Shiner Birthday Beer 106 - Chocolate Stout
Spoetzl Brewery

2.5/5  rDev -31.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Late 2014 vintage; drank 1/18/15 @ the Yarchives.

Black/brown appearance.

Dark tan head; frothy lace.

Chocolate cake frosting & sweet cream nose...WAY too sweet already, yikes!

Medium thick mouthfeel.

Chocolate cake frosting flavor up front; vanilla finish.

Super cloying, unbalanced & tough to drink; I was unable to finish 12 oz.

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3.53/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12oz undated bottle poured into snifter at fridge temp 5% ABV. The beer pours dense black with light brown head. The head recedes to a film. The aroma is Hershey's cocoa powder. The taste is semisweet chocolate cake with only a hint of roast or stout. Mouthfeel is thin bodied and adequately carbonated. Overall, ok. I was given this beer by a friend who had it refrigerated for a couple years. I thought I'd give it a shot. Not as bad as I expected. Rated to average due to age.

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3.91/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Dark brown, mostly opaque with foamy tannish brown head of superb retention, moderate lacing/ Chocolate, molasses, black cherry cola, licorice aromas. Sweet chocolate, balancing roastiness/smokiness, some dark fruit along the lines of plums or black cherries, and molasses. Almost too sweet. Medium-bodied, almost watered down for the style, but thick with sloshy to velvety suds.

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3.42/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

If you really want your light and entry level dark beer to taste chocolatey, this definitely delivers. It has a cake sort of flavor to it, but it's still a basic, light bodied yet dark colored beer.

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3.22/5  rDev -11.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

Poured into stout glass. The color is a dark mahogany - nearly black - with a thick, creamy tan head and extensive lacing. The aroma is strongly of cocoa with accents of coffee and roasted malt. The smell is almost too pungent. The taste is not at all what I expected: there is the obvious chocolate, as well as cinnamon and some vanilla. However, it tastes as if it's watered down It's very thin. Overall, I anticipated a thicker, creamier, richer stout. This one just doesn't work for me.

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3.64/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: It has a nice dark brown almost black color to it. It has a nice creamy beige head that dies down moderately fast and leaves next to no lacing.

Smell: The aromas definitely give out hints of chocolate upfront followed by roasted malts, light coffee some caramel and faint vanilla in the back.

Taste: Like the aromas, it has some chocolate (definitely not as much as the nose led to believe), some roasted malts, light coffee, some sweet caramel and very faint vanilla.

Mouthfeel: It has a medium carbonation with a nice overall balance and feel.

Drinkability: It's a very smooth drinkable beer accompanied by good flavors and aromas. The aroma definitely doesn't hold up with the rest of this beer. Enjoyable but not quite what I was hoping for.

Serving type: bottle

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3.76/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Pours an extremely dark brown with a thin tan head. Smells of chocolate covered maraschino cherries. Taste begins with a big blast of chocolate, then some cinnamon, followed by some grain, and finishes with some cherry and a hint of alcohol. Mouthfeel is decent. Overall a good beer, I would get it again if not for it being a limited release. Quite good for being over a year old (looks like it was brewed once in 2014).

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3.74/5  rDev +3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This is one of those beers that surprised me. When a friend recommended I buy a 6 pack before heading back home via roadtrip, I took his advice, though I would have bought another or 2 if I'd known it was as good as it is. You actually get a chocolate taste! This guy borders on the edge of sweet and semisweet and has no bitterness or sourness to speak of. Feel-wise, it's surprisingly heavy for a 5% ABV beer. Smells like chocolate, pours with a head that recedes into the darkness. Pleasant surprise.

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3.53/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Undated bottle at 42 degrees into shaker
Very strong initial aroma of chocolate, attenuates over time
Head large (five cm, aggressive pour), light brown, creamy, diminishing to three mm ring and layer
Lacing – fair. Partial ring retention as level drops, tiny to medium bubbles
Body dark brown, opaque
Flavor of chocolate, initially nearly overpowering, fades as the glass empties; no malt, no hops, no alcohol, no diacetyl, just chocolate
Palate thin and watery, soft carbonation

Appearance 4, Aroma 3.5, Flavor 3.5, Palate 3.5, Overall 3.5

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3.87/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Pours a dark brown with a nice huge foam head.
Aroma of caramel, roasted grain, vanilla and smoke
Tastes of sweet chocolate. Perhaps a bit too sweet. Malts, vanilla, licorice and smoky sugar.
Mouth feel is almost syrupy, thicker than most stouts and very slight bitterness.
Good beer from Shiner.

