Eclat Cocoa Lager
Victory Brewing Company - Downingtown

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From:
Victory Brewing Company - Downingtown
 
Pennsylvania, United States
Style:
European Dark Lager
ABV:
5.6%
Score:
85
Avg:
3.72 | pDev: 11.83%
Reviews:
9
Ratings:
35
Status:
Retired
Rated:
May 19, 2014
Added:
Feb 19, 2012
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Kegatron:
Photo of Kegatron
Reviewed by Kegatron from Pennsylvania

3.88/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
On nitro-tap @ the Victory Brewing Company (Downingtown, PA) on 2/19/12. Served in imperial pint. ABV listed as 5.6%.

Pours a deep clear ruby, with a tight finger of creamy slightly off-white head. This naturally holds tight from the nitro pour, just drenching the sides of the glass with thick frothy lace. The aroma smells like fresh baked cookies, with notes of cocoa and sugary dough. There seems to be some even sweeter caramel character along the back of the nose, while a light green and leafy hop presence hangs on the edges. This is decent enough but isn’t quite wowing me.

The cocoa flavor here in the taste is really well done. It’s flavorful but not overbearing with its sweetness. This sits right up against notes of caramel and bread from the malts, while underlying citric hops give this a green crispness. This finishes with some light leafy bitterness and a touch of lingering residual sweetness from the cocoa that gives this a bit of stickiness across the back of the throat after each sip. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and as you would expect from the nitro, has a smooth creamy crispness to it that just flows so easily across the palate and makes this VERY drinkable overall.

While this didn’t exactly blow my socks off, for what they were trying here, I’d say that Victory nailed this one. It’s got a clean and crisp Lager base for that cocoa flavor to ride along on and putting this on nitro just ensures maximum drinkability. I think that my overall experience with this exceeded its individual parts, as I ultimately ended up really enjoying this in the end.
Feb 21, 2012
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.5 by Shandycan from Pennsylvania

May 19, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by FatBoyGotSwagger from Pennsylvania

Jan 06, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by InspectorBob from New Jersey

Nov 21, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by Jason1337 from Pennsylvania

Apr 17, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by Jspriest from Pennsylvania

Apr 13, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by Oakenator from Pennsylvania

Mar 26, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by TheZoner

Jan 07, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by jjd315 from Pennsylvania

Dec 14, 2012
 
Rated: 3.75 by PaBeerLover from Pennsylvania

Oct 25, 2012
 
Rated: 3.75 by Dethklok from New York

Aug 19, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by hockeyfighter19 from Pennsylvania

Jul 06, 2012
Photo of corby112
Reviewed by corby112 from Pennsylvania

3.11/5  rDev -16.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Draft at The Pour Hiuse in Westmont, NJ.

Pours a dark chestnut brown color with mahogany edges and a 1.5 finger frothy off-white head. Great retention, only slowly fading into a lasting ring. Spotty lacing left behind.

Slightly toasty arom with hints of roasted malt, cocoa, toffee, nut and lactic cream. The nitro really takes away from what seems like be a great nose.

Medium bodied with a balance of slightly roasted malt, sweetr notes and lactic cream. The nitro adds a creamy thickness to the body which helps the mouthfeel but takes away from the flavor. Hints of toast, dark malt, cocoa, toffee and hazelnut. Slight sweetness balances things out. Not a bad beer but just kind of average.
Jun 28, 2012
 
Rated: 3.25 by ninner00 from Ohio

May 09, 2012
 
Rated: 3.75 by Gatordaddy from Maryland

May 05, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by RobertColianni from Pennsylvania

May 01, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by mdillon86 from Pennsylvania

Apr 22, 2012
Photo of garuda
Reviewed by garuda from Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A - Deep ruby, off white head that retains well with some lacing.

S/T - Like an Irish Dry Stout without the coffee bitterness. More of a dark, semi-sweet chocolateness to it with a touch of earthy pine hops in the finish.

M - Medium to light in body, super smooth nitro tap body.

O - I like what they did with this. I'd get it again.
Apr 20, 2012
Photo of FeDUBBELFIST
Reviewed by FeDUBBELFIST from Pennsylvania

3.8/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4
Nitro tap to imperial pint glass. This beer was released in celebration of Victory's 16th anniversary as a collaboration with a local chocolatier. Made with German malts and the Peruvian Pure Nacional cocoa bean - apparently the world's rarest. Sampled at the pub on 3/17/12.

A: Arrives with a two finger cap of creamy foamy, light brown in texture, cascading with excellent retention. The body is a murky shade of dark brown, almost completely opaque, with a little ruby peeking through the edges when the glass tilts. Lacing is fantastic and solidifies a high rating for the appearance.

S: The nose is wonderful. Full of sweet dark chocolate, with a rich, rendered caramelly background. While the hops were faint, and the lager character hard to distinguish, the overall composition of the nose was quite successful.

T: Good flavor. Mildly sweet, light bitterness and little to no roasty character. Not sweet or substantial enough to stand up to a dessert pairing, but a fine treat on its own.

M: Light to medium-light body with a faint crispyness to the effervescence. Slick and creamy. The nitro adds to the texture (as it so often does) but also takes away from the body. This beer was much thinner than expected.

O: While I enjoyed this beer, and most beers on nitro for that matter, I think this one would have performed a little better on co2 - particularly in the flavor and mouthfeel department. Notwithstanding, putting a dark, cocoa-covered lager on nitro was certainly an interesting concept - and very easy to drink.
Apr 18, 2012
 
Rated: 3.75 by ububru from Pennsylvania

Apr 09, 2012
Eclat Cocoa Lager from Victory Brewing Company - Downingtown
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 35 ratings