Belgian Chocolate Stout
Redoak Boutique Beer Cafe

Belgian Chocolate StoutBelgian Chocolate Stout
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From:
Redoak Boutique Beer Cafe
 
Australia
Style:
Oatmeal Stout
ABV:
5%
Score:
74
Avg:
2.9 | pDev: 27.24%
Reviews:
19
Ratings:
21
Status:
Retired
Rated:
May 26, 2021
Added:
Mar 01, 2005
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by brendan13:
Photo of brendan13
Reviewed by brendan13 from Australia

3.35/5  rDev +15.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
A - Poured a very dark brown colour with a couple of centimetres of light tan head that falls away rather quickly.
S - Strong roasty, dark chocolate aroma dominates.
T - The roast, dark chocolate also comes through on the smell. Some burnt flavours come though too.
M - Fairly light bodied for a stout.
D - OK but there is better options.
Nov 06, 2007
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.7 by Daneve76 from Australia

May 26, 2021
 
Rated: 1.5 by pin from Australia

Aug 16, 2012
Photo of Stew41
Reviewed by Stew41 from Thailand

2.72/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Very dark brown, almost black. Well rounded nose, toasty malt notes and undeniable dark chocolate coming through. Palate fails relative to the nose, a bit thin with some chocolate but no malt body to drive the flavour. Good chocolate notes at the finish but essentially too late...I’m drinking beer, not a milkshake.
Aug 23, 2011
Photo of laituegonflable
Reviewed by laituegonflable from Australia

2.12/5  rDev -26.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5
Pours a very dark-brown, mahogany around the edge. Head is ochre and modest when poured, sinks to leave nothing more than a meagre cloud. Lace is OK but not great. Looks alright I guess

Why so cold, my love? This is served about 10° lower than it should be. After warm-up it smells quite roasty, with a sour tinge. What embarrassing characters are they trying to hide by serving it so cold? Touch of rich cocoa? No, that's fine. Slight blackberry? No. Oak touch? No. Slight funk? Maybe, but it all smells quite good to me.

Taste is a big disappointment. Very sour, almost to a rank extent. Burnt espresso notes on the front move quickly to that slight infected oak note that sits uncomfortably atop the roasty malt. For 'Belgian chocolate', this has no chocolate and no Belgian flavour (though that's not what was meant by Belgian here). Very weak for the most part and I'm starting to wonder if this is actually infected. Actually tastes like our infected chocolate homebrew stout. Sour, insipid. Just off.

Mouthfeel is thin, yeah. Not much texture, a slight carbonation tingle, but not much. Meh.

There is a 2/3 full glass of this sitting in front of me that's been left by someone else. I'm not surprised. This beer leaves me with two options - 1, this is a genuinely bad beer that has completed missed the mark, or 2, this is actually infected. But in that case why would Redoak still be charging $7.50 per bottle? What a joke. Do yourself a favour and avoid this.
Jan 18, 2011
Photo of juju7
Reviewed by juju7 from Australia

2.82/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
Redoak bottles are always a gamble. I think I've had more bad bottles than good. So now I'm putting my foot down-no more Redoak in a bottle for me! I've had this beer before on tap and it didn't taste much like this. There is a that same sourness that pervades all Redoak bottled beer. They really need to do something about it. This tastes like a good beer ruined. Has potential but putting it in the bottle is doing it no justice.
Jun 08, 2010
Photo of dgilks
Reviewed by dgilks from Australia

2.73/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
Thin aroma with only a bare hint of chocolate coming through.

Pours a deep brown verging on black. No head.

The flavour is again insipid. Light with weak notes of chocolate and roast. A fair amount of tartness comes through as well. Not great.

Medium-light body with moderately-high carbonation.

This is disappointing. I don't know why I keep bothering with Red Oak bottles. They are always just a little off.
Apr 24, 2010
Photo of ppoitras
Reviewed by ppoitras from Massachusetts

2.61/5  rDev -10%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2
330ml bottle received in trade with mulder1010. Thanks for the opportunity.

