Founders Brewing 'KBS' Bourbon Barrel-Aged Chocolate Coffee Stout. 12.3% abv. Black color, dense, with thin mocha head that fast falls to a sustaining collar and scattered surface. Moderate retention, decent lacing. Nose of bourbon, charred oak, dark chocolate, vanilla. The bourbon aroma steps forward as the temp rises.

Front taste is bittersweet chocolate, black coffee, plum, with vanilla and wood notes on the back end. Aftertaste is tall bourbon, bitter cocoa, raisins, molasses, with a dry finish. Full body. Mouthfeel is warm-hot, round, creamy, sticky, viscous, astringent, boozy.

Two of my recent reviews were also Founders beers, with one being a surprisingly solid experimental wood-aged red, while the other turned out to be one of the worst beers I’ve had in years. Comparing notes with other beer enthusiasts, it would appear that Founders is one of those breweries that is bold and fearless to a fault, so daring that it affects their batting average. They’re hit-and-miss, particularly with their novelty offering. However, I went into today’s review unafraid, as it’s not only one of their classics, but one of THE classics of modern craft beer, a benchmark of its category.

Simply put, this is an extraordinary, big, rich, full beer, a true BBA stout, with a boozy aroma and flavor profile supported by chocolate and coffee, wrapped with a mouthfeel you can sink your teeth into. This is a sipping beer. A dessert beer. It’s meant to be a an occasional decadent treat with a complex taste, and it delivers on its promise.

Consistently ranked as one of the best beers in the world, this beer now has battalions of competitors who have met or exceeded its high standard. That being said, even in this day of bourbon-barrel aging mania, in a time when every brewery is experimenting with a barrel program, and mostly succeeding, KBS is still a knockout and a standout, still one of the best, with quality and craftsmanship evident in every sip and sniff. I’m sure you’ve had this famous brew before, but regardless, I highly encourage you to seek it out and let it warm you inside-out during a cold winter. Strongly recommended.

From the brewery:

"What we’ve got here is an imperial stout brewed with a massive amount of coffee and chocolates, then cave-aged in oak bourbon barrels for an entire year to make sure wonderful bourbon undertones come through in the finish. Makes your taste buds squeal with delight."

[source: foundersbrewing.com]

Oskar Blues 'Death by Coconut' Irish Style Porter. 6.5% abv. 25 IBU. Dense black, blocks light. Figner of foamy, mocha head. Outstanding retention and lace. Nose of sweet coconut, vanilla, milk chocolate, light herbal. 

Front taste is dark chocolate, coconut, vanilla, sweet dark malt. Aftertaste is bittersweet dark chocolate, coconut liquor, light botanical, light wood, dry finish. Medium body. Mouthfeel is warm, sticky, thick, round, slightly astringent.

This is a solid porter that definitely delivers on its promise of coconut, with chocolate underlining the coconut expression throughout. The warm mouthfeel almost turns hot as the temp rises to room, with a creamy overtone all across. This is one of those rich, flavorful "core" beers that makes for an excellent base for experimental offshoots: barrel aging, liquor additions, dark fruit flavor combos. 

I once had this beer on tap at BC's in Clovis, CA, and I recall it as richer and more intense. Curious if I had a limited edition one-off. No matter. This standard canned version is exceptional. If you love the flavor profile of Almond Joy candy bars, and you love big, rich, full-bodied beers, seek this one out. Well recommended.

From the brewery:

"Pass. Dash. Hit. Intense pure liquid cacao flavors swirl with popping coconut aromas, all supported by a semi-sweet porter made from loads of our dark chocolate and extra dark caramel malt. This limited release specialty comes around once a year to satisfy that sweet tooth, so get ’em while you can before they disappear. At 6.5% ABV and 25 IBUs, this choconut goodness will have you yellin' 'Pass. Dash. Hit.' all winter long."
[source: oskarblues.com]

Ballast Point 'Mocha Marlin' Porter. 6% abv. 42 IBU. Black in color with two fingers of thick foamy tan head. Outstanding retention and superb lace. Nose of ground coffee, vanilla, cocoa powder, herbal notes. 

