Oak Aged Mocha Stout

Beer Name: Oak Aged Mocha Stout
Brewery: Peak Organic Brewing Company
ABV: 8.4%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

This beer is brewed with chocolate, gets coffee added to it during its conditioning, and then hangs out in an oak barrel which is supposed to impart some vanilla flavors. So basically this beer is some fancy stuff. So fancy, in fact, that the top of the bottle was wrapped in foil, which is annoying. Don't do that, breweries! Especially if you're going to adhere the foil with some sort of sticky adhesive. Now I can't add this Peak Organic cap to my collection.

The Oak Aged Mocha Stout is a velvety black beer. It poured with about a finger of head, which faded after a short time. The beer tried to leave a lacing pattern, but for some reason it just wouldn't stick. I think that may actually be a fault of myself as opposed to a fault of the beer, in that I may have not used a properly cleaned glass. I can live with that, because I have to. This beer smells fantastic, with great stout aromas of coffee and chocolate. I suppose maybe I can pick out some oaky notes in the aroma, but I think it's probably a psychological thing because I know the beer is oak aged.

This beer has some very complex things happening in its flavor. There are roasted coffee flavors (sort of like a burned flavor, but in a good way). There are chocolate flavors. I am also getting some very faint vanilla flavors. There is really a whole of stuff going on here, and all of it is pleasant. The beer has a light carbonation, and even with its fairly high ABV, it's nice and smooth. Bitter coffee takes the spotlight in the finish, and it has a light mocha aftertaste.

Final thought - I was a little skeptical after the first few sips, because the beer seemed like it just wasn't what I was expecting it to be. Then it warmed up slightly, and it became amazing. I am a little embarrassed that I didn't think to give it a few minutes, what with it being a strong stout and all. Obviously a beer like that needs a chance to meld its flavors. What a rookie mistake. Also, I may have to rethink my position on barrel-aging beers after drinking this one.

-Jon