Benthic - Chocolate Hazelnut
Half Acre Beer Company

**
11/29/24

can to snifter

Look: dark black, motor oil, zero head.
Aroma:
Taste:
Feel:

**


**

 

12 ounce can into a snifter. Canned 10/16/23, had 7/12/24. Also had on tap at the release.

Pours near black and opaque, with a brief foamy head and some light foamy lacing. Aromas of chocolate, bourbon, roasted malt, oak, some hazelnut, light vanilla, light char. The flavors seem more concentrated: bourbon, chocolate, roasted malt, light hazelnut. Smooth, a bit creamy, a solid full body, appropriately carbonated.

Lots of chocolate and strong barrels, but the hazelnuts are a bit muted and had more of a presence on tap. This does have the typically full and rich Benthic feel. Solid, but maybe not a top tier variant.

 

This one pours a very dark black color, with a small head, and not much lacing.

This smells like dark chocolate, burnt caramel, vanilla, hazelnut cookies, milk chocolate fudge, maple, and oak.

This is yet another dynamite variant of Benthic, some of the most underrated stouts in the country. It’s so punchy and vibrant – tons of char and caramel from the barrel, some oak, and bourbon folded nicely into the immensely chocolatey vibe of all of this. The hazelnut is a great touch – it doesn’t add the overt pastry creaminess that it sometimes can provide, it’s a much more toasty, nutty, almost cookie-like from the hazelnut.

This is thick, creamy, but not all that boozy, with a great drinkability for the style.

I honestly have not had a bad variant of Benthic yet, these stouts are just so good.

2023 can

Black color. Thick used motor oil. Tan head.

Warming. Strong. Big bourbon, charred oak, and chewy tobacco. Chocolate tootsie roll pop. Faint hazelnut, almost doesn’t stand out much at all. Figs and plums. Roasted finish. Solid, but not my pick of the set.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Canned 10/16/23; drank 11/26/23 @ the Yarchives.

Black appearance.

A violent pour yielded a huge, noisy dark tan head; strong, frothy tree-rung lacing remained.

Orange candy (like your Grandma gives out?), marshmallow, faint hazelnut & chocolate syrup notes in the nose.

Thick mouthfeel.

Marshmallow, hazelnut, chocolate syrup & bourbon heat flavors.

Odd tasting, with orange candy notes and odd syrup vibes. I'd assume they are using real ingredients based on my respect for Half Acre, but this tastes like a candy monstrosity. Not one I'll return to.

Can pour; brown head that dissipates to a thin ring around the edges. Initial nose was pastry, settles into more barrel with time. Flavor is primarily bourbon ball, with the hazelnut making appearances here and there. Body is full even though light penetrates the edge. Finish has more hints of hazelnut.

poured from a 12oz can into a TG DBA tumbler. pours dark brown with almost two fingers of dark brown foam head. these beers aren’t thin but the benthic series definitely pours a thinner, more see-through brown than the catch bell series or even before land shook. chocolate, bourbon, oak and hazelnut but the hazelnuts are quite mellow and balanced but still definitely there. love the nose but the taste gives off slightly bitter, nutty chocolate with a kind of chalky dry finish. medium-full mouthfeel. i kind of expected to like this one a little more and while it’s not bad there’s something about it that’s just a little off to me. it’s not offensive but it’s also as advertised: lot of chocolate and hazelnut.

Compared to the base Benthic, this is overrun by hazelnut, which would be excellent for ferrero rochet fans but is much less complex than other variants have been in the past. Still excellent, but I lose sight of the coconut and coffee amidst the chocolate and hazelnut, as if it were another beer entirely. Very little barrel character or booziness, as it has been overcome by sweetness.

12oz can poured into Benthic branded Rastal Lawerance Stemless glass.

canned on date: 10/16/23.

Appearance: Black bodied stout with thick dark brown head with good staying power and head structure. Boozy legs present. Lacing also clings to the glass as the beer disappears.

Smell: Nice hazelnut note. Lots of coconut and chocolate and bourbon as well.

Taste: Big notes of Hazelnuts that even taste creamy. Milk chocolate and big coconut notes. Nice barrel notes that add some dark cherry and leather to the already decadent stout. Light barrel char. Wow it's really good.

Mouthfeel: Thick bodied stout with low and adequate carbonation levels. Not a hint of booze. Again Wow.

Overall: This was nearly perfect. It's an absolutely delicious stout. Now that Half Acre has gone the Hazelnut route with Benthic, I would love to see a Macadamia nut variant of Benthic!