Tröegs "Grand Cacao" Chocolate Stout

The last Tröegs I had got the coveted perfect 5.0 rating. I don't give those out willy-nilly. I've been running this blog for a decade, and 23 of the 2,000 reviews I've completed have managed that feat. It is with this victory under their belt that the Pennsylvania brewery enters with a chocolate stout, which is one of my favorite kinds of stout.

The head that settles on top of the beer resembles the crater-pocked surface of a distant planet. A dusting of minuscule bubbles sets a background for occasional clusters of big bubbles that both seem out of place AND seem to be an absolute perfect fit. With no lacing in the wake of the head, I can finally get to the beer, and it is a dark brown. It's not dark-brown-to-black as we often encounter here in these reviews, though; it's just a very dark brown. The aroma is sweet and chocolate with a whiff of both smoke and coffee.

First sip is thick and rich. The end is strangely dry after the fullness of the rest of the beer, but the smoke that was only hinted at in the aroma is here in force to compel the chocolate to come alive. The chocolate is sweet, but it's a dark chocolate filled with foreboding and problematic views on "malt mixing."

Tip-in is sweet dark chocolate with light vanilla highlights. The middle is awash with the smooth and rich chocolate and smoke before the finish brings a coffee with vanilla around the edges. When it heads into the trail-off, the smoke makes the world dry and a bitterness seeps in.

Bottom Line: I initially labeled this a dessert beer, but it's not. It's not like anything else, either.

3.25/5