Poured into a Harpoon tulip, formed a 2 1/2" brown head over the opaque dark brown/black brew. Super-frothy head lasts and lasts, with sporadic chunky lacing. Aroma is dark chocolate and tartness. Taste mirrors the nose, unfortunately, with nice peeks of chocolate interspersed with the tart fruitiness. Mouthfeel is prickly, and drinkability is not great. Frustrating that the label has a best before area, but it is unused.
Dec 26, 2009
Photo of rhoadsrage
Reviewed by rhoadsrage from Illinois

4.39/5  rDev +51.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
(Served in a globe glass)
A- This beer pours a deep black that looks murky during the pour. There is a bubbly dark tan head that soon fades but is supported tiny bubbles
S- The deep roasted charred aroma has faint tart cherry hints in the background.
T- The roasted black malt flavor is pretty charred but not really burnt or bitter with a slight inky quality. There is a slight watery finish with a dark earthy baker's chocolate flavor with a slight vinous note.
M- This beer has a medium mouthfeel with a big fizzy finish and no real alcohol heat.
D- The big deep earthy roasted flavor that blends together well.
Nov 10, 2009
Photo of DIM
Reviewed by DIM from Pennsylvania

2.36/5  rDev -18.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5
a: This was a murky, dark brown. It poured with a thin tan head.

s: Light, porter like oxidation and very faint roasty chocolate.

t: Mirrors the smell, kind of bland.

m: Thin and watery. Not like an oatmeal stout, as the label states.

d: My first Aussie beer, not all that memorable.
Nov 02, 2009
Photo of LittleCreature
Reviewed by LittleCreature from Australia

1.78/5  rDev -38.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1.5
Appearance - 2.5
Poured two fingers of coffee coloured head that rapidly disappeared. Body is solid black with amber where the light shines through.

Smell - 2.0
Wow, there is an overpowering whiff of dark chocolate! Other smells present are chocolate and roasted malt, a definite burnt smell and a little sugary sweetness.

Taste - 1.5
Not awful, but far from being a good sweet stout. Lots of dark chocolate, roasted malt and sickly chocolate syrup flavour. Burnt bitterness in the finish. This hardly tastes like beer to me.

Mouthfeel - 2.5
Thin! Light carbonation feels rough, weight is light. Smooth but just not right for a stout.

Drinkability - 1.5
Finishing this 250mL bottle was a struggle, I will never get it again.

OVERALL - 1.9
I was enticed by the name but far from impressed by the beer. It got no better with warming, sometimes tasting over sweet, sometimes over burnt, always artificial and un-beerlike. Not recommended.
Apr 16, 2008
Photo of RedHaze
Reviewed by RedHaze from Nebraska

2.21/5  rDev -23.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
250ml bottle purchased in Brisbane, Australia.

Pours a dark drown, nearly black with a one finger mocha head that leaves behind a thin, tattered lace.

Smell; dark roasted malts with a hint of coffee. The chocolate is present, but is much more subdued than I was expecting, and definitely leans toward the bitter side. As others have noted this is a bit acrid in the aroma.

Taste; bittersweet chocolate, with a hint of roasted coffee beans, with a biting astringency .A bit thin and watery out of the gates and never does anything to change this throughout the glass.

The hefe-weizen was bit better, but not by much in my opinion. Though I didn't review that one, I had it while in Brisbane, AU so I'm assuming it was a fairly fresh sample.

Mouthfeel is on the thin side with a drinkability that suffers due to the astringency and thin, almost watery presence overall. To be honest, I'm a bit disappointed that I saved this one for New Years eve.
Jan 01, 2008
Photo of Jason
Reviewed by Jason from Massachusetts

2.08/5  rDev -28.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2
250ml brown bottle. Thanks to Todd for the sample.

A- Very dark down color with a very thin ring of lace that looks like it is going to disappear after a few sips.

S- Faint roasted and dark chocolate aroma, a bit acrid.

T&M- Thin and slightly crisp, watery malt flavor is astringently roasty. Some undertones of chocolate come through but for the most part this beer has a nasty bite. Finishes off with that same roasty astringency.

D- Weak and watery, off flavors as well. Not to much to this beer at all. Pass on this one.
Jun 27, 2007
Photo of BeerNutta
Reviewed by BeerNutta from Australia

2.29/5  rDev -21%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
Belgium Chocolate Stout.

A = Poured a dark brown colour with a thin light brown head.

S = Slight hint of chocolate. I let it warm a little to see if I could get out a little more aroma. But alas. Nope.

