Inspired By A Fancy Chocolate Bar
Stillwater Artisanal Ales

 

16oz can - dates not visible. Opened 12-27-19.
Black stout with dark brown edges, 1/2" tan head with short retention...holds at a solid cap. Spotty lace.
Sweet-ish nose with chocolate, dark fruit, and some roasted malts and grain. Simple / restrained aroma.
Roasted malt, milk chocolate and that's it in the flavor. Simple.
Full body bolstered by the milk sugars, smooth / velvety...low carbonation. Medium length finish with mild roasted notes.
It's just OK.

 

From the can on 12/05/19.

 

Wow this was a very chocolaty stout. Sweet, balanced, tasty. Best by July 2020 printed on can. Pours a thick black opaque color with just a little tan head and very scant spotty lingering lacing. Smells of nice fudgy chocolate, medium roast coffee, caramel, vanilla, bread and malt. Taste follows the nose, light roasted nuts in the background, delicious and reminded me of a fudge chocolate bar. Smooth, sticky, rich mouthfeel and good carbonation. Very enjoyable.

Stillwater Artisanal Ales Inspired By A Fancy Chocolate Bar 10% ABV. This Imperial Stout pours a deep dark brown color almost black with a one finger width tan colored head that dissipates rather quickly without leaving a lot of lacing on the glass. The aroma is of a combination of milk and dark chocolate with hints of cocoa powder coffee brown sugar molasses toffee vanilla sweet cream with a toasted nut and bread background with lighter notes of figs raisins plums and dates along with cherry and earthy notes. The flavor is very rich and chocolatey with the combination of milk and dark chocolate flavors coming out along with the cocoa powder coffee vanilla molasses and caramel brown sugar honey with cream toasted nuts and bread with hints of the dates figs raisins plums and cherries adding depth and richness it finishes with lingering flavors of chocolate with a pleasant hop bitterness to counteract all the sweetness. The mouthfeel is very thick and creamy almost syrupy with a moderate amount of carbonation it finishes with a dryness from the alcohol content. 9.5/10

16 ounce can into snifter, best before 7/2020. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a 1 finger fairly dense and fluffy tan head with poor retention, that reduces to a minimal spotty lace cap that lingers. Minimal lacing on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Good appearance. Aromas of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, honey, molasses, toffee, vanilla, cream, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of licorice, raisin, prune, cherry, fig, date, smoke, char, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. A bit too fruity/yeasty aromas, but not overwhelming. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malts, honey, cocoa, sugars, light-moderate fruity yeast, and light earthy hop notes; with solid strength. Taste of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, honey, molasses, toffee, vanilla, cream, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of licorice, raisin, prune, cherry, fig, date, smoke, char, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Mild herbal, grassy, peppery, roast, charred bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, honey, molasses, toffee, vanilla, cream, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit,dark bread/crust, licorice, dark fruit, light smoke/char, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts, honey, cocoa, sugars, light-moderate fruity yeast, and light earthy hop flavors; with a solid roast/hop bitter/sweet balance, and no cloying sweetness after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness. Light-medium carbonation and fairly full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/bready, and lightly slick/syrupy/sticky/chalky mouthfeel that is nice. Mild increasing warmth of 10% after the finish. Overall this is a very nice imperial milk stout. All around nice nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts, honey, cocoa, sugars, light-moderate fruity yeast, and light earthy hop flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the ABV, with the mildly bitter/drying finish; nice soft/silky feel. Great balance of rich malts, sugars, and cocoa flavors; with solid earthy hops, and restrained fruity English yeast. Not overly sweet/heavy from lingering dryness. A very enjoyable offering, and well made style example. Not nearly as impressive as I expected, a bit too yeasty overall.

 

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing nearly opaque black in the glass with a half finger, somewhat fizzy dark khaki head with good retention and light lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, milk chocolate, lactose; a bit boozy. Flavor follows, with semi-sweet dark toasted malt, milk chocolate, lactose, vanilla with a mild ethanol note in the finish. Medium bodied with light creaminess. This smells as expected from the name, but has a bit less chocolate presence in the tasted and is a bit hot. Tastes more like a chocolate liqueur bon-bon than a chocolate bar. Still, the milk chocolate is authentic tasting and this is an enjoyable, definitely confection inspired milk stout. Interesting but not outstanding.