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The Mayan (Chocolate Chipotle Stout)
Ilkley Brewery Co.
- From:
- Ilkley Brewery Co.
- England, United Kingdom
- Style:
- English Stout
- ABV:
- 6.5%
- Score:
- 87
- Avg:
- 3.86 | pDev: 9.84%
- Reviews:
- 29
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Jun 19, 2017
- Added:
- Oct 22, 2013
- Wants:
- 4
- Gots:
- 21
SCORE
87
Very Good
87
Very Good
Chocolate Chipotle Stout.
Designed to challenge the senses as well as perceptions, this is an easy-drinking, strong flavoured and spiced stout. This beer has captured the imagination and the fans across the UK and in America, even gaining an honourable mention in the 2013 Brussels Beer Challenge.
Taking you on a journey to South America, via Yorkshire, drinking this 6.5% Chipotle Chocolate Stout is a journey in itself. Rich heady chocolate on the nose, it’s all about deep luscious stouty goodness throughout with a soft mouthfeel. Just as a coffee bitterness develops, and you’re thinking that the party’s over, a subtle dry heat arrives that not only leaves your mouth tingling, but also thirsty and gasping for another taste. The Mayans smoked their chillis, and rather than brew with smoked malt, which can add to the bitterness, we used freshly smoked dried chipotle chillis to add an extra layer of flavour.
Designed to challenge the senses as well as perceptions, this is an easy-drinking, strong flavoured and spiced stout. This beer has captured the imagination and the fans across the UK and in America, even gaining an honourable mention in the 2013 Brussels Beer Challenge.
Taking you on a journey to South America, via Yorkshire, drinking this 6.5% Chipotle Chocolate Stout is a journey in itself. Rich heady chocolate on the nose, it’s all about deep luscious stouty goodness throughout with a soft mouthfeel. Just as a coffee bitterness develops, and you’re thinking that the party’s over, a subtle dry heat arrives that not only leaves your mouth tingling, but also thirsty and gasping for another taste. The Mayans smoked their chillis, and rather than brew with smoked malt, which can add to the bitterness, we used freshly smoked dried chipotle chillis to add an extra layer of flavour.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by Jtee from Canada (ON)
4.16/5 rDev +7.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.16/5 rDev +7.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
From a 330ml bottle served at room temperature (27 degrees Celsius - oh that summer heat!) into a snifter.
Look: The beer pours an opaque black with 3.5cm of brown, dense and rocky head that dissipates in 2+ minutes.
Smell: Malt-forward and medium intensity. Balance is sweet. Strong notes of milk chocolate and caramel with a roasted barley character and some vanilla.
Taste: Strong chili – I like it. Just like the aroma, the flavour is filled with roasted malts, milk chocolate, caramel, vanilla, and an additional layer of chili spiciness. The finish is long, strong, and full of smoky, chocolatey, chili-goodness.
Feel: Medium body with faint carbonation. There's a spicy kick from the chipotle that grows with the finish. Overall slick and velvety – so good.
Overall: The Mayan makes no apologies about the chipotle – it's hot and it grows with each sip. I love chocolate, smoke, and spice so this beer is a winner in my books. All of the elements have been balanced and work well together. Impressive.
Jun 19, 2017Look: The beer pours an opaque black with 3.5cm of brown, dense and rocky head that dissipates in 2+ minutes.
Smell: Malt-forward and medium intensity. Balance is sweet. Strong notes of milk chocolate and caramel with a roasted barley character and some vanilla.
Taste: Strong chili – I like it. Just like the aroma, the flavour is filled with roasted malts, milk chocolate, caramel, vanilla, and an additional layer of chili spiciness. The finish is long, strong, and full of smoky, chocolatey, chili-goodness.
Feel: Medium body with faint carbonation. There's a spicy kick from the chipotle that grows with the finish. Overall slick and velvety – so good.
Overall: The Mayan makes no apologies about the chipotle – it's hot and it grows with each sip. I love chocolate, smoke, and spice so this beer is a winner in my books. All of the elements have been balanced and work well together. Impressive.
Reviewed by thehyperduck from Canada (ON)
4.03/5 rDev +4.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4.03/5 rDev +4.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
330 mL bottle from the LCBO; it says to check the neck, but I can't find a bottling date there (or anywhere else). Served slightly chilled.
Pours a deep, dark mahogany brown colour with reddish highlights; one finger of frothy, light tan-tinged head floats upon the surface, fading down to a bubbly, soapy collar over the next two minutes. The chipotle chile pepper heat is discernible on the nose, although certainly not too pungent - beyond that, I'm getting mostly baker's chocolate, roasted malts and molasses sweetness, with hints of milk chocolate and prune. Inviting aroma; thumbs up.
