Chocolate Mint Stout
Empire Brewing Company

Read about this brew in a local brewing publication and had to give it a try due to its uniqueness. Deep black color with a thick, creamy, tan head. The aroma was the highlight of the beer for me - it smelled like a freshly opened mint chocolate candy bar. I was expecting it to have an intense mint aroma that would overpower, but it was nicely balanced and also allowed a chocolate aroma to come through. Flavors, like the smell, were also exceptionally balanced. All of the flavor aspects of this beer were pleasing and worked together. The chocolate and mint complemented each other, while at the same time, not overpowering and letting the brew still display the characteristics of a stout. Mouthfeel was somewhere in the medium range. I did not feel that the drinkability of this beer was very good. Although it did taste very pleasing during the first half of the pint, I found it harder to get down after that. Guessing this is just due to flavors I am not used to tasting in a beer. For me, I would have enjoyed drinking this out of a smaller-sized specialty glass rather than a pint-it would have been perfect in a smaller dose. Hats off to Empire for exploring something extremely unique and pulling it off.