Chelsea Cream Stout
Chelsea Brewing Company

 

 

Enjoyed on-tap at Cole's. Surprising bold flavours from this brewpub. Chocolate aromas, with a little coconut - as if barrel-aged. Above-average mouthfeel, creamy with chocolate, some lactate, like a latte but more on the thick chocolate side. Roasty. Like a nitro, but not, and some complex tasty stuff. A meal.

(From notes)

A - Dense, dark black color and poured with a really decent light tan head that was a specific surprise given that this was cask offering

S - Roasty as hell for the style, which was quite nice as it cut some of the sweetness; dark, rich maltiness; touch smoky

T - Roasted maltiness way out front; tasty bitterness (not hoppy); light chocolate sweetness

M - Thicker MF overall; very subtle carbonation (cask)

D - Decent given the heft of flavors, but not easily down as some others plus the abv isn't all that light. Nice sipper

Interesting example of the style, tasty, and not nearly as sweet as most in the range.

Drank at the Kings Head Tavern in NY.

A: Jet Back body, and rich, medium sized, espresso head.

S: A small hint of malty, sweet flavor.

T: Great taste. Hints of chocolate, toffee and lots of coffee flavor. Coffee flavor lingers well after a small sip, its really nice.

M: Big full mouth feel. Really syrup like with very little carbonation. Very similar consistency to Bailey's I thought. This beer filled me up.

An awesome beer. I think I'll have to stop by the brewery some time.

Had on cask, into a pint glass

A: Thick dark, near oil color pour. Nice, whipped cream consistency head that is dirt brown. Light barely sneaks through the glass and the lacing is excellent.

S: Grains, bready, and some pretty obvious coffee aromas. Perhaps some licorice and fruits as well.

T: Decadent and rich, this beer is creamy and on the malty side. Sweet caramel and coffee flavors with minimal hop in the background.

M: Rich, voluptuous. Does not coat the mouth, however. Full bodied. Very low carbonation, making it super smooth.

D: High. I had a few of these.. really enjoyable.

Poured from a growler into a tulip pint.

A--Holy golly. Viscous motor oil body that just /looks/ thick. Cap is two fingers of deep brown sugar cream nearly the consistency of ready whip. Retention is excellent, lacing is considerable. Wow.

S--Got sort of a brown rice and vanilla bean thing going on here, which is unusual but not unwelcome. Roasty, with deep grains, rather than bread notes, coming through. Definite tang going on--sort of like rice pudding dipped in cream. Maybe a little woodiness or tobacco in the very back of the nose. Smells like it's gonna pack a wallop.

T--Nose proves an accurate preview for the feature presentation, and doesn't just contain the good parts. Lots of thick swirling flavors going on here: I taste leather, tobacco smoke, and earth underneath, tons of charred cocoa powder and coffee grounds in the middle, and some molassess toffee thing immediately up front, that fades with the ultra long smoke/leather/creamy finish. If you've ever made non-instant hot chocolate in a saucepan, then you know there's always some tasty sludge at the bottom. Much of the flavor profile resembles that, if the cocoa were made with dark chocolate.

M--Super smooth and creamy delivery accompanies the roasted bitterness well. No complaints at all with the mouthfeel--true to style. Drinkability is fine, though I don't think I could drink more than a couple pints because it's so thick. But again, that's spot on for the style. Great for dessert or on a cold rainy day like we had here in Brooklyn, with the first Nor' Easter of the season kicking our umbrella's asses inside out.

If you like SA Cream Stout, and you happen to be in the New York Metro and see this on top, give it a whirl if the mood is right. Great American representative of the style--a fuller, more bitter and roasty version of the Sammy A.

On-tap at the Blind Tiger

This isn't a lactose-centric stout like Makeson's, instead this makes the sweet taste a compliment to the the roasted black malts. This big doesn't have huge roasted grains, but there's a continuous flavor, from start to aftertaste of charred cocoa similar to that of a great Irish stout. Fairly smooth, and thick enough to be more of a sipper, but a tasty beer all around.

Had this at the Blind Tiger, where the bartender Lal served this from cask to a mug. Was dark brown with a minimal tan head that diminished quickly. Smelled like fruity oats, coffee and caramel. The taste was the same as smell, delicious. Smooth almost no carbonation, was very easy going down. Exceptional drinkability on this stuff.

Poured a deep black hue with a one and a half finger creamy tan head. There was very good retention and sticky lacing.

The smell featured a soft chocolate malt, mild coffee, some toffee and some smoke elements.

The taste consisted of a light and sweet coffee character with a very nice smokiness and some alcohol warmth.

The mouthfeel was full and creamy with a suprising dry finish.

Overall an easy drinking sweet stout.

I had this on cask at the Brazen Head last night. I am usually the kind of person that drinks a different beer every round, but I ended up drinking 6-7 pints of this great tasting, smooth, slightly sweet, beautiful beer.

It's got a nice tan head and is dark black in the glass. Nice chocolaty smell. It's very smooth in your mouth and because of the cask, it didn't have much carbonation which is ideal for this beer.

It was by far the tastiest beer that I have ever had out of a cask, and I've been over to England and had some of the best cask beers around. Chelsea really impressed me with a quality brew.

On cask at the Brazen Head cask festival, this beer poured a beautiful black with a frothy tan cappucino head, pretty highly carbonated for a cask. This beer is a dead ringer for one of my favorites, Mackeson Milk Stout, but even better because of the cask-coniditioning, I think. All coffee roasty chocolaty goodness up front, with just a twinge of that lactic tanginess that transforms into an excpetionally smooth, creamy mouthfeel.
Besides this, I've only had Chelsea's Black Hole Stout, which was also great. I'll definitely have to try more Chelsea, as they've proven they can work with dark roasted malt..

Dark leathery brown with a real creamy tan ring of lace.

Roasted twang shows a slight astringency, not overwhelming but certainly noticeable. Very malty holding a full body with an underlying sweetness. Hints of coffee and dark bread come to mind. Mild alcoholic esters drop a dark fruitiness middle to end. Finishes somewhat sweet with a lingering roasted flavour.

A decent sweet stout, not a problem of having a couple.