Good stuff - the chile spiciness is relatively muted, but the small amount of heat that is present integrates beautifully into this tasty stout. Roasted malts, sweet chocolate syrup and subtle hints of dark fruit characterise the front end of the sip; rich notes of bitter dark chocolate begin to shine through on the back. Finishes with spicy chipotle pepper and lingering cocoa flavours, as well as a touch of coffee ground earthiness. Medium in body, with middling carbonation levels that gently bite the palate, pairing nicely with the light chile heat. Reasonably well-balanced, as far as "chocolate chile pepper" beers go - still, it leans toward the rich side, which limits its drinkability somewhat.
Final Grade: 4.03, a worthy A-. I've always felt that chile beers can be a bit tricky - certainly to brew, but also to judge fairly, since it's obviously an acquired taste. Pairing chiles with chocolate can help matters a lot - the two flavours really complement each other nicely, at least IMO - but once you layer them on top of a good, solid sweet stout, you've got the makings of a damn fine beer. And I present Ilkley's The Mayan as exhibit A. I don't think this is a world-beater (for instance, I don't think I'd pick this over Mikkeller's Texas Ranger), but I still find this brew to be very well-harmonized and pretty enjoyable. Certainly worth the modest price tag; I'll probably get another bottle or two for short-term cellaring.
Oct 22, 2016Pours a deep, dark mahogany brown colour with reddish highlights; one finger of frothy, light tan-tinged head floats upon the surface, fading down to a bubbly, soapy collar over the next two minutes. The chipotle chile pepper heat is discernible on the nose, although certainly not too pungent - beyond that, I'm getting mostly baker's chocolate, roasted malts and molasses sweetness, with hints of milk chocolate and prune. Inviting aroma; thumbs up.
Good stuff - the chile spiciness is relatively muted, but the small amount of heat that is present integrates beautifully into this tasty stout. Roasted malts, sweet chocolate syrup and subtle hints of dark fruit characterise the front end of the sip; rich notes of bitter dark chocolate begin to shine through on the back. Finishes with spicy chipotle pepper and lingering cocoa flavours, as well as a touch of coffee ground earthiness. Medium in body, with middling carbonation levels that gently bite the palate, pairing nicely with the light chile heat. Reasonably well-balanced, as far as "chocolate chile pepper" beers go - still, it leans toward the rich side, which limits its drinkability somewhat.
Final Grade: 4.03, a worthy A-. I've always felt that chile beers can be a bit tricky - certainly to brew, but also to judge fairly, since it's obviously an acquired taste. Pairing chiles with chocolate can help matters a lot - the two flavours really complement each other nicely, at least IMO - but once you layer them on top of a good, solid sweet stout, you've got the makings of a damn fine beer. And I present Ilkley's The Mayan as exhibit A. I don't think this is a world-beater (for instance, I don't think I'd pick this over Mikkeller's Texas Ranger), but I still find this brew to be very well-harmonized and pretty enjoyable. Certainly worth the modest price tag; I'll probably get another bottle or two for short-term cellaring.
Reviewed by egrapplesberg
4.04/5 rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4.04/5 rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
My sales reps from United Distributing (GA) Claims this brewery is no longer distro'd in USA anymore and brought me a bottle before they DQ'd it. 22oz bbe 10/2015. Poured into a snifter that is pitch black with a bubbly two finger head. Not much lace but fat bubbles slide quickly down the glass. Nose is very chocolatey mixed with a hint of sweetness, maybe rasberry or cherry. Not getting a whole lot of chipotle in the smell. Taste is chocolate and roasted malt up front with an addicting punch in the face with heated chipotle in the back. I'm surprised with how spicy the finish is compared to the scent. Fantastic beer that I wish I could get again. Similar to Westbrooke Mexican Cake but I enjoyed this more because it wasn't overbearingly spicy.
Sep 22, 2015
Rated by BEER88 from North Carolina
3.11/5 rDev -19.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
3.11/5 rDev -19.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
IMO, it was sweet and very bitter, bottled on June 2015. Maybe I should have let it sit in the cellar a while!?
Jul 30, 2015
Rated by bluehende from Delaware
3.93/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
3.93/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Very nice stout. Good chocolate very little pepper which is good.
Jun 22, 2015Reviewed by TiggerGTO from North Carolina
4.91/5 rDev +27.2%
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
4.91/5 rDev +27.2%
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Tastes exactly like you think it would from the description, like chocolate with pepper added. Sort of like a slightly spicy Young's Double Chocolate Stout.
Jun 14, 2015
The Mayan (Chocolate Chipotle Stout) from Ilkley Brewery Co.
Beer rating:
87 out of
100 with
97 ratings
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