Chocolate Kiss Stout
McKenzie Brewing Company

 

I had this beer on 2/17/05 at Steelhead in Burlingame, CA.

Appearance: Very dark soy sauce coloring with a thin tan head. Actually the head was cascading and beautiful, but the bartender decided to pour the head out until he could fill the pint to nearly the top. I appreciate the effort to give me every drop I deserve, but I would have preferred that he top it off later instead of dumping the head. Thems the breaks though.

Smell: A light chocolate smell with some notes of soy sauce and alcohol.

Taste. Holy crap, I think I just swalloed a spoon full of Hershey's syrup. Really, that's exactly what it tastes like. Very, very, very chocolatey with the character and sweetness of Hershey's syrup. I would not be surprised at all if it indeed had Hershey's syrup in the recipe. Along with the bold chocolate flavors there is a slight roastiness with a caramel maltiness topped with a soy sauce and alcohol ending. The nose mimics this flavor very well. I have to say that the flavors are a bit out of balance though since the chocolate flavor steals the whole show. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Mouthfeel: With all that flavor it was actually felt a bit thin in my mouth.

Drinkability: I give them credit for brewing a uniquely chocolate beer. On one hand though, I could get that flavor from a bottle of Hershey's syrup so it feels a bit cheap. On the other hand though, this beer would go very well with a banana split. Being a chocolate lover myself, I fall on the side of it being a good thing and I enjoyed the sweet, chocolatey sundae-in-a-glass to the last drop. It's a good thing they didn't try to get those big ass almonds in my glass though...