Schokolade
Bear Island Brewing Company

On tap in Meridian ID; served in a pint glass. Been looking forward to this one after I missed it the last couple seasons.

A: Just shy of jet black; opaque brown with a dark khaki head that laces well.

S: Mellow sweetness combined with some light but sharp roasted malt characteristics; I get the impression of fresh white coconut and maybe vanilla sweetness as well, milk chocolate too. A dusting of cocoa and coffee/mocha.

T: Milk chocolate and cocoa/dark chocolate, coconut and other moderately sweet impressions of a dessert-y characteristic...present roasted malt and bitterness, with a bready malt component that balances it all out as a beer still. Light astringent dark fruit character as well.

MF: Smoother, medium bodied, fairly dry in its roasty character, not overly cloying at all.

O: A balanced chocolatey stout that isn’t gimmicky, the adjuncts are definitely in moderation. Would drink this one again; it’s not the best chocolate milk stout I’ve tried, even recently, and the coconut character is subdued, but overall it is tasty.

a milk stout modeled on a german chocolate cake recipe, which sounds desserty and gimmicky, but is actually delicious. they do a good job with the weird recipes and ingredients in here, and i think remain underrated overall in the boise scene. this is never all that sweet, even if there is some lactose in it, its the chocolate that stands out, but like dark chocolate and unsweetened baking cocoa powder, more the intensity of like brownie batter but without it being sugary in an over the top way. i get subtle vanilla in here too, kind of the unifying element, a hint of coffee from the dark malts, and some bitterness from them to balance, a nice deep roasty body and overall a pretty balanced and approachable beer, even though it doesnt sound like it would be. faint coconut, milk chocolate, and a touch of bready yeast character keeping it beery enough. smooth to drink, not heavy really at all, but still cozy enough for cold winter weather. i think this beer is very well refined, nicely proportioned, and not overdone. my mother in law loved it, and i was pretty keen too. the beer nerds dont talk much about bear island, but they continue to impress me every time i have their beer. nothing like this to this quality here locally at all.

Draft at Growler Guys. Near black pour, small ring of head. Light roasty aroma, mostly roast grains, not very chocolaty. Kind of lightweight, thin, and not that sweet either