Beer – #457 – Young’s – Double Chocolate Stout

I find myself in a track of a type of beer, Stout. This time as a gift from my daughter, this one a Young’s Double Chocolate Stout.

Check out her ramblings at The Polly Jar if you’ve a mind too, she’s just started and might like a bump in visitor numbers.

Surprisingly it’s brewed by Wells & Youngs in the style that is a Stout and they are in Bedford, England

A 500ml bottle that contains a 5.2% ABV beer, that has 156 calories a serving, this works out as 2.2 standard rink units in NZ.

Chocolate malt and real dark chocolate are combined with Young’s award winning rich,

It’s like a trophy!

full flavoured dark beer to craft a satisfyingly indulgent, but never overly sweet experience.

Luxurious and at the same time with a hint of decadence, Young’s Double Chocolate Stout has it all, delivering a satisfying, indulgent taste without ever becoming overly sweet.

Pale Ale and Crystal malt, Chocolate Malt, a special blend of sugars, Fuggle and Golding hops, real dark chocolate and chocolate essence are combined to deliver a stout of with real credentials.

I remember as buying some of this years a go as a christmas present, based only on it being “chocolate beer”, from which point it’s remained an annual staple in the black Russian invention at the christmas day beach party.

Chocolate aroma on opening takes a moment to push through the unmistakable English hops, but then it takes over, deep and rich.

Magnificent pour of rich light chocolate colour, that ends in light coffee fluffy head of some substance. Chocolate aroma really blooms in the glass.

And then.. that’s a cracking mouthfeel of beer. Bitter in the sour sense, but with a lovely hop bitterness at the bottom, and a lovely sweet wash over the top, to a short but not sharp finish. I found myself taking a very quick and long second pull from the glass. Which is left with lovely lacing.

I’m a bit taken aback about how good this is, how balanced and level it is, and how although a lot of chocolate aroma it doesn’t translate that aroma to direct taste.

It’s almost like it’s fruity, but also lightly earthy, and then the sharpness of cold drip coffee as well, making a combined “bit nice” and moorish if I was to be drawn on it.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as a delicious 9 a of its things from the thing. A lot to like about this beer, aroma, looks, the combination of tastes that makes it an easy drinking and very quaffable beer.

The double dip review

Am I enjoying it? I wasn’t expecting to, but this is a revelation, and a very nice one.
Would I have another? Yes I’d thank you very much if you’d bring one
Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? Yes, no problems, a commercial beer that stands up against many craft types. Superb.

I also managed to buy this piece of artwork today, it measures 1.2m x .8 m (about 4 x 2.75 feet). Feel a bit happy about the art, but I should have thought about the size as it’s a bit large, plus I have to tell MrsPdubyah about it.

Now then, to help me prepare I’m listening to an Album by Van Morrison – from 1974 – Veedon Fleece, and it really is a bit special – this track “You Don’t Pull No Punches, But You Don’t Push The River”

The song begins as a love song celebrating a young girl’s childhood and then goes into a journey along the west coast of Ireland and then suddenly goes into a mythological search for an object he calls the “Veedon Fleece”.

Take a few minutes out of your day for a forgotten gem.

STOUT

Many stouts do not fit the classic “Irish” definition as exemplified by Guinness, either due to their hop or roast rates, or higher gravity (in the case of many American stouts). They are still basic stouts, however, not falling into any of the subclasses.

SWEET STOUT

Dark brown to black in colour. Sweet stouts come in three main varieties – milk stout, oatmeal stout, and foreign stout. Milk stouts are made with the addition of lactose, and are sweet, low-alcohol brews. Oatmeal lends a smooth fullness of body to stouts, while foreign stouts are stronger (6.5-8% abv) and have a sweet malt profile and high esters. All of the sweet stouts are noted for their restrained roastiness in comparison with other stouts, and low hop levels.