Tim
Illuminated Brew Works

 

 

2018-06-26
25oz bottle served in a snifter. If there's a date, I don't see it.

Pours black with a light brown head, medium carbonation. Smell is curry powder up front, chocolate in the back.

Taste is weirdly vinegary with a strong curry overtone.

Mouthfeel is light and effervescent. Overall, I am not drinking this beer.

Oh, this beer starts off just fine. The label is crisp, 'chocolate curry stout' sounds like a totally legitimate vision for a beer. And it even pours nicely: a soft black body with a soapy, tawny head. Just fine. The nosedive begins with the smell. It's pure, acrid yellow curry powder. Like vinegar and sweat. I can just picture a small burlap sack filled to spilling with the dusty, toxic-colored powder being dumped into the wort. There's a touch of sweet, bready, caramel malt underneath it all, but it's an afterthought. The flavor continues the spiral into madness as the curry onslaught is superseded by a dark berry sourness and more vinegar similarities. No chocolate, or stout notes whatsoever. Just curry, everlasting curry, with a cleaving sour antagonist. To boot, it's astringent and leaves a vomit-like taste in my mouth. Vomit-like is actually the perfect description for it. I'm glad I was able to produce that connection just now, because it's spot-on. The body.... echhh, at this point who cares? It's liquid, any further descriptors would require keeping it in your mouth for anything but the briefest of moments, and that's nigh impossible with the brutal flavor assault I just verbiage'd. Oily, filmy, medium bodied, and sharp are decent approximations.
Dammit Andy, you've learned this lesson before. You fell for the trap. "Chocolate curry stout?? These guys must be the greatest brewers in the world to make that work as a for-profit product on sale to the public and requiring no disclaimer such as 'Hey, fair warning, we thought this up when we were high and produced it when we were drunk, so buy at your own risk.' I need to stay on the cutting edge of limit-shattering beers. Better shell out the dough." Dammit, Andy.

750 ml bottle into a snifter. Had 3/8/18.

Pours near black, opaque, with a half inch fizzy head and some fizzy, soapy lacing. Aromas of spices, chocolate, malt, caramel, some smoke. The taste is a big jolt of spices up front, malt, chocolate,light caramel, very light vanilla. Tastes a bit smoky. Smooth, a good but lighter body for the style, well carbonated but a little fizzy feeling.

The spices are great- lots of fenugreek, for sure- and dominant, but the base stout could be fuller: more malt, heavier body. Worth a try if you like curry stouts and the like. I do, seems like most people don’t.

Black, murky body; very fizzy head, leaves an anemic film of head atop the body. Strong scent of curry initially; then leaves little after a minute or so. Oily, curry-flavored taste; burnt grain; chicory. Weak and watery body.

Talk about disappointment! For a strong stout, where it counts (taste and feel, in my book), this beer just doesn't cut it. It teases with a mediocre appearance and a better smell, but the taste and feel are flat, watery and without any depth or complexity (other than the curry presence), pure and simple.