Chocolate Abbey Ale
Red Star Brewery & Grill

This ale has been aged in bourbon barrels and was served at the Capital City Invitational at Appalachian Brewing Co. on September 16, 2006.

A: The ale is a deep brown ale with some haziness (although it is tough to see). There is little to no head due to the cask conditioning (not nitro conditioning).

S: The ale has two distinct aromas, chocolate and bourbon, that appear from time to time but rarely in conjunction with each other.

T: The distinct flavors in the nose pop up here at strange times too. The first sip brought out a clear bourbon flavor, slightly sweet with a hard edge. Subsequent sips allowed the chocolate to bloom. The chocolate is the dominate flavor here and the bourbon adds subtle notes periodically.

M: The mouthfeel is strange as I would not considering adding chocolate directly to an abbey-style ale, so that creates a bit of a conflict up front. Then the bourbon is fairly restrained, so it is unable to shine either. The mix of flavors is a little disconcerting.

D: Interesting concept but in practice it doesn’t work.

This beer pours a dark, luxurious brown with a dense, creamy, long lasting head. Lace hides the glass on the way down. The nose is outstanding smelling of dark fruits, chocolate, pine, citrus and alcohol. My first impression was that this brew was a monster. Over the top in all of the pertinent categories. Big, strong flavors of cherries and raspberries with deep roasted malts and a vinous character make this a big beer that doesn't hide it's alcoholic content. But it doesn't detract from the experience. Hops are more prominent in the nose but are subtle on the palate and add a counterbalance to the maltiness. Drink this one last, everything after will pale in comparison.