First sip is very strong cherries and light milk chocolate (not dark chocolate, as I had experienced with other chocolate stouts). Lacing is noticeable now, and it is a lot more than I had expected. The experience of the sip is pretty good. The cherries aren't really sour, so there is that as a bonus, and I'm not really tasting the coffee that I had in the nose, so that's two wins.
Tip-in is cherry forward with light chocolate sprinkles and a bit of wood. The middle comes with a stronger cherry that is backed by more chocolate, earth, and wood. The finish arrives with bitter from the chocolate, sour from the cherries, and a bit of coffee. Trail-off adds some vanilla that might have been there in the middle, but it was too muted then. In the trail-off, it manages to overcome the finish.
Bottom Line: While it doesn't finish well, the rest of the beer is worth the end.
3.0/5