So yesterday I went over to Timmay's place for a beer. Timmay, as you may know, is the man, the brewer, the legend behind Hillside Brewing, based in lovely Torrington, CT. That's me in the photo there givin' it some analyzation.. drinkin' it, I mean.
Timmay invited me down for a sampling of his home brewed Double Chocolate Stout, so named because, well, it's a Chocolate Stout, and has a second helping of chocolate in the form unsweetened bakers chocolate. If memory serves, it was like, 4oz in a 5 gallon batch.
In any case, upon pouring (from Tim's draft system..) I found a dark, black beer, without too much in the way of foam. The head clung to the glass/liquid interface through much of the drink, but didn't put up much of a fight elsewhere. I could detect no roastyness from the aroma, but that's doable in a Chocolate Stout, I suppose. On first sip, I found rather low carbonation, but that's also fine in this style. The drink itself flavor wise, brought an immediate cherry flavor to this tasters palate, but not much in the way of roastyness. The beer was inordinately smooth drinking, and disappeared fast. It also left a lingering sweetness, though maybe not *too* much, perhaps a bit more than I would have liked.. a bit more in the way of bitterness, or, as Tim and I discussed later, perhaps a tad more attenuation when a high 1.020's F.G. was discovered, would have helped this brew go for the gold.
Overall, aside from either a touch too much sweetness, or not enough bitterness, depending on how you look at it.. this was a really enjoyable beer! The cherry flavor was a bit of an anomaly, perhaps derived from the bakers chocolate, but totally welcome.
Nice job, Tim!
Timmay invited me down for a sampling of his home brewed Double Chocolate Stout, so named because, well, it's a Chocolate Stout, and has a second helping of chocolate in the form unsweetened bakers chocolate. If memory serves, it was like, 4oz in a 5 gallon batch.
In any case, upon pouring (from Tim's draft system..) I found a dark, black beer, without too much in the way of foam. The head clung to the glass/liquid interface through much of the drink, but didn't put up much of a fight elsewhere. I could detect no roastyness from the aroma, but that's doable in a Chocolate Stout, I suppose. On first sip, I found rather low carbonation, but that's also fine in this style. The drink itself flavor wise, brought an immediate cherry flavor to this tasters palate, but not much in the way of roastyness. The beer was inordinately smooth drinking, and disappeared fast. It also left a lingering sweetness, though maybe not *too* much, perhaps a bit more than I would have liked.. a bit more in the way of bitterness, or, as Tim and I discussed later, perhaps a tad more attenuation when a high 1.020's F.G. was discovered, would have helped this brew go for the gold.
Overall, aside from either a touch too much sweetness, or not enough bitterness, depending on how you look at it.. this was a really enjoyable beer! The cherry flavor was a bit of an anomaly, perhaps derived from the bakers chocolate, but totally welcome.
Nice job, Tim!
