Time for another beer run, have a question

[InflatableBuddha]

McEwens(sp?) scotch ale. I don't recommend this, but it's as dark and thick as you can get. It's very sweet which is a turn off for me, plus it's expensive as hell.

I actually really like McEwan's. It is sweet, but not overpoweringly so (to me anyways). Plus it's 8% ABV so it gets you buzzed in a hurry.

 

[Platypus]

oh...there are great, maybe greater stouts out there these days; but for my money, and maybe because of the sentimentality, the greatest stout available and probably my favorite beer anywhere, remains this:

Too bad you moved out of the FFF distribution area, Black Sun Stout is easily the best stout I've ever had and definitely my favorite beer. Whenever you come back to visit you can have some along with some Dark Lord

 

[Jack Ryan]

Dammit.

<-----In Newark, DE.

Go to the Firewaters (http://www.firewatersbar.com/) on Kirkwood Highway (next to Hooters). They have a bunch of beers on tap and you can sample the hard/dark stuff to your heart's content.

Also, State Line Liquors (http://www.statelineliquors.com/) has a lot, and will probably order you anything you want (although probably have to buy more than a sixer).

 

[irishScott]

Go to the Firewaters (http://www.firewatersbar.com/) on Kirkwood Highway (next to Hooters). They have a bunch of beers on tap and you can sample the hard/dark stuff to your heart's content.

Also, State Line Liquors (http://www.statelineliquors.com/) has a lot, and will probably order you anything you want (although probably have to buy more than a sixer).

Haha, well I know where I'm going post finals. Thanks.

In any case I just explored suburban liquors (off Elkton Rd. near Applebees) and found some 4 packs of Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout and Oatmeal Stout. Just cracked open one of the former, arguably the best beer I've had to date.

 

[shortylickens]

Guiness is the darkest stuff you can find in a regular store. Anything else and you will need to drive around a bit.

As for me: Amber Boch all the way!!

 

[zinfamous]

Haha, well I know where I'm going post finals.

In any case I just explored suburban liquors (off Elkton Rd. near Applebees) and found some 4 packs of Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout and Oatmeal Stout. Just cracked open one of the former, arguably the best beer I've had to date.

I believe Sammy Oatmeal was my first legal beer purchase.

love that one.

 

[lxskllr]

Sam Smith makes some great beer. I never got it a lot, but I'd buy it on occasion as a treat beer. I feel sorry for anyone who didn't have Guinness before they started making it in Canada. The Irish product was much better than what they have now. It went from being my favorite beer, to what I settle for when there isn't an acceptable alternative.

 

[scott916]

oh...there are great, maybe greater stouts out there these days; but for my money, and maybe because of the sentimentality, the greatest stout available and probably my favorite beer anywhere, remains this:

Win. I'd agree with the recommendation of an imperial stout.

 

[monk3y]

Get any Unibrue product. My favorite is La Fin Du Monde.

 

[GregGreen]

It seems most of these suggestions are suggesting beers lighter than what you want.

I can tell this is what you want: Southern Tier Iniquity Imperial Black Ale http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/3818/47228

 

[grohl]

I love dark/stouts, but damn, scotch ales are nasty.

 

[TechAZ]

Give Chimay a shot sometime. Served in a goblet if you can find a bar that serves it. The Yard House has it....strong shit. First time I had it I was tripping over homeless people sleeping on the sidewalk in San Diego after only a few.

 

[Perknose]

Call all the stores and ask for any Imperials they might carry.

This is good general advice, Imperials are dark, potent and tasty!

Also, any dopplebock. The German's do it best, of course, but Sam Adam's version ain't that bad at all.

Or, a good oatmeal stout. They don't taste anything like you might think the name implies. Samuel Smith makes the best, imho, but I've good domestic microbrew ones, too.

OP, do you also like dark chocolate? One of my all times personal faves is Young's Double Chocolate Stout. Potent but gorgeously smooth, it has an amazingly clear aftertaste of dark chocolate that has to be experienced to be believed.

I haven't read through this thread, but it's possible that a poster has recommended Brooklyn Brewery's chocolate stout, but that's only because they've obviously never had a Youngs!

Just remember, drink responsibly and, like an oldster without Viagra, have a designated driver!

 

[destrekor]

OP, do you also like dark chocolate? One of my all times personal faves is Young's Double Chocolate Stout. Potent but gorgeously smooth, it has an amazingly clear aftertaste of dark chocolate that has to be experienced to be believed.

I haven't read through this thread, but it's possible that a poster has recommended Brooklyn Brewery's chocolate stout, but that's only because they've obviously never had a Youngs!

Just remember, drink responsibly and, like an oldster without Viagra, have a designated driver!

This.... is mildly underwhelming.

It's a tasty stout at least, but I must be a chocoholic as the chocolaty notes are very, very mild.
Tasty drink on the whole, and maybe it's just the fact that the chocolate is blended so masterfully with the beer that instead of really standing out, it's just there. Because it's in a stout, the beer itself already has a strong roasted malt presence, so it seems - contrary to what I was expecting - the chocolate doesn't stand out, but instead just compliments it entirely.

As a fan of chocolate + beer, I do like the idea of chocolate getting a chance to stand out.

Dogfish Head's Theobroma does just that. It's not a stout, so the other ingredients get a little more room to make their presence none.

It's an entirely indescribable beer, the taste escapes words. And it's also extremely deceptive.
It's not as rich and heavy tasting as Sam Adams Imperial Series Double Bock, but in some ways it definitely approaches that.