T = Slight hint of powdery chocolate followed by a slight bitterness.

M = Was expecting it to be more full bodied for a stout. Very watered down. Dissapointing.

D = Not very drinkable. Watery and not very strong flavoured.
Apr 17, 2007
Photo of joecast
Reviewed by joecast from Australia

3.45/5  rDev +19%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
huh? whats this?? 250ml. oh. same shape as the pale ale bottle, but not same size. thought it felt strange after pouring it out, then was surprised to find it only filled half the glass. oh well.

struggled to form a head at first, but managed a good two fingers. very dark brown head. bubbly, but didnt last long. disappeared completely after a couple minutes. the beer itself is very dark as well. seriously stout in appearance, just lacked head retention.

good chocolate aroma. not the harsh dark malt aroma i expected from the color. more of a light to medium crystal malt if its possible to tell. probably some chocolate malt. yeah, i thought that up all by myself ;)

nice taste, but just lacking a bit of oomph. some stout roastiness and a hint of chocolate, but its just a bit thin. doesnt have the smoothness of a really good stout. some vanilla at the back end and some earthy hop character, but it still leaves some room for rounding everything out.

overall, a good effort. dont know where the belgian comes into it, but im more let down by the lack of depth overall. guess i just had high expectations, and id still buy their stuff again.
Apr 05, 2007
Photo of belgbeerdrinker
Reviewed by belgbeerdrinker from Colorado

3.57/5  rDev +23.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Not an easy one to find, but found single bottles in Carlton.

Very dark, but very little head to speak of at first and none at all in a few minutes.

Standard smell of a chocolate stout.

Taste is that of a standard chocolate stout, nothing that stands out. Belgian portion not discernable. A bit of a let-down given some of the other quality Red Oak offerings, but certainly a drinkable beer.
Jan 28, 2007
Photo of IPA17
Reviewed by IPA17 from New Jersey

4.42/5  rDev +52.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Although I was looking for the Belgian Chocolate Cherry Stout--which I was told they stopped brewing--I was very pleased with the Belgian Chocolate Stout. The beer had a dark almost black appearance and an excellent taste--true to the Belgian Chocolate claim. The mouthfeel was good and it was a very drinkable beer due to its moderate alcohol content. Yummy.
Dec 18, 2006
Photo of norwichboy
Reviewed by norwichboy from Australia

2.99/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3
Dark brown opaque. Had real difficulty getting much of a head. Smell centred around good quality cocoa, although molasses, boullion and a touch of rubber appear over time. A little coffee as well on tasting, with continued chocolate/cocoa flavours. The mouthfeel is rather thin and watery, seeming unsuited to the style. Finish lacks length.

Overall, the dark chocolate flavours are pleasant, and a welcome change from the Cadbury's Dairy Milk flavours of Young's which I am more familiar with, but it is not a particulalry good stout, lacking body.
Nov 01, 2006
Photo of jarmby1711
Reviewed by jarmby1711 from Australia

2.63/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5
Smelling thisstraight from the bottle is puredark chocolate.
Unfortunately when it is poured out the chocolate is nowhere near as obvious, in fact very faint indeed.There also appeared a slight whiff of fish as well
Not surprisingly it was dense black in the glass and hada dull grey head.
The flavours were vaguely chocolate hints of ginger and some toasted grains , but they were not really knocking the taste buds around.
The brewers claim this to be an oatmeal stout. Well the mouthfeel along lacks any evidence to support this It is thin and watery Where is the creamy smooth softness ?
This is my first try of this brewey and I came away disappointed.
It lacks complexity and interest.
There are lots of cheaper more readily available stouts that I would prefer.
Aug 17, 2006
Photo of Gorilla
Reviewed by Gorilla from Australia

3.19/5  rDev +10%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3
Dark brown, close to black, with a disappointingly thin head. Smelled strongly of roasted malt and dark chocolate. The taste was quite malty and roasted, with some bitter chocolate, but not as much as I had anticipated. The lack of body really disappointed me. While surprisingly drinkable, this beer needs to be heavier to match the taste, so more body and more alcohol are needed.
Jul 21, 2006
Belgian Chocolate Stout from Redoak Boutique Beer Cafe
Beer rating: 74 out of 100 with 21 ratings