Front taste is roasted malt, bittersweet dark chocolate, black coffee, bitter dark fruit on the back end. Aftertaste is bitter cocoa, vanilla, herbal hops, black coffee underneath, dry finish. Medium-full body. Mouthfeel is thick, creamy, carby, clingy, resin.

This is an excellent chocolate porter. The chocolate tastes fresh-shaved off a high-cacao dark chocolate brick, complemented well by a strong black coffee expression. Contrary to what the label says, I would describe it as a chocolate porter with coffee rather than a coffee porter with chocolate. 

The dark cocoa flavors are dominant throughout, with the black coffee taste faintly underneath, emerging fully only in the aftertaste. A ribbon of vanilla underlines the entire beer from nose to finish, with herbal hops merging as the temperature rises. An excellent chocolate beer that is supported by coffee. I suspect the coffee bean count is not as high as most would expect, including the brewers, but it's a fine brew regardless. Well recommended.

From the brewery:

"Coffee and chocolate come together in this brew. Our Black Marlin Porter is the perfect beer for a mocha mashup. The addition of coffee and cocoa plays perfectly off the roasty, chocolaty flavors of this English porter, while a hint of vanilla smooths it all out. It’s full-bodied, but not too sweet; try it for breakfast…or dessert."
[source: ballastpoint.com]

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Track 7 Brewing 'Nukin' Futz' Imperial Peanut Butter Chocolate Cream Porter. 7.3% abv. 30 IBU. Black in color with two+ fingers of creamy tan head. Outstanding retention and superb lace. Nose of peanut butter, roasted malt, dark chocolate. Front taste of bitter dark chocolate, smoked grain, dank herbal, strong peanut butter taste on the back end. Aftertaste of peanuts, cocoa powder, smoked wood. Medium body. Mouthfeel is creamy, silky, with a surprisingly somewhat dry finish.

This is a wonderful beer with unique flavor profile. The aroma is strong with peanut butter, and the taste delivers somewhat on that promise. Smoke notes help bring out the peanut butter and chocolate flavors in this dank yet creamy beer. My tasting partner and I wanted more peanut butter taste throughout, but it was certainly there in places, particularly the nose. An excellent beer, worthy of your time if you can get a bomber. Highly recommended.

From the brewery:

"This creamy and crazy ale takes our burnt fog smoked porter receive, drops the smoked malt and add peanut butter, chocolate and lactose sugar. The combination produced a creamy peanut butter cup of a beer fitting of a celebration and capable of easing the winter doldrums. Nuking' Futz was brewed for our 3rd anniversary on New Year's Eve but will continue as an occasional release. We want to raise our glass to you Sacramento for being supportive of our little brewery. Our 3rd year in business concluded with us opening our new production facility and tap room in Natomas cuz we are nuking' futz!"
[source: bottle]

My sister and I enjoying a bottle of Track 7 Nukin Futz

Clown Shoes 'Chocolate Sombrero' Mexican-Style Chocolate Stout. 9% abv. 6 IBU. Black in color with a finger+ of thick creamy tan head. Excellent retention and superb lacing. Nose of roasted malt, cocoa powder, vanilla, bright spice, earthy. Front taste of chiles swimming in chocolate, strong vanilla, spicy bite on the back. Aftertaste of chiles, bittersweet dark chocolate, cinnamon notes. Medium-full body. Mouthfeel is hot, thick, carby.

This is a unique and wonderful beer that challenges my notions on what a chocolate stout should taste like. I compare all chocolate beers to my three favorites: Young's Double Chocolate, Samuel Smith Organic Chocolate Stout, and House of Pendragon Coco Crusader. This odd beer from Clown Shoes both joins them and stands apart, with its prominent chile spice profile, its stark bittersweet chocolate taste, and its ample use of vanilla. I love this beer. Strongly recommended.

From the brewery:

"Roasted dark malts plus extra chocolate malts plus ancho chile plus cinnamon plus vanilla extract plus a chocolate loving, beer drinking, Clown Shoes wearing, multi-limbed, gorgeous and glorious Mexican wrestler on the label. That’s the recipe for a Chocolate Sombrero!"

