Hollow Place - Maple & Cocoa
The Veil Brewing Co. - Production Brewery

The beer pours a nice light brown head that comes out after a slightly hard pour and dissipates fairly quickly. The beer itself is a good looking dark chocolate brown with a nice syrup like texture to it.

The smell is fantastic. It is predominantly a bitter cocoa note with a slight hint of maple sweetness that comes out towards the finish. There is also a bit of slightly burnt sweet brown sugar coming around the edges of the cocoa so that it balances it a bit from being too bitter and chocolatey.

The taste is fantastic! It has a delicious and bitters cocoa note that dominates most of the taste and complemented by a sweet syrup that combine to make a delicious and indulgent sensation. There is also a vanilla note as well and the whole thing strongly resembles an indulgent brownie. There is a slight molasses taste that lingers though.

The feel is good. It has a heavy body with a melted chocolate and creamy texture to it. There is very little carbonation to it.

Overall, this is a pretty indulgent beer that is perfect for dessert.

Presentation: 500mL brown bottle with the bottling date on the label. Served in a Rastal Harmony glass.

Appearance: Some fine, brown bubbles surface during the pour but it never really develops a head. It doesn't leave behind any lacing either. It's a deep, pure black color.

Smell: It's a sweet smell of maple syrup and caramelized brown sugar. There's also rich milk chocolate and cocoa powder.

Taste: There's a maple syrup and milk chocolate sweetness right away along with some brown sugar, molasses and vanilla. That's followed up by darker flavors of raw cocoa and roasted nuts.

Mouthfeel: It's thick, rich, creamy and absolutely velvety smooth. There's just a touch of carbonation as it goes down but it's barely there. It never gets cloying which is quite an accomplishment with how sweet the beer is.

Overall: A wonderful beer, period. This requires a bit of a sweet tooth to really appreciate it since it leans heavily on that aspect but even if you're not a fan of sweetness, it never gets out of hand and it's a joy to drink regardless.

500 mL bottle from March, 2020, poured into Kane tulip glass and allowed to warm.

L: Very small brown head with almost no retention, no lacing or anything. Beer is very thick, like motor oil, and very dark brown.

S: Maple dominates, along with roasted malts, and an undercurrent of cocoa.

T: Wow, this is really good! Sweet, sticky maple and roasted malts, with cocoa kind of coming in a bit late and just lasting and lasting and lasting through the end. It is sweet from start to finish, so play that in with your personal preferences.

F: Full-bodied, no carbonation. Well-constructed and balanced. Again, very sweet. ABV hidden nicely, little to no alcohol heat.

O: Very surprised I am the first to review this, as it is a Trillium-level quality dessert stout. I know The Veil is known for other styles, but if you like the style this is really, strong.