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.