Chocolate Black and Blue Quit Stalin
Comrade Brewing Company

had this next to the maple coffee variant, and i think i would have liked this better if i didnt. the chocolate and the dark berries and their jammy properties give this almost too much sweetness, make it real desserty, and while the flavors certainly go well together, they are bold enough to override the excellent base beer a bit, and to make this seem almost forced and cheap, as good as it tastes. the blueberries are awesome in here with the dark malt bitterness and the fudge layer provided by the cocoa, but the sweetness rides up fast and takes the fruit to a syrupy realm. some natural berry tang would be a cool element, or even if this one had coffee in it too, that roasted bitter element along with even a little acidity to cut the residual sugar would play well. i like this base beer a lot, and i worry that it loses its identity here a touch. still, the dark berry and the earthy cocoa go well together, and even the sweetness has a lot of flavor, brown sugar and vanilla come out at me. huge body but well hidden alcohol even with the sugar, and overall a pretty smooth operation here. neat combination of additives, they do work well together, but the dosage might just be a bit high. the maple coffee one was a league above though...

Imbalanced - overly sweet.

C+ / ABOVE AVERAGE