White Chocolate Espresso Stout
Rocky River Brewing

 

I got this RRBC offering in one of their 64 oz. growlers. According to the RRBC beer menu, this beer has a Gravity of 1.060, and ABV of 5.4%, and a bittering of 28. When poured into a small German pilsner glass, this beer is an opaque color. It's so opaque, that no light can possibly penetrate this massive black color. It had a minimal head of tan colored foam that had good retention that left behind a few foamy tan rings and a streak or two of tan lace. The aroma of this beer is great, but it's one dimensional. It had a thick aroma of roasted espresso beans with just a dab of dark chocolate and dark roasted malts. The espresso beans overshadowed everything else. The taste was almost exactly like the aroma, but I found it was a little better to taste the espresso beans, than to smell them. The taste was heavy with bitter roasted espresso beans and when they were tired of roasting up your tongue, they let the bitter dark chocolate and roasted malt come through. I didn't taste any white chocolate or hops, but the bitter espresso beans covered up for the bitter of the hops. Even with an ABV of only 5.4%, this beer was full bodied with a long lasting aftertaste of bitter roasted espresso beans with a pinch of dark chocolate. If it looks like espresso, tastes like espresso, it must be espresso. Even if it is an espresso served on-tap at a brewpub, I wouldn't mind having this again. It's worth a try. Just don't be expecting any hops or white chocolate in this beer.

I had this on-tap at the brewery. My wife really liked it, but I was less impressed. While the list of ingredients (white chocolate and espresso) was impressive, the result wasn't as special as I was expecting.

Appearance was a pitch black color with a tan and loose head that didn't have extensive staying power. Aroma was very light...a bit chocolate-y with some roastiness. Flavor was a very dry roastiness ("burned pizza crust") that was good but not superlative. As it warmed, flavor become smokier. There wasn't abundant evidence of the chocolate or coffee ingredients to me. Mouthfeel was quite dry and good.

All in all, I would recommend this beer. I had it on-tap at the RRBC with a white pizza.