Aztec Hot Chocolate
Brouwerij De Moersleutel

 

440 ml can, from Vinmonopolet Bryne. ABV is 10%. Pitch black colour, large to moderate tan head. Aroma of roast malts, chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon and chili. Smooth mouthfeel. The flavour is moderately sweet, with the same elements as the aroma, also hints of coffee, with a slight chili burn and quite moderate hops in the finish. Well balanced.

 

Pours a pitch-black coloration with a small, wispy head that soon fades to nothing. Smells of slightly roasted, caramel malt, way too much cinnamon and vanilla and hints of chocolate and chilis. Taste follows the nose, with some slightly roasted, caramel malt, but being overly dominated by the cinnamon and vanilla, as well as lighter notes of milk chocolate, licorice and just a hint of chili heat. Finishes overly sweet, with little bitterness and some cinnamon and vanilla lingering in the aftertaste. Thin mouthfeel with a medium body and light carbonation.

This unfortunately suffers from the typical mexican chocolate stout deficiency of way too much much fucking cinnamon, as well as an overly sweet vanilla note, only barely being saved by some balancing, but insuffiecient notes of roasted malt and chili heat. While this grew on me just a little bit as it warmed, it's still just poorly balanced with the cinnamon/vanilla being way too dominant and the base stout just not being assertive enough here. It's drinkable, but not particularily enjoyable, unless you just love cinnamon, I guess, in which case you're really going to love this. Mouthfeel is quite poor as well though, unfortunately.

From can (canning date 11/2018, enjoyed 08/2019). Pours a black colour with no head, but it's possible the glass was a bit greasy... Aroma's: sweet, cinnamon, vanilla (vla), milk chocolate, chili. Retronasal follows this mostly and has a little peadrops. Flavour is light heavy sweet, very chocolatey and little roast. The chili does its work on the tongue, but it's never overly hot and not at all lingering. Almost full bodied. Fairly low carbonation. Finish is somewhat roasty.

 

Great mexican style imperial stout

Got this one at the Duvel guy in Utrecht

From a 44cl can into a snifter
Batch 119
Best before November 2023
Imperial stout with cacao, vanilla, cinnamon and chipotle chilies

APPEARANCE: Clear black pour yields an almost non-existent fizzy head that fizzes away immediately. Black body with no carbonation evident. Looks completely flat and finishes equally unimpressive. Looks pretty lousy for the style.

SMELL: Chilies are definitely there, with cinnamon, vanilla and milk chocolate on the nose. All the adjuncts are there.

TASTE: Cinnamon, vanilla cream, cotton candy, milk chocolate and some spicy flavor up front. More cinnamon and vanilla at the swallow with a dose of sweet caramel candy as well. A bit of chili heat as well, but minor. A bolder but lingering finish of cinnamon, vanilla cream and butterscotch sweetness, some milk chocolate and some pepper character. A bit of mild chili heat too.

PALATE: Medium body and slightly lower carbonation. Enough weight and creamy enough. Goes down fine with a bit of a chili burn and finishes quite sticky. Some milder heat lingers.

OVERALL: The look is awful but the rest of the experience is alright. Milder in the chili heat department but some solid pepper and cinnamon character. Quite a bit of vanilla and definitely on the sweeter side of the spectrum. Beers like this hark back to the originator of the style, Cigar City Hunahpu, but unfortunately reminds me of how incredibly difficult it is to pull that combination off. This one is okay, but doesn’t scream adoration for me.