Beer - #617 - Tuatara - Black Wellington Chocolate Factory Chocolate Stout

A beer with a long name,  Black Wellington Chocolate Factory Chocolate Stout, a long song, a long division and long time at a gathering.

"If you're going to do a collaboration with a chocolate company, it needs to taste like real chocolate and have chocolate in it."

I got this at the FYO station so I have 1 litre of a beer that is 6.5% ABV and 60 IBU, so this is 5.3 standard drink units. Despite the chocolate this is 195 calories a serve size.

Brewed by Tuatara Brewing Company  in the style: Stout and they are in Paraparaumu, New Zealand

[caption id="attachment_11277" align="alignleft" width="300"] Chocolate and beer. Does it get any better[/caption]

"If you're going to do a collaboration with a chocolate company, it needs to taste like real chocolate and have chocolate in it."  That was the fighting talk from Rochelle and Gabe at the Wellington Chocolate Factory when we asked them to collaborate with us on a stout that would deliver the kind of sensory cocoa walloping you get from one of their own fabulous hot chocolates.

After a lot of tasting we've settled on 100% organic Fair Trade cacao nibs and chocolate from the Dominican Republic, resulting in an beguilingly smooth stout lovingly wrapped in rich, dark chocolate. The Hops for this : Pacific Jade, Chinook, Amarillo

So what could possibly go wrong?

The aroma for this can only be described as like Milk Chocolate. It's that simple. It smells like good rich milk chocolate. It's really nice, if you like milk chlorate. There is some other hop grass sharpness there too, it's not all one thing.

Dark black pour with a fantastic but well oversized dark mocha head, the aroma remains as chocolate.

The taste, starts as a gasp of bitterness, then you get  a fullness, then you get a pillow of sugary sweet chocolates, than you get a little sharpness at the end.

The aroma settles into a more grassy bitter note, the head settles into a film,  The initial surge and hit of chocolate subsides. Leaving you with a really nicely rounded and enjoyable beer.

Now here's a thing though. I had this a few days ago when a friend came over, and it may have been fresher, which is doubtful, or warmer, again doubtful, but this had a lot more chocolate aroma and taste for a longer period of time. I was really enamoured of it then, I'm a bit less so tonight. Funny thing the beer buds.

Tonight, at this time, I think this might just be a shade, a tick, a smidgeon, over bitter in the body. A whisker, a tad, a shade. Just a little. But the other things in the profile, the roasted malts the cocoa do enough to give this a really interesting background carry.

Somewhat the problem with one-off and collaborations is that generally you don't get to practice and what you get is what you get. So there is no way to improve this, or change it, should yo want to, if that was your idea. I know that Tuatara will have no plans, as these are seasonal one offs, following on from last years, this being one of 3 variants of the stout, being Winter and all in the far south.

2nd round then, the pour still very keen and the head very lively, the empty bottle slick with alcohol wash and lacing.

You could get used to drinking stouts, this time I'm enjoying the lingering burnt malts at the back, and the bitterness on the finish, licking my lips.  Possibly time I stopped and just enjoyed the beer rather than trying to pick it apart,

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 8 of its things from the thing. It is, on the random scale, 'very good', very enjoyable very entertaining, and has a lot of aroma, layers, tastes and challenges in a good way that make you sip and sup a way without a care.  I don't think it has the lags to be Great or jaw dropping. Not tonight. But I would encourage you to drink it, if that was an option.

The double dip review

Am I enjoying it? 'tis a wondrous aromatic experience to star with, and grows into a nice drinking dark beer.
Would I have another? I did, this is my second outing.
Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? I would because it has surprises and layers that makes it worthy to share.

Music for this, a change of pace really, almost showtime songs Will Currie & The Country French  a Canadian indie rock music group. This is track "No Nothing" of course on the Spotify and probably where you listen to music too as well

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIUSRSf1FTM

Lets be honest I'm not into show-tunes or that style of music fan and this was a bit meh, and hard work, and I may not have finished the album, which is unusual as I challenge myself to listen to everything without prejudice.

STOUT

Many stouts do not fit the classic “Irish” definition as exemplified by Guinness, either due to their hop or roast rates, or higher gravity (in the case of many American stouts). They are still basic stouts, however, not falling into any of the subclasses.