Southern Tier Brewing Company – Choklat: THIS should have been in Wonka’s river.

My first daughter’s name is Raven. She’s a girly-girl, and an amazing little woman. Obviously, she’s my world, and even though I truly believe she has been one of my very first real loves, I completely understand that chocolate is hers. When she was a baby I can remember doing everything in my power to ween her off of her bottle, and all my attempts had proven futile. NOTHING worked, no matter what I gave her or fed her. So, on my way home one evening I stopped at a local grocery store and got a small bottle of chocolate milk to fill my belly. It happened to be bigger then I needed, and brought some home with me. That evening I gave my girl some, and her obsession with chocolate was born. Its years later, and the only real thing that REALLY satisfies her is warm chocolate milk. Chocolate has a calming effect on her, and is almost a part of my family as anything else is. So when Southern Tier’s Choklat hit my lips, I knew EXACTLY how Raven felt when she first tasted her ever beloved chocolate milk.

Choklat pours warm.   Southern Tier’s recommended serving temperature is 48 degrees, and as I always say, warmer temps will pull warmer flavors.  It’s difficult to explain, but as you swirl it in your glass, it seems as if though it’s destiny was to fill a snifter.  It coats the glass beautifully, and I am EXCITED.  Southern Tier Brewing Company has out done itself on this one. Prior to my experience with this beer, I’ve only had the Crème Brulee from the Black Water series and had thought that it was the be all, end all for the style… but I wrong… this may be it. I’m going to break this down as easily as possible. Take the greatest Hot Cocoa you’ve ever had, multiply it by a 100, cool it off a few degrees and you have Southern Tier’s Choklat. Easy, right? This beer glubs into your glass with the consistency and body of motor oil. Taste is like heaven. It’s so creamy, chocolatey that you almost want to chug it, but at 11% I would highly recommend NOT doing so.  The ABV is almost completely unnoticeable, which could be a very bad thing. However, if sharing this beer with friends you may notice the desire to confess your love for them after a couple, which has always been a big hint for me to slow down.  The snifter has almost no lacing, but began with a lovely ½ inch dark tan head. Personally, I would agitate the beer slightly more then usual to create a bigger head, because the aroma of this beer reminds me of what Charlie Bucket must have smelled the moment he entered Willy Wonka’s fortress of chocolate.  The beer is almost completely void of hop aroma or taste, which normally I’d say was a bad thing, but this beer is almost perfect for what it is. Dessert in a glass for sure.  IF you can, find this beer on beermenus.com, and enjoy this one on draught.

ABV: 11%

Consumed: Snifter

Verdict: Buy a Case