The nations love of chocolate at Easter got us thinking, could a ‘chocolate flavoured’ beer ever measure up to the real deal? With the help of @abeercollector, a self-confessed sweet toothed fellow beer lover, we tried six chocolate beers to let you know which ones would hit the spot and satisfy two cravings in one.
WINNER
Beer: Naughty & Nice Chocolate Stout Brewery: Vocation ABV: 5.9% Beer Rating: 4/5 Chocolatey-ness Rating: 5/5
Review: A faint chocolate scent, a slightly sweet taste which lingers nicely on the tongue and not bitter at all. More like a dessert than a stout. Definitely a winner in the chocolate stakes!
RUNNER UP
Beer: Imperial Banana Chocolate & Banana Stout
Brewery: Vocation
ABV: 11.4%
Beer Rating: 2.5/5
Chocolatey-ness Rating: 5/5
Review: I’m used to strong, dark Belgians and I couldn’t believe how similar this is to a few Christmas beers from over there. This is thick, almost a milkshake viscosity and texture in the mouth. Very strong chocolate taste, but lacked any banana. The strength was there the whole way through, but this was way too sweet for me. It genuinely left a thick brown glaze on the empty glass, I’d hate to think how many Chocolate and banana sundaes I could have had instead!
3RD PLACE
Beer: Signal Jammer Chocolate Orange Imperial Stout
Brewery: Vibrant Forest
ABV: 9.8%
Beer Rating: 5/5
Chocolatey-ness Rating: 4/5
Review: Thick dark chocolate scent with a hint of orange, you can smell the alcohol to the point it almost gives the liquor vibe. On the first sip, it is bitter on the opening, but the strength and sweetness come. Neither the bitterness or the sweetness goes through to be fair, and the strength is obviously always present. If you like a good strong stout and fancy a slight change with the chocolate and coffee, then certainly give this Vibrant Forest a try, a very good chocolatey stout!
4TH PLACE
Beer: Cacao & Hazelnut Broken Dream (Twisted Breakfast Stout)
Brewery: Siren
ABV: 5.8%
Beer Rating: 3/5
Chocolatey-ness Rating: 3/5
Review: An initial bitterness, which fades quickly to leave a subtle chocolatey taste, which sadly doesn’t linger quite long enough. Not unpleasant for a stout and an easy drinker.
5TH PLACE
Beer: Layer Cake Marshmallow & Chocolate Stout
Brewery: Brewdog
ABV: 7%
Beer Rating: 2/5
Chocolatey-ness Rating: 2/5
Review: A very, very sweet, marshmallow flavour and scent over-powers the slight hint of chocolate to the point it is barely noticeable. Even though I’m not really a fan of bitter stouts, this goes in completely the opposite direction and is far too sweet.
6TH PLACE
Beer: Raspberry & White Chocolate Milkshake IPA
Brewery: Black Sheep
ABV: 5.3%
Beer Rating: 3/5
Chocolatey-ness Rating: 0/5
Review: Very fruity (unmistakably raspberry milkshake!), but very little evidence of any chocolate…perhaps a very faint after taste, as if it was a raspberry dessert with a tiny token drizzle of white chocolate zig-zagged over the top like a fancy restaurant, but that’s it. Lovely if you like a fruit flavoured beer, but sadly bottom of this particular chocolate-themed list.