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4.16/5  rDev +14.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured from bottle into a pint glass

Appearance – The beer pours a deep brown, nearly black color with a one finger cream colored head. The head fades rather fast to leave just a trace of lace on the sides of the glass.

Smell – The aroma of the beer is appropriately strong of a sweet chocolate smell with a whole lot of a sweet caramel and bready smell. With a little bit of a vanilla aroma in there as well, a rich chocolate cake smell is the overall impression left in the nose.

Taste – The taste begins with a rich chocolate cake taste with a whole lot of milk chocolate mixed with a doughty and yeasty flavor. Along with these tastes comes some lighter vanilla and caramel flavors bringing even more sweetness to the taste and complimenting the cake flavors of the brew nicely. The yeast and bread really kick it up at the end and with even more milk chocolate coming to the tongue, one is left with a quite sweet milk chocolate cake flavor to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is average to slightly thicker for a brew of 5 % abv. with a carbonation level that is rather low. For the rich chocolate and stout characteristics of the brew, coupled with the lower abv., the thick body and low carbonation are fantastic for making a nice dessert brew that doesn’t totally booze you down.

Overall – This was a nicely crafted chocolate stout with tons of rich chocolate cake flavors, but all while maintaining a more modest abv. While most chocolate stouts with a good chocolate cake flavor have abv.’s of + 8.0%, this one does a good job at only 5.0%. Rather well done Shiner.

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4.4/5  rDev +21.2%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

This beer stands up pretty well against a much more expensive Samuel Smith's Organic Chocolate Stout. VERY chocolate, sweet. Feels more like a porter in your mouth than a thick stout. All in all a great beer. Too bad it's a one-time thing.

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3.98/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Pours an opaque black body, head is 1/4th inch and tan. Head retention and lacing is above average.

Smell is of chocolate syrup, fresh coffee and caramel malt. No hops or alcohol is present.

Taste is initially lots of chocolate and some burnt malts. Hints of coffee/mocha pass by, alcohol is barely detected, hops aren't.

Mouthfeel is light, actually quite thin. Beer was well carbonated. Head stayed around for awhile, which helped, but I prefer my chocolate stouts thicker.

Overall, this was a good beer but nothing to write home about. Chocolate was there as advertised, just wish body was fuller and taste was more complex.

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3.94/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

July 4, 2015

12 oz bottle, nonic pint

A – Extremely dark brown, basically black because of its opacity, though it appears to be clean/clear where a bit of light passes through. An inch of off-white to light khaki foam, slightly moussy, with moderate retention.

S – Like rum-soaked chocolate lady-fingers, and dry chocolate cake mix. Some light vanilla, an impression of rum raisin ice cream. Perhaps some light floral presence, hops are difficult to find.

T – Chocolate malt (like a milkshake, not the grain), vanilla, and some intense dark caramel. Not overly sweet, surprisingly. Hops are basically a non-factor, contributing only some light bitterness in the middle and finish.

M – Well-carbonated, moderate-high, with a medium to medium-thin body. Dry throughout. Despite the aroma/flavor, only mild sweetness, along with low hop bitterness. Very balanced, very drinkable.

O – This is really the best Spoetzl beer I’ve had. Likely wouldn’t drink several in succession, but an excellent option for a dessert beer, a la Young’s Double Chocolate Stout.

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3.95/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

12 ounce bottle. Served in a Sam Adams Boston Lager glass, the beer pours dark brown/black with about an inch tan head that stayed around a little while. There's a small amount of lacing. Aroma is nice, the brew smells like chocolate, roasted malt, lactose, and tootsie rolls. It tastes like tootsie rolls, roasted malt, and lactose. It's a mostly sweet chocolately brew. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's a bit slick and creamy with a good amount of carbonation. Truthfully, this is better than I thought it would be. Even though it has the artificial tootsie roll chocolate flavor, it's tasty and enjoyable. Lately I've been surprised by the newer Shiner beers I've tried. I think it's worth trying their other brews, especially if you can pick up a single bottle somewhere.

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3.24/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

12 oz bottle, poured into a goblet

Appearance: Pours a beautiful, completely opaque, pitch-black color, with two fingers of chocolate-colored head, that quickly dissolved away into a thin lacing of foam that completely covered the top of the beer.

Aroma: Wow! Massive aromas! Tons of roasted malt and chocolate as well as some aromas of cinnamon and licorice. Smells rich, earthy and inviting.

Taste: Unfortunately, this beer’s flavor doesn’t live up to its great aromas. There are lots of roasted malt and chocolate up front, but the chocolate tastes fake, like it’s a syrup, and not Nestle® syrup either. It’s very sweet and slightly bitter too, and it really makes this beer have an off flavor. Sorry shiner, this is not at all good.

