Hey there, chocolate lovers, have I got a beer for you! That’s because Samuel Smith’s Organic Chocolate Stout is made with real chocolate, and you can taste it in every sip. In all honesty, this isn’t the best chocolate beer that I’ve ever tasted, but it is a good, solid, chocolaty brew that’s sure to please both beer and chocolate lovers alike. Extra credit if you love both.

Samuel Smith’s beers are nigh legendary chez bruguru, and well they should be: I’ve been drinking them for almost 30 years now. I was excited when I saw they would be doing a chocolate stout, thinking that the base beer might be their famous Imperial Stout. Actually, though, it’s not, instead the beer is based on a milk stout of strength 5% alcohol by volume.

From the label:

Brewed with water from the original brewery well sunk in 1758, the gently roasted organic chocolate malt and real organic cocoa used in this ale impart a delicious, smooth and creamy character, with inviting deep flavors and a delightful finish-this is the perfect marriage of satisfying stout and luxurious chocolate that will lead to smiles and refills. Samuel Smiths brews in traditional coppers, uses stone “Yorkshire Squares” for fermentation, and ships every bottle from the brewery with great pride.

Samuel Smith’s Organic Chocolate Stout pours to a slightly opaque black color with a thick creamy head formation and a sweet milk chocolaty nose. As I poured the beer I was a bit concerned that it seemed a bit thin, and as I take a sip my suspicions are slightly conformed. The body here seems to me a bit thin for a stout, especially a chocolate stout. Despite that, the chocolate comes through admirably, like sweet milk chocolate at first laced with powdered cocoa, then as it bends with some roasted barley bitterness more like bittersweet dark chocolate. The transition in chocolaty flavors is very interesting in this beer to say the least.

To be fair, this is a milk stout, a good reason why the body is a bit thinner than I was expecting. That makes the beer very easy drinking and lends its own charm. Certainly a beer that I would buy again, very reasonable at $3.99 for a half liter bottle.

Update 8/27/2017: It's a fine Sunday afternoon, the last in August, and this Wednesday will mark 10 years since the passing of Michael Jackson. As I remember him and toast him, one more from England seems apropos. The powdery cocoa in the nose is impressive indeed, and in the palate as well. The mouthfeel still seems too thin to me, a criticism I have proffered before. Still and all, the chocolate is impressive and the beer is reasonably priced still at $3.99.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft



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