Ye Olde Chocolate Stout

There are double chocolate stouts, and then there are double chocolate stouts.  This is the latter.  And it hails from the exotic and far off land of Englandia.

Good evening, and welcome to tonight's edition of Beer Cruise.  Or apply whatever time of day to the appropriate time zone you're in.  Today, we examine a titan of the stout world.  The beer that is perhaps the bar for others of its type.  There's no sense in tiptoeing around the subject, so I'll get right to it; today we review the one and only Young's Double Chocolate Stout.

Chocoholics: you have been warned.

When I set out to form Beer Cruise, I had two vague ideas in mind.  First, I would incorporate cruising wherever possible.  Second, I would focus mostly on relatively local microbreweries, specifically throughout BC and Oregon, but also from other parts of Canada.  Today, I dare to colour outside the lines.  Today, I invite our commonwealth forefathers to invade the sacred halls of Beer Cruise...and thank them for the incursion.

A collection of dogshi- er, inferior quality imports.  Being from another
country does not immediately indicate quality.  Avoid.

Because Young's double chocolate stout is a special occasion.  True, the UK produces some of the best beer in the world, but when it comes to imports, we tend to see little of that.  Yes, brands like Wychwood are excellent and widely available, and Guinness strikes a blow for mainstream beer, but by and large imports, whether UK or otherwise, tend to rely on the virtue of being imports rather than being quality in order to sell.  Take Heineken or Grolsch, for example.  Both very mediocre beers, but because of the foreign name and the pedigree of the nations they come from, they become popular among beer drinkers who think they're being sophisticated, when in fact they are being fooled.  Genuine beer from Germany, Holland, Belgium or the UK tends to be more specialized over here, with most of the really great stuff staying in its homeland.  But every so often, one slips through the net, and this particular stout is one of them.

Young's does something extraordinary with a very simple equation: combine two of the greatest inventions in human history (beer and chocolate) and bottle it.  Where they excel is in just how well they pull this off.  Anyone can infuse chocolate into beer, but not just anyone can do it so seamlessly and professionally.  Like any piece of extremely high quality chocolate, this stout is to be savoured and enjoyed, and is not to be spoiled by combining it with inferior food or drink.  Have it on its own, or with a piece of chocolate.  Have this with dinner, and I shall dispatch a flock of Reliant Robins to roll over onto you when you're on your way to work on the morrow.

British engineering at its finest.

Taste:  As with all chocolate stouts, this tastes of, you guessed it, chocolate.  You also get the smooth, malty flavours combined with notes of coffee.  It's very complex.  Stephen Hawking could have a field day trying to quantify this beer.  This is the standard for all double chocolate stouts.  Beat this, and you've done something extremely special.

Aroma:  Like melted down dark chocolate bars, a bottom-of-the-pot cup of coffee, and fermented malt and hops tossed into a vat, then bottled for your enjoyment.  Honestly if this stuff came in cologne or mouthwash form, I would buy it out before they could restock it.

Aftertaste:  As mentioned earlier, you'll be discerning between notes of chocolate, coffee, malt and hops.  Suffice it to say you won't be left wanting for some time after that initial swig.

Recommended?:  Don't be silly.

Verdict:  Ah Britain.  The land that gave us Concorde, Monty Python, Aston Martin, the entire British Commonwealth, Rowan Atkinson, and Russian Imperial Stouts.  Now we have another entry into that great legacy.  

Score:  10 mugs out of 10.