Hazelnut Chocolate Ale
C'est What Durham Brewing Company

Reviewed on 5/8/10 at C'est What. Known on the beer menu as Steve's Dreaded Chocolate Ale. Arrived to my bar perch in an imperial pint in a jet black colour with a thin but steady tan head. Smells like melt chocolate. Taste is in line with the smell with a sweet chocolate taste up front, gets milky sweet in the middle, similar to a milk stout. The finish is a bitter not sweet choclate. This is a complex, delicious and addictive, like chocolate, tough to put down. Mouthfeel is spot on. Only slightly sweet at the end with a chaulky and bitter finish cleansing the palate for another sip, this brew has a very high drinkability.

On nitro-tap at C'est What?

Pours a very dark red, pretty clear in the edges, very thick light tan head forms, very solid layer and leaves sheets of lace on the glass.

Smell is nice, sweet, caramel, chocolate milk, hazelnuts, cocoa powder, a bit of roast, some dark fruit, very nutty, some vanilla sugary, a little sweet but a nice aroma.

Taste is similar, very sweet and malty up front, caramel, chocolate roast and some cocoa powder, hazelnut, vanilla, biscuity, sweet finish.

Mouthfeel is light bodied with low carbonation, smooth and drinkable. A touch too sweet and a little weak but a pretty nice stout.

This beer appears a monolithic black, no light apparent even at the edges, with a small soapy beige head, which recedes quickly, leaving no lace in its wake. It smells of sweet roasted malt, and a bit of softly bitter nuttiness. The taste is nutty (hard to tell if it's hazelnut, one of my favorite nuts), mild roasted malt, and cocoa powder. The carbonation is on the low side, the body smooth and soft, and it finishes with a faint dry chocolate essence. Not bad, but could be a bit fuller. Enjoyable, though.

Tap at C'est What: Light brown ale with a medium foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma consists of hazelnut and chocolate syrup with a very sweet finish. Taste is also dominated by the sweet hazelnut and chocolate syrup. Body is a bit thin for the style with good carbonation and a nice creamy texture. I thought this was too sweet to drink a whole pint and a bit too fake with the syrup really dominating.

A- Very dark colour, with a mocha head (although head not as thick as many stouts).

S- Smells exactly like the name would imply. Wonderful combination of hazelnut and chocolate.

T- A great chocolate-hazelnut flavour.

M- As most beers from a nitr-tap, it is very smooth.

D- While it is possibly my favourite beer, it is too rich for me to drink many of them in one night.

Re-review: Third go at Volo on cask. One of the few beers that's not as good on cask as it is on tap. The appearance is still to par, with a dark brown body and bubbly tan head, but understandably not as pretty as the nitro version. Where I hoped it would make up for this would be in aroma and taste, but alas no. The flavours seemed a bit more artificial than the previous times I've had it, and I'm not enjoying it that much. I've downgraded the taste a notch.

Old review: Pint at C'est What? Pours a very dark brown with a creamy mocha head. The aroma is of nutella, but could do with being more prominent. The flavour...my god, this is delicious. I honestly thought that this would taste artificial, but its pulled off magnificently. The initial hit is all chocolate, and hazlenut at the back of the mouth. As the drink progresses, roasted malts come more to the fore. Wonderful creaminess on the palate. An excellent surprise, and I'll be having some more in the future!

Second pint at C'est What a few months after the original review was good but not as satisfying. The chocolate seemed a little less integrated, and felt more like a shot of kaluha in a stout. Still decent, though.

Coffee-ish with the hazlenut adding albeit artificial aroma, and the chocolate some thickness to the coffee. Roasty. It's a stout with these additional added elements, and not a bad one. Not all that rich, and there are a lot of better stouts about.

A - Fairly dark, ruby red with a thinnish nitro-head.

S - Smells like coffee and some evident alcohol.

T - Hazelnut is faint, and mostly comes through in the aftertaste. Fruitiness and notes of coffee are more prominent, as is some apple-ish notes.

M - Feels light in the mouth, carbonation is mild.

D - Not a bad tasting brew, but I would say it's more coffee than chocolate and quite fruity. Hazelnut flavours are muted