Young's Double Chocolate Stout Review (Nitro-Can)

Brewery: Young & Co's Brewery PLC | Beer: Young's Double Chocolate Stout
Style: Milk/Sweet Stout | ABV: 5.2% | IBUs: ~25
Serving Method: 14.9 oz. nitro-can poured into pint glass

Back when I started PintLog, one of the first beers I reviewed was bottled Young's Double Chocolate Stout (you can check out that review here). Since then, it has consistently been the most popular review here on the website, so I thought that I should finally get around to reviewing the other version available on American beer shelves.

Like many popular British beers, Young's Double Chocolate Stout is also available in tall, nitrogenated cans. Compared to carbonated beers, beers that utilize nitrogen have a much smoother mouthfeel with a thicker and creamier head. So, let's pull the tab and see how the widget changes this beer.

Appearance: A deep brown, almost black, body with brown highlights. On top a caramel-tinged, beautifully creamy, and dense nitro-assisted head that leaves brilliant curtains of lacing. Gorgeous presentation.

Aroma: Tons of milk chocolate and roasted malt. Not much else comes though, but that's okay.

Taste: Sweet, roasty malt with plenty of big notes of British milk-chocolate. Notes of toffee and coffee are also present, though in much lower amounts. There's a little hop bitterness towards the end to offer a bit of additional depth. Not thin, but not amazingly intense either. The aftertaste is sweet and roasty.

Mouthfeel: A body that's perhaps a little fuller than medium with smooth, light "carbonation." The "carbonation" level seems to be a little below the already low levels typical to beers served from a nitro-can, making it just a little flat. Coats the mouth a bit.

Drinkability: With moderate alcohol content, a relatively mild flavor profile, and a smooth mouthfeel this makes for a very sessionable brew.

Verdict: Young's Double Chocolate Stout is popular for good reason - it's a solid, sessionable Stout with a nice focus on chocolate flavors. As for whether it's better carbonated in a bottle or nitrogenated in a can, it's a tough call for me. While I certainly appreciate the smooth mouthfeel here, and feel that it compliments the flavor profile well, it just seems a little too flat to really top the carbonated version. It's pretty much a toss-up - but if forced to choose, I think I'd go with the carbonated bottle. I certainly didn't expect that!

Grade: A-

Chocolate Truffle Beer Cocktail Review

Breweries: Young & Co's Brewery & Brouwerij Lindemans
Beers: Young's Double Chocolate Stout & Lindemans Framboise
Cocktail Name: Chocolate Truffle
Style: Beer Cocktail | ABV: ~4.6%
Serving Method: ~9 oz. of each bottle poured into pint glass with Brutool Turtle to separate

This review is a part of an article on beer cocktails as part of the monthly beer blogging project The Session.

Here's a beer cocktail that I just had to try out when I saw the recipe. Equal parts Young's Double Chocolate Stout and Lindemans Framboise. I have a soft-spot for both beers, so this should be right up my street. Plus, a mix of Chocolate Stout and Framboise just sounds like something meant to be...

Appearance: On the bottom, a hazy red body with blazing ruby highlights. Up top, the traditional deep black Stout body. As time passes there's less of a clear boundary than you get with a Black & Tan, but you can certainly tell the top from the bottom. The head has the classic nitro creaminess with alternating caramel-brown and pink blotches, making it look much like melted rainbow sherbet. The overall presentation is awesome.

Aroma: Fresh, tart raspberries and chocolate. Simple, but just what I was hoping for. It's much the same from top to bottom.

Taste: At first, much muddier than I was hoping for. The elements just don't interlock and align in that magic way that makes one beer compliment another. As the Stout starts to run low, the tart raspberry starts to cut through the muddiness decently and you end up with the typical Framboise character with a bit richer body. Perhaps it would be better to totally mix the two different beers to keep a constant all the way through.

Mouthfeel: Nitro-smooth at the front, conflicted in the middle, and crisp in the end.

Drinkability: While light in alcohol content, you're probably not going to be ordering these all night long.

Verdict: While a mix of raspberry and chocolate beer sounds like an awesome combination on paper, the reality doesn't quite live up. My litmus test for a beer cocktail is whether it offers anything better than drinking the beers individually back-to-back. Unfortunately, by that rule, this one is a miss.

Grade: C+

Young's Double Chocolate Stout Review

Brewery: Young & Co's Brewery PLC | Beer: Young's Double Chocolate Stout
Style: Milk/Sweet Stout | ABV: 5.2%
Serving Method: 1 Pint, 0.9 oz. bottle poured into pint glass

My dad has always been a fan of Young’s Double Chocolate Stout, so I’ve been familiar with it for quite a while now. Back when I was in college, I bought a four pack of this beer and promptly drank the first three, keeping the fourth because I'm a notorious beer hoarder (just ask my fiancee) While in my fridge, the can caused quite a stir at parties. I'd say a third of the people found the concept of “chocolate beer” disgusting, but the rest all found it intriguing. I can see why, chocolate and beer are two of the greatest things in this world, so think how great they could be combined!

For Valentine’s Day, my fiancee bought me a few pints of this, some new pint glasses and the tripod used in the picture above. Thanks Jamie!

Appearance: Impenetrable black body with thick, caramel brown head that lingers

Aroma: Has the creamy, sweet and malty aroma common to stouts with toffee and chocolate tones

Taste: Roasted malty body with coffee, toffee and (of course) chocolate, somewhat bitter hoppy aftertaste

Mouthfeel: Thick, smooth and creamy with a rich finish

Drinkability: If you like stouts, you can easily drink this for a session, even if it is slightly heavy

Verdict: A brilliant and interesting and a great alternative to my usual stout. Out of the bottle it's not as creamy as the nitro-can version, but still great. Take a trip away from the normal, you'll find it's well worth it.

Grade: A