Here we go, the end of the first week of this. I hope I haven't bored you too much. If I have, I'm sorry, if I haven't, you're a better person than I am.
Despite my criticism of the less than stellar Christmas movie I subjected myself to the other day, criticism that centred on the implausibility of a white Christmas in the UK, it looks like there is snow coming my way, either tonight or tomorrow - how exciting?! The white flakes of misery (as my father would say) are looking to descend which, if Hollywood were to be believe will herald frolicking and joy across the land, but in reality means that everything in my house is going to be damp, cold and dirty for at least a week. What I need is a good drink to take my mind of the impending dismay the snow will bring. Bottom's up.
Choco Rock Stout
Style - Stout
Brewer - Gwei Lo X Rocky Ridge
Adjuncts - Cacao & Hazelnut
ABV - 4.3%
The beer
I have already moaned about/praised how good it is that I'm not familiar with the majority of brewers so far in this advent calendar that you must all be sick to the back teeth of it by now. Thankfully I am fully aware of Gwei Lo (I've even been to one of their bars in Hong Kong - that's right I'm fancy as shit). They make great beers, I remember ducking into the aforementioned bar during my time in Hong Kong, which coincided with the riots which brought the city to a near standstill, and enjoying a very lovely, citrussy IPA. But I have never had a stout from them before - to my knowledge. As for Rocky Ridge, I've never heard of them.
First impressions aren't amazing. By which I mean, an ABV of 4.3% is a bit weak sauce for a stout, especially one that is going to be laden with rich chocolate and hazelnut flavours. So I am going into this with a high degree of scepticism.
That being said, the beer itself isn't as thin as I thought it was going to be. Give the stout a bit of a wobble in the glass and you can see there is some decent viscosity going on. The nose is ok. I can pick up on some chocolate aromas and a touch of something nutty - you could tie me up and hold me at gunpoint and I wouldn't be able to come up with hazelnut out of this though. However, there is a strong bitter scent coming out of my glass, something akin to burnt sugar mixed with dark treacle. This makes me think there are going to be issues in terms of balance in the flavour profile.
Unfortunately my first sip bears me out. There isn't much in the way of richness to this, the texture is ok but the flavours dissipate really quickly, leaving behind the same burnt sugar and treacle taste I was picking up on the nose. There's some residual sweetness after that and yeah a hint of hazelnut but not much. I was expecting a flavours of Nutella, but what this truly tastes like is weak hot chocolate made with soda water (club soda) instead of milk that someone has tried to jazz up with a shot of Frangelico and accidently dropped a cigarette butt into.
This is a shame, I like Gwei Lo, I really do and I will continue to buy their beers - if you haven't tried their stuff before I suggest you do, but go for their IPAs. But for me this just doesn't do it, although the thought of a Frangelico is quite appealing at the moment.
Score - 2/5
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