Chocolate Babka
Campanology Brewing

Bomber poured into a snifter, pours dark black with a lingering mocha head. It has a strong desserty smell. My guess would have been chocolate and peanut butter if I didn't know any better. It definitely smells rich, that's for sure, like fresh brownie batter. The taste is very much the same. It's like brownie batter, a bit peanut butter to me, but more cocoa compared to the nose. Notes of chocolate frosting and vanilla with baking chocolate and even leaning toward espresso. This one is VERY smooth for its size. Leaning toward full-bodied, lighter on carbonation, rather creamy.

You really can't beat the price at this level of quality.

Type: 22-oz. bottle
Reviewed as: American Pastry Stout
Glass: Rip Current 8-oz. beer glass
Price: $3.99
From: Trader Joe’s in La Mesa, Calif.
Purchased: Jan. 2, 2022
Consumed: Feb. 18, 2022
Misc.: No bottled on date

Kind of forgot I had this one. I generally like the beers that Campanology does (or at least the contract brewer), especially the stouts. Untappd description was “Rich stout brewed with cacao nibs and cacao, this beer is dessert in a bottle.”

Poured a very dark color with five fingers of khaki tan frothy head. Could see lots of bubbles coming up along the sides of the glass at the top. Bad watery lacing. Good retention. (Sight - 3.50)

Smelled brownie batter, chocolate cake, chocolate syrup, milk chocolate, black raspberry, cacao nibs, cocoa powder, Nutella, vanilla and chocolate frosting. Not as good out of the bottle, which was expected. (Smell - 4.25)

Tasted almost as good as the nose. In order got brownie batter, fudge, chocolate cake, chocolate syrup, milk chocolate, black raspberry, chocolate frosting, cacao nibs, hot chocolate powder, Nutella and vanilla. Super smooth for 10 pct. ABV (Taste - 4.25)

Medium-to-full body. Creamy-to-sticky texture. Average-to-soft carbonation. Long, smooth finish. (Feel - 4.50)

Such a damn good beer. Campanology just kills the stouts. (Overall - 4.25)

4.23 | 94 | A-

Shared bomber bottle from TJs.

Appearance. Essentially black and opaque with a decent beige head.

Loads of dark chocolate flavor with dark grains and hints of vanilla and coffee. Lightly sweet with enough bitterness to leave a mildly bitter aftertaste. Overly boozy for 10% ABV.

L: Poured from a 22oz bomber into a sniffer - jet black pour with a heavy head. A bit of lacing left behind as it dissolves back into liquid form.
S: Huuuuuge notes of bakers chocolate, that of a heavy barrel aged infused with chocolate. If not more. Definitely smelling deserty. The cacao nibs really dominate the aroma but getting some slight vanilla too.
T: Jeez just as described, pure chocolate, sugar, malts.
F: Heavy bodied for sure - not to acidic, not very carbonated. Very straightforward dessert beer. Can't taste the 10% at all as it's covered up by the chocolatey sugar mixed in.
O: I gotta say this was a good dessert stout for what it is. It gives what it advertises so for me it gets a better score.

 

Trader Joe's has a decent selection of beers, but I was too pumped when they came out with their big stout lineup. Here is Chocolate Babka, a great stout for 22 oz and a $4 price tag. It is a pure pastry with a big body and rich foam. It really does take those chocolate ganache tones from the dessert it is named after.

 

Appearance: The body is dark amber in color, opaque to light. Before a strong light, some ruby highlights can be seen. The head is a light tan in color, and which fades quickly; scattered, thin lacing adorns the glass wall.

Aroma: The aroma presents sweet, spicy alcohol, bitter cocoa, a note of Tootsie Roll, or perhaps toffee, and brown sugar, and sweet and spicy alcohol.

Taste: Tasting offers a strong note of bitter cocoa, brown sugar, and some cold coffee. After a bit, there is a surge of milk chocolate. As the taste progresses, there are notes of sweet vanilla, wood, burnt caramel, and an undercurrent of sweet, slightly spicy alcohol. The vanilla note ascends, until late in the taste. Later in the taste, the alcohol offers a gentle warming. The taste finishes with moderately bitter herbal hops.

Mouth feel: Pleasant, soft, and quite full, with just a hint of carbonation.

Drinkabilty/notes: A very nice and quite reasonably priced dessert beer. Cheers to Trader Joe's for offering this.

Presentation: Packaged in a standard twenty-two ounce brown glass bomber with a pry-off crown, served in a La Fin du Monde tulip.

Dark brown with a murky complexion. There’s a fingernail of brown around the rim and covering three quarters of the top. The aroma is of powdered cocoa and milk chocolate. I’m tasting bitter dark cocoa. The mouth is sticky and yet thinner than I would have anticipated for the ABV.

22oz bottle from a Trader Joe's. Poured out an opaque, jet-black color with a small, light brown head of foam. It left sudsy trails of lace. it smelled like Tootsie Rolls. Very sweet. It tasted of candy-like chocolate (and not in a good way). No balance.

poured from a 22oz brown bottle – not dated

Campanology Brewing Chocolate Babka Stout’s body is opaque black that produced a tan ¾-finger head that dissipated to a ring of foam. Slight bubbles of foam [no real lacing] hung to my pint glass. The nose was of chocolate malt, and light brown sugar. The taste follows the nose and was dominated by the rich flavor of chocolate/cacao and is slightly sweet. Mouth feel is full bodied, a little chewy and smooth with a little warming from the alcohol at the finish.

Overall, a flavorful and thick sipper making the Stout a good desert beer. Chocolate Babka is reasonably priced.

Chocolate Babka has a thin, beige head, a dark-brown appearance, and minimal lacing. The aroma is of cocoa and dark-roasted malts. It has a similar flavor, with low bitterness, but some acrid char. A bit of alcohol is detected. Chocolate Babka has a high-medium body and a mostly-dry finish.

RJT

Pour is black with a finger of thick khaki head. pretty good retention. good lacing.
Nose is milky chocolate, hint of vanilla, maybe some lactose?
not really sure what is going on with the taste. some milky chocolate, a bit of vanilla, hint of roasted malt but all kind of melds together in a way that is not really that pleasant. Not terrible. just...meh.

 

 

Not much body, seemed sort of thin for a stout. I found the aroma pleasant and chocolaty. The taste was certainly of chocolate, but I've had chocolate stouts I preferred.

Bomber from Trader Joe's. Near black pour, creamy beige head. Head lasts and provides a nice cap throughout. Aroma is chocolate, reminiscent of Hershey's syrup. Taste is sweet chocolate, sugary, faint bitterness. Overall, kind of thick and creamy.

 

I got this one for a very good price at Trader Joe's. Poured from a 750 mL bottle into a glass.

Dark brown almost black with a generous tan head. Crazy amounts of chocolate aroma. The flavor is absolutely dominated by chocolate, maybe too much so. --- I think a little bit more toastiness or some hops or spices would improve this one. But thankfully this beer stays away from being too sweet (like the monstrous Birthday cake from Shiner a few years ago).

As this beer warms, I do pick up more flavors. Some raisins and port wine, but mostly lots and lots of cocoa --- really this beer feels like a mash-up of hot chocolate and beer --- which makes me think what it is missing is some chile powder and some winter spices.

Overall though, I enjoyed this beer. It was a good value for the money. Not legendary but still very good.