“Brewed with well water (the original well, sunk in 1758, is still in use with the hard water is drawn from 85 feet underground), the gently roasted organic chocolate malt and organic cocoa impart a delicious, smooth and creamy character, with inviting deep flavours and a delightful finish – this is the perfect marriage of satisfying stout and luxurious chocolate.”

Glassware: Snifter.

Appearance: Mostly black with a skerrick of light cutting through at the base of the glass. Two fingers of light brown head on top. Holds its shape well and drapes a sheet of lace down the sides of the glass.

Aroma: Dead set it smells like there’s a glass of melted chocolate in front of us. In said glass are also notable hints of vanilla bean, lactose (uncertain whether this beer contains dairy), raw sugar, mocha, raw cocoa, earthy hops and the mildest hint of cherry. Grain husks and carob also open up as it comes up to room temperature. Respectable aroma.

Flavour: Pretty damn good for a 5% sweet stout. Like the aroma, the chocolate component is really well represented. It’s thick, bittersweet and luxurious and marries up with vanilla, milk sugars, sweet coffee and earthy hops beautifully. It dries out a touch through the mid…some hop bitterness also supporting as it rolls into a kinda dry, chocolatey and sugary-sweet finish that goes for days on the back palate.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, silky and drying in the swallow. Medium body, mild-moderate Co2. The 5% ABV punches above its weight.

Overall: Not as much a “can’t believe we haven’t reviewed this” as the last couple of beers but it’s definitely one that has gone under the radar for a long time. We’re not blown away by it but it’s a fairly decent choccy stout.