14/I/21 - 33cl can from La Source webshop, shared @ home, BB: 30/XI/21 (2021-35)

Clear dark brown beer, dense creamy beige head, stable, adhesive, leaving a nice lacing in the glass. Aroma: good roast, lots of chocolate, malty, bit soapy, floral touch, grains, rural impression, barn yard. MF: soft carbon, medium to full body. Taste: lots of alcohol up front, dark chocolate, good roast, coffee, charcoal, malty sweet backbone, not very sweet though, pretty bitter hops.

Strong chocolate stout by this young and promising brewing project in Brussels, can bought at Etre Gourmet. Mousy, creamy, frothy, medium sized, regular, mocha-beige head, black robe with thin burgundy edge. Pleasantly rich, ‘clean’ aroma of indeed a lot of actual, pure chocolate (both sweet milk chocolate and bitter ‘fondant’ chocolate), fudge, latte macchiato, chestnut sauce, blood-like iron, fig syrup, mocha ice cream, brown bread, bayleaf, whisky. Densely sweet onset, candied dates and figs, brown-sugary even, softly carbonated, very full, smooth, creamy, syrupy body but still maintaining enough ‘souplesse’ to remain highly drinkable. Toffeeish, peanutty and evidently thoroughly chocolatey middle, the natural chocolateyness of the malts beautifully deepened and rounded by the additional chocolate effect, tasting like liquid ‘fondant’ chocolate bars – and, which is far from always the case in chocolate stouts, undisturbed by earthy or otherwise ‘off’ side effects. A balancing peppery hop note and ‘hot’ whisky-like alcohol join in the finish, the latter very warming, but still remaining largely embedded in this thick, soft ‘chocolateness’, so nowhere becoming too harsh. ‘Fondant’ chocolate lingers well beyond this, with a mocha-ice-like side effect due to the coffeeish contribution of the malts. Wow, this one caught me by surprise, I must say: this is extremely well done, it delivers exactly what it promises with not even the slightest flaw – this is one of those new beers that prove that Belgium is now fully capable of keeping up with the global craft beer movement. There is absolutely nothing Belgian about this one, it tastes and looks exactly as if it were made by some fancy and experienced American or Scandinavian ‘designer’ brewery. Very impressive, keep up this level of quality folks!

33cl black can with white bear (10,5%, BBF: 30/11/2021) and beer “in collaboration with our neighbours from Nao! For this new choco bomb, they offered us their new Peruvian cocoa (Criollo / Forastero) purchased directly and fairly” from Etre Gourmet web shop. F: big, creamy, tanned. C: dark, opaque. A: a lot of dark malts, chocolate, cocoa, cocoa nibs, caramel, dates. T: rich malty base, chocolate, cocoa, bit warming alcohol, dried fruits, chocolate sauce, coffee touch, soft carbonation, very nice, fully enjoyed again. Previous rate from 13/01/2020 8/4/8/3/16 = 3,9 33cl can from the brewery. F: medium, tanned, not long lasting. C: dark, opaque. A: a lot of chocolate and cocoa really, bit vanilla, dark bread crust touch. T: rich malty base, chocolate, bit oily mouthfeel, bit warming alcohol, dark dried fruits, cocoa, low carbonation, dried plums, very good but not so complex for me to be really great.