Mouthfeel: Slightly chewy and very, very smooth, as there is no carbonation what-so-ever. With an ABV of 5.0%, there is no alcohol on the palate.

Overall: This beer is not very good, I’m afraid. In fact, it’s very, very poor. The chocolate tastes fake and more than a little off-putting. There are both better Shiner beers and better chocolate stouts out there. Drink those instead and stay the hell away from this beer!

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4/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Really impressed with this. Taste is roasted malt, sugar, and chocolate frosting. Almost like a Tootsie Roll with a light bodied porter. Sweet for the style. Not complex, but a lot better than most Shiner beers.

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4.26/5  rDev +17.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

I'm not sure why this beer gets such a mediocre average rating. I had some on tap at a local restaurant a few days ago. It was excellent. Maybe not the most impressive froth on top, but a good smell and a great taste, with a smoothness you would expect from a stout.

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3.85/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

L: Almost not see through. Little head but a good sticky lace.

S: Chocolate, but like a "powdered" mix smell or a cheap chocolate. Good, but a bit artificial.

F: Good foam in the mouth with chocolate aftertaste and just a bit of bitter.

T: This is Shiner? Except for lack of creaminess, you would think this is a glass of chocolate milk. The alcohol backs up the flavor with just a hint of bitter and wine.

O: While this may be a step down from a micro brewed stout, lacking in the roundness or overall punch, this flies high over a lot of stouts you think would rank better. They should make this regular.

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4.63/5  rDev +27.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: On top is light beige head around two fingers thick. Beneath is a nicely dark mass of beer.

Aroma: Chocolate is front and center with underlying notes of black licorice. Dark roasted chocolate malts, roasted hops, wisps of dark coffee in the back.

Taste: Piles upon more piles of milk chocolate with some bits of milk sugar. Very creamy and silky smooth mouthfeel. Black licorice, dark coffee way in the back with an extremely smooth finish.

Notes: It's like drinking chocolate licorice and cake all at once this one could very easily qualify as dessert. Cheers.

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4.03/5  rDev +11%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3.75

A: poured from a 12 oz can into a pint glass, dark brown almost black with a large tan head that lingers leaving good lacing, clear

S: very sweet, milk chocolate, vanilla birthday cake, reminds me of the BSN Vanilla Cake Batter protein I'm drinking

T: tastes kind of like a brownine, it really does taste like cake batter, chocolate, vanilla, nutty, I'm really loving this

M: thin with too much carbonation

O: I'm kind of shocked that they pulled this flavor off. I'm very pleased. Good dessert beer.

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3.61/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A very dark brown coloured brew, 1 fingered head of tannish foam.

Strong nose of dark bitter chocolate with some milk chocolate and cocoa sweetness coming through as well.

The taste? A very satisfying Chocolate Stout. Bitter, sweet, basic and good. Good mouthfeel too. I like.

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3.06/5  rDev -15.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75

The look is good but's all downhill from there. I agree with the reviewer who wrote:

"this beer is ridiculous... neat that they got so much flavor into the beer, and i have to respect that because its unique, but i would never be able to finish a whole one... cake batter for a chocolate cake or brownie, hersheys in the taste, and the nose has more of a vanilla cocoa complexion, it's a milkshake"

A - Too thin for a 4, but a frothy fast fade head tghat laces over a brown cola body.
S - back of the bakery, after hours, time to clean up...
T - Ice cream soda more than a beer and I dont drink soda pop. This will feed my flowers.
F - too thin for stout.

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1.94/5  rDev -46.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1

Pours to a generous beige head that falls to a thin layer. Deep ruby black. Smells just like Chocolate cake with a robust porter background. There is a maltiness and roastiness but the predominant aromas (and flavors) are of cocoa powder and vanilla extract. Tastes like what i imagine Shiner Bock mixed with chocolate cake batter would be, raw eggs and all. Nasty. Thin, soda-like mouthfeel, not pleasant. They nailed the chocolate cake, I'll give them credit for that. I flat out don't like this beer. Drain pour.

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3.66/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Poured from a 12 OZ bottle into a pint glass.
Aroma- has a big chocolate aroma, very nice.
Appearance- Pours a dark brown to almost black in color. It has a small beige head.
Taste- Is mainly a cocoa flavor with some malt thrown in, OK, flavor
Palate- This is a medium bodied beer with light carbonation.
Overall- A slightly above average beer, I have had several better brands and styles from Spoetzl. I was hoping for more flavor for this.

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