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Chocolate Covered Pretzel Stout
Triple C Brewing Co.
- From:
- Triple C Brewing Co.
- North Carolina, United States
- Style:
- American Imperial Stout
- ABV:
- 9.2%
- Score:
- 90
- Avg:
- 4.03 | pDev: 7.94%
- Reviews:
- 18
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Feb 02, 2022
- Added:
- Jan 29, 2015
- Wants:
- 14
- Gots:
- 14
Brewed with cacao nibs and a touch of salt.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by tdm168:
Rated by tdm168 from Pennsylvania
3.97/5 rDev -1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Mar 28, 2015
3.97/5 rDev -1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Mar 28, 2015
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by brentk56 from North Carolina
4.12/5 rDev +2.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4.12/5 rDev +2.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Appearance: Pours espresso colored with a one finger beige head that reduces to a ringlet; splotchy lacing
Smell: Roasted malt and milk chocolate underpinned by Bourbon, vanilla, and oak
Taste: Roasted malt and milk chocolate followed by a hint of briny saltiness; in the mid-palate, there is a strong flavor of Bourbon, vanilla, and oak which lingers through the finish; the aftertaste brings the pretzel
Mouthfeel: Full bodied with moderate carbonation; some warmth in the gullet
Overall: Almost seven years old and holding up very nicely; the pretzel flavor is an interesting twist and the Bourbon treatment is just right
Feb 02, 2022Smell: Roasted malt and milk chocolate underpinned by Bourbon, vanilla, and oak
Taste: Roasted malt and milk chocolate followed by a hint of briny saltiness; in the mid-palate, there is a strong flavor of Bourbon, vanilla, and oak which lingers through the finish; the aftertaste brings the pretzel
Mouthfeel: Full bodied with moderate carbonation; some warmth in the gullet
Overall: Almost seven years old and holding up very nicely; the pretzel flavor is an interesting twist and the Bourbon treatment is just right
Reviewed by TheRaven from South Carolina
4.63/5 rDev +14.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
4.63/5 rDev +14.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
This is one of the best sipping stouts I’ve tasted. The description on my bomber says it was aged in bourbon barrels but the name on the label doesn’t specifically set it apart as a varietal. Moreover, this isn’t listed as an Imperial but the ABV is 9.2%, so it’s getting close. At any rate, the bourbon favor is huge in this one. The first few sips taste like you are drinking a chocolate coke mixed with Woodford Reserve. The flavors don’t fade all that much either as the palate becomes accustomed to the taste. An alcohol aftertaste comes with the territory, naturally. As for the attributes you can’t taste, what little head there was disappeared quickly with no lacing, the color was of dark roast black coffee, and the smell was nothing to write home about. The taste was outstanding however, and this is an option I will seek out in the future.
Dec 26, 2017Reviewed by jvgoor3786 from Arkansas
3.75/5 rDev -6.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.75/5 rDev -6.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Bottled 1/31/17.
Pours a deep brown with minimal head and lacing.
The smell is really nice. It's full of bourbon, roasted malts, and light chocolate.
The taste is a bit different. There is bourbon and lots of chocolate. The salt also comes through lightly. There's a strange, bitter finish that's unusual. Is really bready and salty. I guess it does taste like a pretzel.
The mouthfeel is thick, smooth, and low carbonation - very nice.
Overall, this does live up to it's name. I'm not sure it totally works for, but it's still enjoyable with a great feel.
Dec 14, 2017Pours a deep brown with minimal head and lacing.
The smell is really nice. It's full of bourbon, roasted malts, and light chocolate.
The taste is a bit different. There is bourbon and lots of chocolate. The salt also comes through lightly. There's a strange, bitter finish that's unusual. Is really bready and salty. I guess it does taste like a pretzel.
The mouthfeel is thick, smooth, and low carbonation - very nice.
Overall, this does live up to it's name. I'm not sure it totally works for, but it's still enjoyable with a great feel.
Reviewed by spoony from Colorado
3.33/5 rDev -17.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
3.33/5 rDev -17.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
From a 650 ml bottle (dated February 19, 2015) to a snifter.
A-The beer looks thin as I pour it. The short head is a darker-than-average shade of brown. The beer beneath is pretty much black in color. Ho-hum looking stuff.
S-The aroma is heavy on the dark chocolate notes with hints of char or smoke. I pick up the salt, which seems to accentuate the bitterness from the dark roasted malt flavors, but I am not picking up any barrel notes. I would expect it to smell smoother than it does with addition of wheat, but it is kind-of abrasive.
T-The taste is also heavy on the chocolate and I am picking up quite a bit of salt. The pils malts give the beer an odd crispness that seems out of place on a stout, but I guess is mimics the bready flavor of a pretzel. The finish is strangely bitter, but not in a typical stout fashion and I suspect the bitter flavor is more due to the adjuncts than anything else. I am still not picking up any barrel flavors.
M-The body is on the thin side for a stout with a semi-crisp carbonation.
