99 Bottles of Beer on the Blog - Young's Double Chocolate Stout

It's 44 degrees in Kansas City this evening, after a gray, rainy day. The radiators are starting to clank and hiss - postseason baseball is on the TV.

It's time for a cold weather beer, and Young's Double Chocolate Stout is my choice. It pours dark as espresso, capped with a tan head that stays there till the end. The aroma is chocolatey, with caramel and almond undertones. It smells like good chocolate toffee.

The flavor is sweeter and lighter than you might expect after enjoying the aroma and seeing the color. The chocolate is definitely there, as are the roasted malt bitter tones of a more typical stout. But the flavor is not overpowering with deep, dark flavors. There's a bit of cherry or raspberry hitting some high notes, and making the beer much more interesting.

The mouthfeel is full, but not super-rich. Again, it's a more balanced beer than you'd expect from a "luxury" Double Chocolate Stout. It's a perfect dessert beer - not heavy enough to put you into a coma, but definitely a satisfying drink.