Choklat

Southern Tier is a very well thought of brewery in the beer world, but I have been less than impressed with their beers to this point. Choklat is probably their most hyped beer they make, so I was holding out hope still for their brewery.



Style – American Double/Imperial Stout
ABV - 11%
Brewed In – Lakewood, NY
Availability – Rotating


Score – 6.5/10

Appearance
Pours a very dark brown, with a dark tan, 2 finger head. The retention of the head is minimal, and I would say the lacing is average at best.

Smell
Ok, so obviously I was expecting a lot of chocolate throughout this beer, but this smells almost EXACTLY like Hershey’s syrup. I’m not talking a slight similarity here, but rather that if you were to smell a cup of Hershey’s blindfolded next to a glass of this, you’d have a hard time guessing which is which. There isn’t really much else going on as the chocolate overpowers everything.

Taste
I was caught way off guard when I took the first sip of this. There are actually some other things going on besides just chocolate. While the dominant flavor is very similar to a liquid Tootsie roll, there is also a bittersweet chocolate flavor in the finish that actually gives the chocolate some complexity in and of itself. A touch of vanilla peeks out through the chocolate at times also. There is also a slight alcohol bite, but I would never guess that it was 11%. While I was pleasantly surprised by the presence of a little complexity, the sweetness is overpowering to the point of being cloying and unpleasant.

Feel
This beer has a great body to it. It’s very smooth and velvety, with almost no carbonation. The thickness/heaviness of it leaves a thick coating on your palate.

Overall
While this was by far the most full flavored offering I’ve had to date from Southern Tier, I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it any more. The sweetness was just far too much for me. I have a few more ST offerings in the cellar that I’ll give a shot, but I definitely won’t be rushing out to track down anymore.

smellysell said:

Overall
While this was by far the most full flavored offering I’ve had to date from Southern Tier, I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it any more. The sweetness was just far too much for me. I have a few more ST offerings in the cellar that I’ll give a shot, but I definitely won’t be rushing out to track down anymore.

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Very good review man. I have to agree with your closing statement, nice brewery but several of their beers are so freaking sweet I coulnd't even finish half a glass ---> Creme Brulee. :0

denverdog said:

smellysell said:

Overall
While this was by far the most full flavored offering I’ve had to date from Southern Tier, I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it any more. The sweetness was just far too much for me. I have a few more ST offerings in the cellar that I’ll give a shot, but I definitely won’t be rushing out to track down anymore.

Click to expand...

Very good review man. I have to agree with your closing statement, nice brewery but several of their beers are so freaking sweet I coulnd't even finish half a glass ---> Creme Brulee. :0

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Yeah, I wasn't a fan of the Creme Brulee either. I'm hoping some time might tone down the sweetness a little since I got quite a few of them when they were released. The biggest gripe I've had with their other beers besides Choklat and CB is how thin the flavor is. I guess it's Rogue east.

A lot of people seem to love their stuff though, so YMMV I guess.

smellysell said:

denverdog said:

smellysell said:

Overall
While this was by far the most full flavored offering I’ve had to date from Southern Tier, I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it any more. The sweetness was just far too much for me. I have a few more ST offerings in the cellar that I’ll give a shot, but I definitely won’t be rushing out to track down anymore.

Click to expand...

Very good review man. I have to agree with your closing statement, nice brewery but several of their beers are so freaking sweet I coulnd't even finish half a glass ---> Creme Brulee. :0

Click to expand...

Yeah, I wasn't a fan of the Creme Brulee either. I'm hoping some time might tone down the sweetness a little since I got quite a few of them when they were released. The biggest gripe I've had with their other beers besides Choklat and CB is how thin the flavor is. I guess it's Rogue east.

A lot of people seem to love their stuff though, so YMMV I guess.

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Well Justin I can confirm if CB is sweet if you like for our WEst Coast crew out here :blush:

I've been back and forth on Southern Tier, but I do like that they try some unique stuff. I really liked the Creme Brulee, but I like sweet stouts. It went great with a RyJ Churchill. I also really liked the Pumpking. I found the Oat kind of harsh. The Cherry Saison was alright, I didn't get much cherry. I'm hoping the Cuvee makes it here, I'm a sucker for wood aged beers.

denverdog said:

smellysell said:

Overall
While this was by far the most full flavored offering I’ve had to date from Southern Tier, I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it any more. The sweetness was just far too much for me. I have a few more ST offerings in the cellar that I’ll give a shot, but I definitely won’t be rushing out to track down anymore.

Click to expand...

Very good review man. I have to agree with your closing statement, nice brewery but several of their beers are so freaking sweet I coulnd't even finish half a glass ---> Creme Brulee. :0

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Spot on. I completely agree. Still, a decent company.

The truly great beers that are great make up for the Brulees, like the Pumking. The Cherry Saison is pretty decent

The Creme Brulee was aight. Roger the super sweet.

I actually liked the Choklat. Granted not the best beer, but a good beverage if in the mood for something sweet. I enjoyed it. Very potent and lot of chocolate.

P.S. This is similar to the Fredrick Miller limited release 2006 Chocolate lager. Unbelievable amount of chocolate for lager.

I hope it doesn't disappoint... :thumbs: Great review as always Justin.

I think ST goes so far with the flavoring of their Imperial and Blackwater beers that they cease at some point to taste like beer. The Pumking and Creme Brulee are perfect examples--they taste exactly like the deserts they're named after. For those put off by that, it can tarnish the image of the brewery. Many people find this a good quality, though, and are amazed at how far they can push a brew. Having talked to a few people associated with the company, they're doing exactly what they set out to do, though...make a beer that tastes like [pumpkin pie, creme brulee, chocolate, coffee, etc.].

That being said, I've had better results with some of their regular beers. For a hophead, Hop Sun and Harvest are probably two of the best seasonal releases I've had this year, hands-down.

Phlicker said:

I think ST goes so far with the flavoring of their Imperial and Blackwater beers that they cease at some point to taste like beer. The Pumking and Creme Brulee are perfect examples--they taste exactly like the deserts they're named after. For those put off by that, it can tarnish the image of the brewery. Many people find this a good quality, though, and are amazed at how far they can push a brew. Having talked to a few people associated with the company, they're doing exactly what they set out to do, though...make a beer that tastes like [pumpkin pie, creme brulee, chocolate, coffee, etc.].

That being said, I've had better results with some of their regular beers. For a hophead, Hop Sun and Harvest are probably two of the best seasonal releases I've had this year, hands-down.

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I couldn't agree more about the Imperial and Blackwater stuff, but their regular stuff doesn't do it for me either. I've had Backburner, Unearthly IPA, and Hoppe and they were all meh to me. Different strokes I guess.

They're definitely a very hop-forward brewery, which from what I know about you Justin, doesn't surprise me that they don't appeal to you. But, hey...Go Phillies!

Phlicker said:

They're definitely a very hop-forward brewery, which from what I know about you Justin, doesn't surprise me that they don't appeal to you. But, hey...Go Phillies!

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I was expecting the Unearthly and Hoppe to be hop bombs and they just weren't. Could be that they weren't very fresh I suppose, but all of their beers seem thin flavored to me (with the exceptions of the Choklat, Creme brullee, etc.), kinda remind me of Rogue actually. Oh well, agree to disagree.

World Champs!