To attempt to describe Theobroma, likely doing the beer a grand disservice, it has less of a chocolaty taste as a bar of chocolate might taste, and more of spice notes. It has other ingredients blended in, iirc, that help lend it the spicy notes, but the cacao itself does as well. You get an aftertaste strongly resembling chocolate, but it's so deceptive it's hard to explain. It's chocolaty, but in the strangest of ways. Add in the other spicy notes....
the beer is just a wonderful shock to the palate. There are so many discernible flavor notes, and yet none of them compete or overpower the others. Cacao is indeed the main calling to the beer, and gets its stage time as the flavors dance on the palate, but it's like a, dare I say it, explosion of awesomeness in your mouth.

Everyone should desire said explosion of awesomeness in your mouth.
:awe:

I will without hesitation call this beer the modern nectar of the gods.

Now, when is Dogfish Head going to ship this damn beer again?!

Dogfish Head's brand is famous for their IPAs, and damn I despise them for that because while their 60minute IPA was more palatable than another IPA I tried, I have determined IPAs are by far the most disgusting entry into the beer world.
They need to market Theobroma year-round dammit!
I can't wait until they release it again, mid-summer this year iirc.

I guess for now, this Young's Double Chocolate Stout will tide me over.

I can't, for the life of me, remember which beer it was that I tried a few weeks back. It was a chocolate beer, in a 20oz+ bottle, that was very strange. The aftertaste had a very, very chocolaty taste, but going down, it was.. interesting. It wasn't the most delicious beer going down, and the very first aftertaste was shocking, and meh. But quickly following that taste, was one of OMG DELICIOUS.
I don't know if I could drink that beer often, because the majority of the experience was a resounding meh, at points even ugh. But I convinced myself to enjoy it while drinking it, because the aftertaste was very very good.

 

[KeithTalent]

oh...there are great, maybe greater stouts out there these days; but for my money, and maybe because of the sentimentality, the greatest stout available and probably my favorite beer anywhere, remains this:

Wow, how the hell did I forget about that one? I even have a Shakespeare Stout t-shirt!

KT

 

[Perknose]

This.... is mildly underwhelming.

To your palate, perhaps.

It's a tasty stout at least, but I must be a chocoholic as the chocolaty notes are very, very mild.
Tasty drink on the whole, and maybe it's just the fact that the chocolate is blended so masterfully with the beer that instead of really standing out, it's just there. Because it's in a stout, the beer itself already has a strong roasted malt presence, so it seems - contrary to what I was expecting - the chocolate doesn't stand out, but instead just compliments it entirely.
.

Exactly.

If you'll notice what I said about Young's Double Chocolate, you'd remember that I said it had a remarkably clean, clear dark chocolate after taste note. It comes at the end, after the medley of other tastes and flavors and is and remains . . . remarkable.

You really just answered your own complaint right in your own complaint with what you typed above!

Are you even aware of that?

You type faster than you think sometimes, don't you?

Btw, you have made me want to try Theobroma! :thumbsup:

 

[Elbryn]

a local small shop carries it here in Columbus, Ohio. But while they don't have a insane selection, they do notably try to stock the more famous craft brews and imports.

viking? kenny road market is another decent place
anderson's up by sawmill has a great selection


try gulden draak - in cbus, i've found it in andersons. it's not really cheap but i liked it alot.

 

[Russwinters]

Do yourself a favor, and get some http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aventinus_(beer)


Bevmo stocks it now; it's amazing.

 

[destrekor]

You really just answered your own complaint right in your own complaint with what you typed above!

Are you even aware of that?

You type faster than you think sometimes, don't you?

Btw, you have made me want to try Theobroma! :thumbsup:

:awe:

Yes, I type faster than I think. Or, I start typing before the thought is complete. Not sure which.

I was aware of where I went with that.


I expected a little bit more chocolate, because of this other dark beer I once had, that had a very strong chocolate aftertaste. Young's, though not as strong of an aftertaste as that other beer, definitely is a more well-rounded beer and far more enjoyable as a complete package, even if it's aftertaste is not as "WOW".

That's why I described it as underwhelming, because two other chocolate beers I've had, one a stout and one not a stout, both had, at least how I remember them, more of a chocolate taste that really surprised me.

...
I just found the beer I am referring to.
And it appears I have a dissenting opinion.
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/3818/40058

Quite favorable there. I might need to try it again, because quite honestly, it was shocking to the palate. I let my folks try it too when I opened it up, and they weren't a fan at all. But then again, it's an Imperial Stout, which you are either a fan of or not in the first place. 10% ABV Imperial Stouts are definitely something you either really like, or really really dislike. I've grown more accustomed to strong Imperial Stouts since then, so I might appreciate the whole package a little more.

 

[destrekor]

viking? kenny road market is another decent place
anderson's up by sawmill has a great selection


try gulden draak - in cbus, i've found it in andersons. it's not really cheap but i liked it alot.

Haven't been to a Columbus Anderson's yet (my hometown is Toledo and have shopped at an Anderson's in Toledo).

But yep, I am always going to Viking on King. I live a few blocks north on 10th, so it's a perfect place to pick up most of my harder to find favorites, and in general is extremely convenient.

So glad Viking started carrying Rasputin.
Had friends try it at a pub in Toledo, but I hadn't tried it at the time.
The first time I saw Rasputin at Viking, I thought to try it but decided not. A few days ago when I stopped there, I decided it was time to pick up a 4pk.
Mmmmmmm, that beer is tasty.

 

[lxskllr]

The best stout I've had is a chocolate a friend of mine made. I'd buy it almost exclusively if it were available in stores. I guess that's not really relevant to the OP, but wth... :^D

 

[zinfamous]

Do yourself a favor, and get some http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aventinus_(beer)


Bevmo stocks it now; it's amazing.

ooo, nice tip! I will be scoping this out momentarily.

:beer: