Harpoon Chocolate Stout

January 21, 2011

I recently picked up a bottle of the Harpoon Chocolate Stout as something of an impulse purchase.  See, I was taking a ride and happened to be in the neighborhood of one of my favorite beer stores, Cable Beverages in Bardonia, NY.

Of course, I didn’t intend to pick up any beer that day (so I said to my wife), I just wanted to look. 

Fast-forward about 30 minutes, and what do I see from the checkout line, arms full of beers, but a bunch of Christmas and Winter Beers that I never tried before.  Strangely enough, this Harpoon Chocolate Stout caught my eye among the strange and oddly-sized bottles of European Christmas beers.  I like Chocolate Stouts, but I haven’t been too impressed with the Harpoon Brewing offerings I’ve had so far.  (OK, so I’ve only had their Oktoberfest and UFO which doesn’t make me a Harpoon Brewery expert, but neither one really thrilled me.)

So, I asked if I could take a single from the six-pack so I wouldn’t be stuck with six bottles if I didn’t like it, and to my surprise the manager said ‘sure’!  So, for under two bucks I was able to try one of my favorite styles of beer from a less-than-favorite brewery!  Can’t lose, right?

Turns out, I probably should have grabbed that last six-pack!  Its a good beer!

Here’s what I liked about the 5.9%ABV limited-release beer out of Windsor, Vermont.

The head was nice and thick, had nice retention and a great milk-chocolate color.  Off to a good start!   The aroma was great too!  I could immediately smell the bitter chocolate malts, and according to the label, added chocolate flavor.

The taste was good too.  Its obviously going to be a chocolate-dominated beer, and it was.  Chocolate and chocolate malt flavors that alternated between sweet at first, and then grew more bitter as the beer lingered.  Nicely balanced, I thought – in regard to the chocolate flavors anyway!

Not much in the way of hops here, and perhaps that’s the main drawback in a beer like this one.  Its all chocolate.  Very one-dimensional, but if you read the label before buying it, you shouldn’t be too surprised!  Chocolate Stout.

The body was slightly underwhelming, I found it a little thinner than I would have liked, but it was OK.  I also think this would be a good beer to have with dessert.  Too chocolaty to have with dinner or anything like that.  Harpoon’s Website suggests sweet desserts and fresh strawberries as food pairing ideas, and I would agree completely.  Chocolate-covered strawberries would be even better I think!

Overall, I dug the Harpoon Chocolate Stout quite a bit.  Its only around from November to January in the Harpoon ‘Winter Mix’ variety pack, or in six-packs like I found it in.  I’m wishing I picked up the whole six-pack now, but I’ll be sure to look for it next year, as should you if you like chocolate stouts.

If I had a 3.73 star rating, I’d award that, but since I don’t (we always round down here) I’ll have to give this chocolate stout a 3.5.  Very good, but not quite my favorite chocolate beer which is still the Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence.  Hmmm.  That one should be hitting shelves soon too!

Rating:

Scott-TheBrewClub

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Posted in 3 Star Reviews, Ales, American Beers, Bocks, Porters and Stouts