The Oligarch - Coco Breakfast
Breakside Brewery - SE Taproom

Appearance - The beer poured black with a small dark tan head crowning the glass.

Smell - The nose smelled of very sweet cocoa. The chocolate profile seemed to be somewhat lacking.

Taste - The roasty initial taste was very sweet. I could not find the cocoa in the way I sought. I thought maybe I was forgetting maple, simple syrup, or another adjunct. Something here made an oddly sweet stout instead of a cocoa stout.

Mouthfeel - The body had low carbonation and fair viscosity.

Overall - I did not get what I was expecting here.

Taster at brewpub, from bottle. Dullest aroma of the lot. Chocolate and vanilla fighting to a draw. These additives actually detract from the base beer.

Pitch black appearance with just a crest of dark brown around the surface of the liquid when held at an angle. It's clean looking, like a pour off a fresh pot of coffee. Above lies a thin, creamy, khaki colored foam like one found on a well made espresso, rings of lacing coating the glass and all. (4.25)

Smells like straight up melted milk chocolate. No, scratch that… brownie batter. Yup. Brownie batter. Fudgy, decadent chocolate pudding with a drizzle of bourbon and vanilla glaze. My instincts tell me this is dessert, not breakfast. (4.0)

Chalk up another victory for the sense of smell. It does in fact taste just like brownie batter. Hell, I'm t almost even feels like brownie batter, but that's getting ahead of myself. Chocolate fudge, vanilla, and confectioners sugar are mercifully saved from a rediculously sweet experience by light handed dabs of oak, booze, and the ever favorite burnt edges. (3.75)

As eluded to above, this is one full bodied and creamy beer. Intensely sweet, and by being so has completely redifined the "pastry stout" for me. The booze however, is nearly undetectable. (3.75)

Well, while Breakside does deliver what was promised by the label, this is one sweet (too sweet), rich concoction. Again, I think I'd lean much more towards this being a dessert over breakfast beer. A splash of coffee could do this beast wonders, I believe. Regardless, this is going to get my day moving right along. (3.75)

 

 

I was very excited for this one and very disappointed to find that it is infected. Appearance is great with a pitch black body and strong lacing. Aroma is a mix of dark chocolate and tart cherry. On the palate any semblance of barrel age stout almost instantly fades to tart green apple and sour cherry. Mouthfeel is medium-thin. The first miss I've had from Breakside but definitely a huge disappointment due to infection. Purchased at Berkeley Bowl West on 5/29/19 for $9.99.

so much to like about this one, and so much complexity, really cool to find it on tap. this is the first one in this series i can ever remember having, and its pretty special. aged in maple syrup bourbon barrels with chocolate, vanilla, and toasted wheat. as much as this is rich and desserty, its also well grounded and complex in an earthy way too, and i like what the toasted wheat adds, used in an uncommon way here, thats as cool and unique as any other element in the beer in my opinion, and i know i can always count on breakside for something innovative and delicious. maybe not quite as black from the tap as i thought it would be, but with a great airy head on it and long legs on the edges of the glass, quite dense even though the color isnt as intense. aroma and taste are amazing, the maple and the vanilla and the oak are all there right away, sweet for sure with brown sugar and fudge aspects as well, and an almost candied aspect to the vanilla with the bourbon sweetness, but its amazing. the darker grain adds some roasted layer thats nice with the cocoa, but a little more bitterness would be cool, i seem to get as much of it from barrel char as i do from grain, and a little more low end would help with the overall balance. i like the alcohol cutting some of the sugar in the finish, and this warms up well. vanilla and a cool nuttiness later on, maple all the way through it, and the whiskey too. the contribution of the toasted wheat can be appreciated, bothe earthy and nutty, and also objectively malty more than i am used to in the style, a good counterpoint to the desserty elements. good depth of flavor to this, not overdosed with the adjuncts, and of the finest quality. i think the residual sugar could be scaled back some, but its hard to be too critical here. this has me really keen to try some of the other oligarch variants!

 

 

 

Another rich and flavorful Oligarch (heh). This is the third that I have tried In this series - all have been excellent but the best feature of the series is the impressive variety. Rather than simple versions of a good beer, these are really creative, significant rethinks of a great original. Dark as the stars at midnight, just a slight hint of copper glow. The aroma here is really something else - thee are very few beers that rank better with aroma than taste with me, but this is one, if only by a little. Like walking through a whiskey distillery that’s been flooded with liquid chocolate and vanilla. The taste delivers on this, with some nice refinement of the nuances. Feel is really quite thin, almost like a CDA, but just chewy enough to finish nicely. Hope I’ll soon get to try some more of this excellent series!

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing opaque black in the glass with a half finger dark khaki head with great retention and thick lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, bourbon, cocoa raisins and vanilla. Flavor is dark toasted malt, bourbon, milk chocolate, vanilla, raisins and a touch of oak. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess and silky mouth feel. Like the Bocconotto, this is malt and bourbon forward, but with a nice character of chocolate and vanilla. What it lacks in malt intensity is made up with a remarkable integrated, smooth flavor that is enhanced by the creamy body. Nicely done.