Beer Reviews: Sexual Chocolate (Stout)

Yeah, it's still cold and the days are too short. The whimsy of winter warmers has petered out and and we're left with beers as black as night. It's time for stouts. Usually I stick with lighter dry Irish stouts - Beamish, Murphy's, and Guinness - but lately I had the chance to try a couple standouts in other stout sub-styles.

The first was Sexual Chocolate (incidentally also the name of a red-headed cricketer Ryan Sidebottom) from Foothills Brewing in North Carolina. I was lucky enough to be have a friend who found himself with a bottle of this rare and highly rated (#68 in the world on BeerAdvocate.com) brew.

The second beer was Otis, an oatmeal stout from Brooklyn's Six Point Craft Ales. I discovered Otis while making a mid-bike ride pit stop at the Spinnerstown Hotel. Otis is a strong session beer at 6.1% ABV, but damn I could have drained the keg all afternoon if I didn't have self-control.

Sexual Chocolate
Foothills Brewing Company
Russian Imperial Stout | 10.00% ABV

A- / 4.2
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | drink: 4

I have to thank my friend Paul for sharing a bottle of this with me. While the legend is greater than the beer itself, this was still a top-notch RIS. The cocoa nibs impart a deep, dark chocolate flavor that's also earthy like a cocoa bean. The malts provide an array of chocolate cookie, graham cracker, toffee, bread crust, and plum notes. The body is thick like most, but there's enough bitterness to keep this from getting too sweet. The hops also add a pleasant, mild citrus taste, which aid drinkability, though this is a tough beer to do anything with but slowly sip... but I suppose that's ok.


Sixpoint Otis
Sixpoint Craft Ales
Oatmeal Stout | 6.10% ABV

A- / 4.05
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | drink: 4

On-tap at the Spinnerstown Hotel. Served in a tulip glass, this beer appeared pitch black with a very short head. I really thought this was a great, albeit aggressive, take on the style. The flavor and aroma are full of big chocolate flavors up front with roasted barley around the edge. The malts are followed by a powerful citrus hops kick that provides a great bitter contrast to the cocoa notes. This is easily one of the best oatmeal stouts I've ever had.

Strong Lagers: Not just malt liquor

For the last week I'd been bumping into Sierra Nevada's new pale bock, Glissade, around town. On Saturday I finally got a chance to try it and it reminded me of the odd strong lager family of beers. Strong lagers can fit into styles like maibock or malt liquor, but on a whole they're lightly colored, lightly hopped, and fairly alcoholic.

Below I've pasted in reviews of some of the strong lagers I've had, and which oddly enough connect Sierra Nevada's new beer to Colt 45. Terrifying? Heart-warming? Meh? You decide.

Sierra Nevada Glissade Golden Bock
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Maibock / Helles Bock | 6.40% ABV

B- / 3.5
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | drink: 3

Ordered a bottle for $3.50 at Liberty St. Tavern and poured it into a pint glass. I read SierraNevadaBill's description of Glissade and it makes more sense when he calls it a "strong lager," because it really does remind of the European (and Russian) strong lagers I've had - but better. There's cool bready malts up front and in the nose. The barley is followed by a lot dry herbal hop character. The hops, frankly, are a bit thin and border on astringently bitter. Still, this brew is worth a try.


Stary Melnik Krepkoye
Pivovariya Moskva-Efes ZAO
Euro Pale Lager | 6.50% ABV

C+ / 3.1
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | drink: 3.5

AKA Stary Melnik Strong. Ordered a bottle at the Brickskeller... after they were out of the first nine beers I asked for. Anyways.

The flavor reminds me of peppermint and sweet bread. The appearance is a clear gold with a white head and there are no brewing flaws in the aroma or flavors. It was an interesting beer to try but I wouldn't order it again. The odd yeast character and malts are "ok" but not entirely pleasant. It's certainly worth a try for something different and not a bad beer.


Elephant Beer
Carlsberg Danmark A/S
Euro Strong Lager | 7.20% ABV

C / 3
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | drink: 3.5

Got a bottle from a friend, poured into a pint glass. Appears a clear gold with a short white head.

First things first, there's nothing patently offensive about this beer-bravo. That's not an easy accomplishment for a high-alcohol macro lager in green glass. The aroma is pretty non-existent however, I got a hint of strange scented candle-like spice I wouldn't expect in beer. The flavor opens with smooth bready malts and finishes with a big lager tang. In most beer this tang is unpleasant and astringent, but here it comes off more like a mix of strong perfume and fruit punch. Still not something you usually demand in a fine beer, but this could be worse.

Colt 45 Malt Liquor
Pabst Brewing Company / G. Heileman Brewing Co.
American Malt Liquor | 6.10% ABV

F / 1.55
look: 2 | smell: 1 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.5 | drink: 1

It doesnt look horrible, just your typical mass-produced rotgut. The smell is at best, unpleasant. The mouth feel isn't bad, but the taste will make up for that.

I can only describe Colt 45 like this: Someone took a light-bodied beer, squated over the bottle, and farted. Beer + Fart = No fun for anyone.

I should also mention that if its your first time with a 40 of this, be prepared to get your ass kicked.