The Billy Bonka
Pearl Street Grill And Brewery

On tap at Pearl Street Grill and Brewery in Buffalo, NY.

This one pours a fairly dark brown color, with a small head, and a lot of lacing.

This smells like cheap milk chocolate, with a hint of insipid roast and not much else.

This doesn't necessarily taste bad, but it's just so uninspired and boring. The chocolate flavor tastes artificial and cheap, and the base beer is fairly boring. There's just not much to this one.

This is light bodied, and slightly creamy, with a slightly oily and flat feel to it.

I can't recommend too much about this one. It's not offensive, but it's also just not that good.

 

 

Very nice dark roasted chocolate taste. My favorite here

 

 

 

 

tap

Pours opaque black with a light tan lacing for a head.

Aroma of rich cocoa and cream with some vanilla.

Chocolate syrup flavor followed by a creamy sweetness with vanilla and a richer malty chocolate.

Medium body with a low carbonation.

Very nice dessert-like stout with a good flavor and aroma, very much enjoyed this one.

On tap @ Pearl Street under the name Billy Bonka.

A - Poured black with a thin layer of dirty white head with good retention.

S - Nestle chocolate syrup, roast and not much else. Fairly one dimensional nose.

T - A bit hit of chocolate syrup at first that is somewhat, but not entirely artificial tasting. The roast profile is definitely present as well, preventing this from being one dimensional. Fairly sweet overall.

M - Light body and somewhat watery. The mouth feel was a bit of a let down.

 

 

 

this was listed on the chalkboard as billy bonka, im pretty sure its the same beer as willy wonka. served on tap into a standard pint glass.

served a dark dark brown color bordering on black. no head, just a thin ring.

lots and lots of chocolate going on. almost like hersheys chocolate syrup. some raisony dark fruits blend nicely. bits of roasted malt behind the fruity chocolate.

again tons of tasty chocolate mixed with raisony fruits. some roasted malt comes in behind all that. the choco flavors are a little artificial and very pervalant, but they make for a tasty beer. not overly sweet.

medium body with some good feeling carbonation for the style. drinks fairly easily, exspecially considering all of the rich chocolate, i could still easily drink 2 or 3 of these.

A rich, dark, chocolate stout with a velvety mouth feel and luxurious, dark brown, almost black appearance. Could be a bit overwhelming if you aren't a fan of chocolate but a truly unique experience either way. Head dissipated rather quickly, probably due to the amount of head killing fats in chocolate. A bit of artificial tootsie roll chocolate and Hershey's syrup. Slightly rich and filling, probably not the best session beer, but good from start to finish if not a little too sweet.

Pours black with a tan head. Light, hot cocoa chocolate taste. A basic dry stout with that essence of hot chocolate that makes it a little more interesting. The mouthfeel could have been heavier, but I think my palate is used to Imperial Stouts, so the light-creaminess of this beer is probably appropriate for this style and makes it into a very drinkable brew. On a hot day this pint disappeared rather quickly for a dark beer.

They are apparently also mixing this with their Raspberry Fields Raspberry Stout which I also had, though I did not try the mix.

As in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, which should tell you all you need to know about this stout. Pours off-black with a finger of tan head. Fairly decent retention and some lace. Aroma of chocolate, cream and coffee. Tastes like a cafe mocha, but the chocolate still tastes a bit artificial for my liking. Light bodied. While an improvement over the horrible Choklait I had there in January, this is hardly going to set the world on fire.