Abraxas - Mexican Hot Chocolate
Perennial Artisan Ales

 

 

Slate black body with brown tones mixed in, full brown head. So this is abraxas with more cocoa and spice in all aspects, especially taste. This is a problem though because the balance is gone, now more dry, spicy and bitter, with an astringent aftertaste and in the harsher feel. Lightens the body too. Skip this one

 

 

2023 vintage: 10.5% abv

Poured from a 750ml undated bottle into a snifter at 51 degrees.

Look- Black, opaque, dark brown frothy head, slightly above average head retention, above average lacing.

Smell- Ancho chili, cacao, vanilla, slight marshmallow, medium strength of scent.

Taste- Cacao, vanilla, marshmallow, Ancho chili, slight Ceylon cinnamon, mildly spicy, moderately sweet, high strength of flavor.

Feel- Medium body, average carbonation, highly silky, mildly spicy, moderately sweet, mildly mouth coating, moderately mouth warming.

Overall- Outstanding look with deep black color and dark brown frothy head. Bouquet was medium in strength and very pleasant, but not as much marshmallow as I would have expected from this variant. Flavor was high in strength and a wonderful balance of cocoa, Ancho chili, vanilla, cinnamon and marshmallow. Feel was thinner than expected, but extremely silky with some mild spice. Overall this was an outstanding beer, but I don’t believe it really improved on the base beer.