MCI Black Forest
Cloudwater Brew Co.

 

Pours a pitch-black coloration with a large, frothy, dark brown, quickly fading head. Smells of slightly roasted, caramel malt, intense, dark, bitter chocolate and tonka bean, as well as lighter cherry and vanilla aromas. Taste is an excellent balance of slightly roasted, caramel malt and quite rich and dominant dark, bitter chocolate, with distinct, tart cherry notes also coming through, as well as some tonka and vanilla bean, with the tonka standing out particularly, and just a hint of licorice as well. Finishes with a light sweetness and acidity, as well as some dark chocolate, cherry and tonka bean lingering in the aftertaste. Full, luscious mouthfeel with a very rich body and medium carbonation.

I have to say that this really manages to emulate a black forest cake incredibly well with its super-rich dark chocolate character, tart cherry notes and luscious mouthfeel, while it never feels overly sweet or boozy at all and those tonka/vanilla bean accents really add a lot of depth to this. The balance just works out so well here, with the sweet, acidic and slightly roasted and bitter notes being in almost perfect harmony, although I will say that the tart cherry is perhaps just a little too much. Still, this makes for a very rich and well-balanced brew overall that really achieves what it sets out to do incredibly well.

Pours an inky, sludgy black with fine, chocolate colored head.

Smell is sweet and rich with notes of dark chocolate, chocolate mousse, coffee and chocolate cake.

Taste is sweet and intense with notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, chocolate truffels, cream, coffe and a bit of tart cherries. There's a slight saltiness underneath as well. Very close to being over the top.

Mouthfeel is thick, slick and velvety, well carbonated.

Overall, a huge stout that treads close to being ridiculous, but pulls it off.