieces in chocolate for more than ten years. In that time the reputation of his artistic delicacies has spread around the globe. Elbow’s sweets are distinguished by their use of unusual and sometimes surprising flavors and ingredients; in that adventurous spirit we joined forces to bring you a very special Chocolate Ale. Chocolate Ale is full of surprises, beginning with a glowing amber hue. The aroma is given over to earthy, fruity cocoa, with just a hint of hops. Smooth layers of dark chocolate intertwine with threads of caramel, vanilla, and nutty malt as the flavor warms and rounds to a bittersweet finish.
I had heard a lot of good things about this beer from some respected beer-loving peeps of mine. I partook of my sample a little below room temperature. This beer is available throughout Oklahoma, but has been selling fast. Below are my notes on the beer as I tried it:
Appearance –
A surprising muted brown, almost a light chocolate milk color. Not expecting that at all. A great thick, sticky foamy white head. Sticks around nicely throughout beer.
Aroma –
Right off the bat I get sweet chocolate, cocoa and caramel notes. Not a bitter baker’s chocolate aroma, but milk chocolate. Maybe a faint hint of vanilla bean, with some malt undertones.
Taste –
Starts soft with sweet chocolate and cocoa up-front, and the chocolate has a good deal of complexity. The base beer seems to be a light Pale Ale or Amber and allows an emphasis on the chocolate rather a roast/coffee taste with some other chocolate beers. There is some alcohol in the flavor, but it’s well hidden behind the chocolate. This is a very “light” beer in the mouth.
This beer completely caught me off—guard. I was expecting a darker and more bitter example of a chocolate. This is something I haven’t had before in this style. It weighs in at 9.1% ABV, but it’s hardly noticed. The last half of the beer I enjoyed with a CAO Maduro, a great match. You can read reviews, but until you’ve tried this, its hard to convey in words. To me, I see this beer as what was flowing through Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.
This gets 4 ½ pints glasses out of 5 on ye old rating scale. A friend of mine described this beer as, “punch ‘yo momma good.” After trying it, I would think about doing just that. Boulevard knocks this out of the park. If you can find this beer, try it.
Cheers!
Comments