Trip In The Woods: Chocolate Chipotle Stout
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

750mL corked & caged bottle (most likely from the 2018 release, purchased at the Mills River taproom this week) poured into a Duvel glass at just above fridge temp 10.9% ABV. The beer pours dense very dark brown light brown head. The head recedes to a thin ring and single layer of bubbles leaving a few streaks of lacing. The aroma is moderate in strength featuring bourbon, oak, chocolate, vanilla and coffee in descending order. The taste is semisweet caramel and chocolate with a roasty malt touch and significant bourbon barrel and vanilla before a very subdued pepper flavor. Minimal to mild bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with just less than average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, very good to excellent. The peppers have really faded on this, but the barrel character is nearly perfect to my taste.

 

Look - super dark with a good tan head and great
Smell - cocoa and some spice with some sweet caramel woody smell
Taste - boozy chipotle pepper taste but not to Spicey with a good chocolate taste and some caramel and def roasty toasty
Feel - full body with a medium light carbonation
Overall - really fantastic beer

 

L: black, nice tan head and good lacing
S: all I get is booze
T: roasty, little bit of chocolate and heat from the chipotle
F: great mouthfeel!!
O: the cocoa comes out more as it warms, great beer

all of these trip in the woods series beers have been great. this one is mellow on the chipotle, like extremely mellow, its way in the back, but there is still great depth of flavor here, and overall this is really tasty, even if it runs a little on the sweet side for me. the chocolate is robust in it, both a bitter nib element and a sweeter, denser fudge aspect, present in aroma and flavor, and there until the end. i get some subtle smoke, maybe from the pepper, more smoke than heat really, as there is no heat here at all. lots of oak though, a light whiskey note, but the grain and the chocolate do the majority of the flavoring, everything else is just well placed nuance and enhancement, and overall i found this to be extremely well refined, they always are from these guys. light campfire smoke and wood, rich chocolate, deep earthiness, a grilled element almost, and some brown sugary long cooked malt sweetness at the end. its a nice layering of flavors here and a well hidden alcohol content, even with the residual sugar its never really heavy to me. fun stuff, this series has been money! cool to try this one on tap.

 

 

Trip in the Woods: Chocolate Chipotle Stout pours black, with a nice, long lasting, tan head. Rich aroma, malty, notes of wood. Flavor starts sweet, some chocolate notes, lots of bourbon barrel notes, and just a little pepper, and a little heat near the end. Good body and feel. Overall, sweeter then I was expecting, light pepper flavor, but great barrel notes.

 

 

Pours a very dark black with a fingers worth of tannish head. Smells of milk chocolate, some dark fruits, and subtle but noticeable spice. Taste matches up, though the chipotle spice is slightly easier to pick up on the tongue. Feel is medium, not particularly thin, but not as heavy as many BA stouts tend to be.

On tap at SNBC Chico. Tons of chocolate, roast, coffee flavors. Some good barrel and bourbon notes. Zero chipotle to be found. Similar to BA ten fiddy or willetized.

 

 

 

Had somewhat mixed feelings on this one. It is good to very good; but not very good to great. Really liked the chocolaty maltiness. BA was a marginal improvement. Chipotle was also, unexpectedly, a marginal improvement, and possibly not worth the effort. Chipotle does add a certain warm earthiness that is worth trying, but it seems to distract a little from the chocolate and malt notes that I enjoy more. So it adds some complexity, but doesn't make it that much more delicious. It was enjoyable, and I would say I would recommend having one, but I won't be stocking-up on it.

16 ounce Prowler bought at Liquor Shed. This is Bourbon barrel aged.

It pours pitch black, has an inch of tan foam after settling down, lacking is impressive.

Smell is of Bourbon, chocolate/cocoa, vanilla and roasted malt in that order.

Taste has the cocoa first, Bourbon and roasted malt 2nd, chipotle shows up in the finish, adding a spicy flavour that borders on heat. I attribute most of the heat to the abv.

Very good mouthfeel, I do have to say that it drinks stronger than 10.9% but it is still a very fine sipper.