O-This beer did not really work for me. The salt seems to amplify things that I didn't want amplified. I'm not sure if it would drink differently fresh versus almost two years old, but I have had better.
Jan 07, 2017A-The beer looks thin as I pour it. The short head is a darker-than-average shade of brown. The beer beneath is pretty much black in color. Ho-hum looking stuff.
S-The aroma is heavy on the dark chocolate notes with hints of char or smoke. I pick up the salt, which seems to accentuate the bitterness from the dark roasted malt flavors, but I am not picking up any barrel notes. I would expect it to smell smoother than it does with addition of wheat, but it is kind-of abrasive.
T-The taste is also heavy on the chocolate and I am picking up quite a bit of salt. The pils malts give the beer an odd crispness that seems out of place on a stout, but I guess is mimics the bready flavor of a pretzel. The finish is strangely bitter, but not in a typical stout fashion and I suspect the bitter flavor is more due to the adjuncts than anything else. I am still not picking up any barrel flavors.
M-The body is on the thin side for a stout with a semi-crisp carbonation.
O-This beer did not really work for me. The salt seems to amplify things that I didn't want amplified. I'm not sure if it would drink differently fresh versus almost two years old, but I have had better.
Reviewed by BEERchitect from Kentucky
3.79/5 rDev -6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.79/5 rDev -6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Who doesn't just love chocolate covered pretzels? So seeing a stout that promises these flavors on the shelf proves far too irresistible to pass up. Triple C brewers seem to have the same folly with this sweet and savory combination, creating a beer of the same namesake and seduction.
Dark bark brown, nearly black, the beer's heady froth quickly reduces to a simmer while casting a scent of toast, chocolate, coffee, nuttiness and toffee. Sweet malty flavors of toffee, caramel and vanilla start the savory show with a quick followup of robust dark chocolate, dark-roast coffee and a host of roasty, toasty elements.
As the flavors slather the middle palate, its bittersweet chocolate flavors are front and center. Burnt toast and coffee offer an earthy and robust taste that pushes the chocolate deeper in the bitter cacao realm. Caramel and toffee slowly subsides and a bitter finish begins to build an earthy taste. Mildly bready but lacking the saltine character of true pretzel, the beer's taste is more of savory and bitter chocolate than pretzel-like.
A long, chocolatey, nutty linger is of walnut and broadly bitter, woodsy hops. Its full but restrained body is creamy while trending dry late. Mild astringency plays on the finish like fennel seed and roasted grape skin. The stout is a welcome beer in the glass for any stout-lover but its attempt to capture the true essence of chocolate covered pretzels are tepid and meek.
Aug 19, 2016Dark bark brown, nearly black, the beer's heady froth quickly reduces to a simmer while casting a scent of toast, chocolate, coffee, nuttiness and toffee. Sweet malty flavors of toffee, caramel and vanilla start the savory show with a quick followup of robust dark chocolate, dark-roast coffee and a host of roasty, toasty elements.
As the flavors slather the middle palate, its bittersweet chocolate flavors are front and center. Burnt toast and coffee offer an earthy and robust taste that pushes the chocolate deeper in the bitter cacao realm. Caramel and toffee slowly subsides and a bitter finish begins to build an earthy taste. Mildly bready but lacking the saltine character of true pretzel, the beer's taste is more of savory and bitter chocolate than pretzel-like.
A long, chocolatey, nutty linger is of walnut and broadly bitter, woodsy hops. Its full but restrained body is creamy while trending dry late. Mild astringency plays on the finish like fennel seed and roasted grape skin. The stout is a welcome beer in the glass for any stout-lover but its attempt to capture the true essence of chocolate covered pretzels are tepid and meek.
Reviewed by farrago from New Jersey
3.79/5 rDev -6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.79/5 rDev -6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Offers up between two to three fingers of very loose and agitated foam, hard pressed to find a larger quantity of such huge bubbles going off like fireworks across the surface, airy with poor retention, the lacing shimmers like chain mail then is gone. The liquid is an opaque black, considerable amount of bubble activity visible at the surface line, the color maybe shifts some to darkest brown. The nose is sweet, emphasizing milk chocolate, lactose, coconut flakes and caramel, stops just short of confectionery, maybe a smidgen of licorice, the roast is mild, soft breadiness, no real discernible fruit, easygoing and without alcoholic burn. Medium to full-bodied, slimmer than expected yet not lacking in intensity of chocolate, mocha, caramel flavors. Probably power of suggestion as much as reality regarding any savory salt or pretzel accents, hardly noticeable anyway. More roast here which makes the finish clenched. The carbonation does not do much for the mouth feel, more so makes you burp. Moderate plum to cherry fruit flavors, some anise or flowers. Would benefit from rounder contours and more soaking into the palate. Nice enough without being especially memorable.
Aug 17, 2016
Chocolate Covered Pretzel Stout from Triple C Brewing Co.
Beer rating:
90 out of
100 with
72 ratings
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