Wolaver's Oatmeal Stout

Brewery: Otter Creek Brewing
Location: Middlebury, VT
Style: Oatmeal Stout
Brewery Website
Rating: B+

Continuing with our run of dark beers brings us to today's review of the Wolaver's Oatmeal Stout. This beer pours up opaque ebony in color with hints of ruby. The head is a deep, brownish-tan color and is nice and foamy. The nose picks up big, roasted barley notes along with earthiness and some mineral notes.

On the palate there is a big roasted malt note. There is also a sharp minerality up front. Some herbal hops notes are here along with a solid bitter bite. Earthy and woody notes are present. There is also a hint of wine and just a touch of sweetness. The Wolaver's Oatmeal Stout is medium-bodied, well-carbonated and has a nice chewiness that really works well with the big flavor here. The finish is rather long with lingering roasted malt notes paired with bitter espresso undertones.

Otter Creek has another damn good beer on their hands with the Wolaver's Oatmeal Stout. While I did find the mineral note on the palate to be a bit overpowering at first, that tends to settle down after a bit. This beer has some big roasted flavors and a nice bite, which is exactly what I'm looking for in a winter sipping beer.

Sierra Nevada Porter

Brewery: Sierra Nevada
Location: Chico, CA
Style: Porter
Brewery Website
Rating: A-

We've been having a bit of a cold snap up my way, and when the cold weather hits I always get a craving for dark beer. I'm following up on my last review of the excellent Anchor Porter with another great porter from Sierra Nevada. The Sierra Nevada Porter pours up a deep mahogany with ruby highlights. There is a bit of sediment just barely detectable as this beer is nearly opaque. The head looks just like creamy rootbeer foam. The nose picks up smoky, roasted, and chocolate malt notes along with a fruity ale-like hoppiness.

On the palate there is a roasted chocolate flavor that is balanced by some fruity notes. There are both herbal and fruity hops notes along with a moderate bitter kick. A slightly juicy wininess plays well with the hops flavors. Smoke and black pepper highlights sit in the background along with some minerality. The Sierra Nevada Porter has a medium body and is quite easy drinking for such a dark beer. The finish has coffee and chocolate notes along with lingering fruity hops.

The Sierra Nevada Porter is a well-balanced and easy drinking porter. To me, it seems like it pulls some of the best qualities of a rich stout and a fruity pale ale and marries them perfectly. Put this one on your short list of dark beers to sip by the fire this winter.

Anchor Porter

Brewery: Anchor Brewing Company
Location: San Francisco, CA
Style: Porter
Brewery Website
Rating: A

In my glass today is the Anchor Porter. The Anchor Porter pours an opaque brownish-black color with some ruby highlights. The nose detects smoke, caramel, banana and some berry-like fruity ester notes.

On the palate the Anchor Porter has a nice roasted note up front reminiscent of roasted almonds. There are some notable complex, fruity notes of berry and banana. Herbal hops sit in the background. Dark toast fades in after a bit. Several minutes after pouring some of the fruity ester notes dissipate and the flavor evolves to that of a rich, fruity dark chocolate. The Anchor Porter is medium-bodied with some slight carbonation on the mouthfeel. The finish is deep-roasted bittersweet chocolate/coffee with a banana highlight.

The Anchor Porter may not have big, over-the-top roasted and smoky flavors, but it has some fantastic complexity that really sets this apart from the typical porter. There are some really interesting fruity notes here. While I found the fruit (the banana note in particular) to be a bit much at first, this beer actually improves after being allowed to breathe for a few minutes. The fruit then mellows out and you are left with what is simply an awesome brew.

Gillham & Grand 70% Dark Chocolate

Manufacturer: Gillham & Grand (Hallmark private label)
Cocoa Content: 70%
Manufacturer Website
Rating: D

Today's tasting is a 70% dark chocolate bar from Gillham & Grand. Gillham & Grand is a private label who produces chocolate for Hallmark. The bar is ebony in color with some red. Opening the package releases a rather disappointing aroma that reminds me of cheap hollow chocolate Santas/Easter Bunnies.