[source: clownshoesbeer.com]

Samuel Smith Organic Chocolate Stout. 5% abv. 28 IBU. Black in color. Thick creamy beige head. Excellent retention and lacing. Nose of fresh chocolate, sweet malt, roasted grain. Front taste of bittersweet chocolate, vanilla. Aftertaste of sweet dark chocolate, dark fruit, bitter herbal. Medium body. Mouthfeel is creamy, slightly sticky, silky.

This is an outstanding beer. My favorite chocolate brew. The chocolate grain is nicely roasted, fresh, ever present. Feels like a big beer but with a low abv and easy drinkability. Simply put, this is a world-class beer, a benchmark that rivals even Young's Double Chocolate. Strongly recommended.

From the brewery:

"Brewed with well water (the original well, sunk in 1758, is still in use with the hard water is drawn from 85 feet underground), the gently roasted organic chocolate malt and organic cocoa impart a delicious, smooth and creamy character, with inviting deep flavours and a delightful finish - this is the perfect marriage of satisfying stout and luxurious chocolate."

[source: samuelsmithsbrewery.co.uk]

"Brewed with well water from the original brewery well sunk in 1758, the gently roasted organic chocolate malt and real organic cocoa used in this ale impart a delicious, smooth and creamy character, with inviting deep flavours and a delightful finish - this is the perfect marriage of satisfying stout and luxurious chocolate that will lead to smiles and refills. Samuel Smith’s brews in traditional 'Yorkshire Squares' for fermentation, and ships every bottle from the brewery with great pride."

[source: bottle]

Out Of Bounds 'Big Gun' Chocolate Maple Porter. 5.6% abv. Black color. Thin white head falls fast to a ring. Low retention. Nice lace. Nose of roasted malt, cocoa powder, faint maple. Front taste of bitter chocolate, roasted malt, dark fruit on the back end. Aftertaste of bitter cocoa, bitter herbal hops. Medium-thin body. Mouthfeel was warm, small carb.

This beer was good but not great, certainly not up to expectations. The maple was barely present in the aroma, and was absent otherwise. The chocolate was up front in the nose but took a backseat in the tasting. Simply put, it tasted like a run-of-the-mill porter, which isn't bad unless you consider the premium price for this bottle. Not recommended.

From the brewery:

"The Big Gun Granite Quarry began operation in Rocklin, CA in 1864. Named after the device that was used to fracture the rock, it supplied granite to build the California State Capital, many of San Francisco’s landmark buildings including the Transamerica Pyramid as well as the Naval Station at Pearl Harbor. We salute this hometown landmark of industry, the people who kept digging and those who hope to reclaim it. Our Big Gun blends Ecuadorian cocoa with Grade A maple syrup to compliment a well-balanced porter. The Cocoa nose and subtle maple finish will leave you digging deeper!"
[source: outofboundsbrewing.com]

New Belgium 'Salted Belgian Chocolate' Stout. 9% abv. 35 IBU. Black color with a finger of creamy beige head off the tap. Great retention and excellent lace. Nose of chocolate, spice, sugar cookies. Front taste of bittersweet chocolate, roasted grain, raisins, plum. Aftertaste of dark chocolate, notes of vanilla, plum, faint licorice. Slightly alcoholic. Medium body. Mouthfeel is warm, creamy, sticky, small-bead carb.

The base of this brew is their popular 'Lips Of Faith.' This is a unique and excellent brew that puts its own spin on chocolate stouts. The 'salted' and 'Belgian' components are certainly there, and the chocolate is always up front. Highly recommended.

I had this beer at a New Belgium 'tap takeover' at Spokeasy Public House. I got to keep the festive glass the beer came in, and ate chocolate cake pops made with the stout. They were extraordinary!

From the brewery:

"This collaboration with Perennial Artisan Ales pairs two favorites: chocolate and beer. Dessert is best poured. And the brewers at Perennial agree. So for our next Lips of Faith release we dreamt up a beer that would bring together chocolate sweetness, Belgian yeast, deeply roasted malts and just the right shake of salt to pour a creamy stout worthy of a cherry on top."

I had this unique brew at a New Belgium tap takeover at Spokeasy Public House.
I got to keep the festive glass the beer came in!