Chocolate Cherry Stout
Johansson's Dining House

Served on draft into a 10 oz goblet.

A: pours murky black with a tan brown 1 finger head that dissipates fairly quickly.

S: sour cherries immediately leap out of the glass, with a great deal of chocolate and vanilla behind it. a small amount of warming alcohol notable in the aroma as well.

T: first impression is a chocolate-covered cherry, with the sour cherry again dominating the profile. chocolate and vanilla makes its way in, a hint of cream, and alcohol; finish is quite acidic and sour but very refreshing, especially for a bigger beer. As the beer warms and is almost finished, it takes on cherry cough syrup flavors, which keeps this it from being a 5 (see more on this below).

M: highly carbonated for a stout, but has a nice creamy feel that complements the flavors well. not as thick as I would have expected but this is not a bad thing.

D: I found myself wanting another of these, which would have paired nicely with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. A ordered this thinking it was a bigger stout, and was surprised that it had more the character of a chocolate covered cherry--which was a good surprise. During dinner, I did overhear another diner mention the aroma of cherry cough syrup, and as I finished mine, I got the same unmistakeable sensation in the flavor; I wanted another just to see whether freshness from the tap and serving temperature was indeed the difference--alas, it was time to go.

Notes: I classified this as a fruit beer rather than a stout, because I was informed it was brewed w/ sour cherries and chocolate; these flavors dominated the flavor profile and it did not resemble an imperial stout as much as a fruit beer.