You may have already read Josh's Les Caves De Awesome! article a while back, and learned that we in Corvallis are incredibly lucky to have an amazing restaurant and beer bar that offers a wide variety of quality beverages from around the world. I hit up Les Caves Bier and Kitchen last night to kick it with a pal and try something unique. We found a remarkable chocolate stout that I really can't help but recommend - Southern Tier Brewing Co. Choklat Stout.
I don't drink a whole lot of stouts, especially of late as I have been on a serious sour beer kick, and so when my friend Matt picked this number I figured I'd give it a sip and then move back to my Grand CRU Sour Flemish Red. Did I mention I love surprises??? (I know, I know, just about every other post I write)
The nose on this beer was undeniably cocoa - a dark bitter aroma that made me think immediately of the 75% cacao bars I stash in my desk for a late afternoon pick-me-up. Above the dark bitter of the chocolate I found topnotes of coffee, warm and nutty, that balanced the darkness of the cocoa scent and created a fullness I rarely find when smelling beer. Mind you, this is just the nose - I'd not even gone in for a taste yet.
If Southern Tier was going for the creation of a beer that tasted exactly like drinking a chocolate bar, well, let me say that both Matt and I are confident they achieved their goal. The front was powerfully chocolate - a balance between sweet and bitter that, like the nose, gave me a sense of dark chocolate. The coffee on the nose continued high in my palette in the center, with a light bitter finish that lingered and paired very nicely with the butternut squash bruschetta we were eating. I can think of a million things that I would pair this beer with - sweet and savory - but, that said, I think my preference would be to just sip it on it's own. You might want to split a bottle though! At 11% alcohol the 22oz bottle could just put you under the table. We recommended Matt's choice to Mike at the bar, who also gave it a big thumbs up.
Well played Southern Tier - I will be looking you up again in the future...perhaps for a bit of your coffee stout...
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