At first taste there is an immediate strong flavor of raspberry preserves. I had to double-check the package to make sure I hadn't inadvertently gotten a flavored chocolate. I'm assuming that these bars are either produced on the same machine as the raspberry-flavored bars or have been stored in mixed cases with them for an extended period of time. Underneath the berries, sweet notes of caramel and coconut are here as well as mocha and peanuts. Chewing the Gillham & Grand bar lead to more raspberry preserves along with notes of vanilla and coconut. The mouthfeel is waxy and slightly gritty. The finish has lingering mocha notes as the raspberry fades.

It is obvious that the Gillham and Grand bar I tasted has met some subpar manufacturing and storage conditions. Even for a private label chocolate, this bar fails to meet even minimal expectations (see Walmart's Hageland line for examples of the right way to do private label chocolate). If you're in a Hallmark store and you're having a chocolate craving, do yourself a favor and find something other than this.

Ghirardelli Intense Dark Twilight Delight 72% Cacao

Manufacturer: Ghirardelli
Cocoa Content: 72%
Manufacturer Website
Rating: B+

Up for review today is the Twilight Delight. This dark chocolate weighs in at 72% cocoa and occupies the middle of Ghirardelli's Intense Dark line based on cocoa content. The Twilight Delight is deep brown in color with reddish-orange highlights.

The Twilight Delight has a rich chocolate note up front. Acidity slowly builds to a moderate level with notes of orange peel and red raspberries. There is a mild bitter kick of black coffee. Roasted walnuts and almonds are here as well as a faint earthy note in the background. The Twilight Delight melts smooth and creamy on the tongue. Chewing the chocolate brings forward notes of vanilla, walnuts and a faint earthiness. The finish is straight-ahead semisweet chocolate with lingering espresso bitterness and a hint of lemonade.

While it does little to set itself apart from the crowd, the Twilight Delight is a very good dark chocolate bar. What it lacks in complexity it makes up for in rich chocolate flavor. I'd love to see Ghirardelli branch out into some single-source chocolates, because this bar shows their potential for producing top-notch chocolate.

Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot Barleywine

Brewery: Weyerbacher
Location: Easton, PA
Style: Barleywine
Brewery Website
Rating: B+

Today's tasting is the Blithering Idiot barleywine from Weyerbacher. The beer pours with a short, light-tan head that fades fast. It is a cloudy amber-brown color with lots of fine sediment floating in the glass. The nose has a big wine note, along with sweet oatmeal/cereal. There is a faint fruity hops aroma in the background as well.

On the palate the Blithering Idiot has an initial sweet note up from that fades to an off-dry wininess. There is a big warming sensation, which is not surprising at over 11% ABV. There is a fair bitter kick from the hops and some citrusy notes as well. Yeast and brown sugar play complimentary roles. The Blithering Idiot has a fairly heavy body, which along with the high alcohol definitely make this a sipping beer. The finish has lingering cereal sweetness with bitter and citrus hops highlights.

Weyerbacher have a pretty good barleywine on their hands with the Blithering Idiot. The flavors here are pretty standard for a barleywine that is this big. There is still a good deal of residual sweetness here, but the hops do manage to poke their head through a bit. This is a beer that will do well with a year or more of age under its belt.

Amano Guayas 70% Dark Chocolate

Manufacturer: Amano
Cocoa Content: 70%
Location: Ecuador
Manufacturer Website
Rating: B+

Up for tasting today is the Amano Guayas. This dark chocolate bar is made with cocoa from Ecuador's Guayas River basin. The Guayas bar is a deep mahogany color with ruby highlights.

The initial flavor on the palate is a black coffee roasted note. Acidity develops after a few seconds, with a distinctive plantain/green banana note. There is a faint hazelnut flavor along with grassy/woody highlights. Chewing the Guayas opens up flavors of vanilla, gooseberries and blackberries. While the consistency is not noticeably gritty, it isn't quite as smooth as I'd like. The finish has roasted coffee notes along with some bitter hazelnuts.

The Amano Guayas is a complex dark chocolate bar with distinct flavor. The downfall of chocolate with such a distinct flavor is that it won't always work with everyone's palate. In the Guayas's case, there is some bitter note that I just can't place that doesn't quite work for me. Regardless, this is still another quality chocolate from Amano that is well worth checking out.