Young's Double Chocolate Stout

Young's is from the UK and puts out quite a few brews. It's not available in much of NH and it was nice to have the pleasure of trying this much talked about stout. The "chocolate stout" I tried quickly turned into one of my favorite beers. This didn't have the abv of Brooklyn's, but what else would I expect from a british beer.



The first thing I noticed about the labels were the ram images. In german beers, rams are typically symbolic of bocks. I don't know if they were trying to emulate the germans or this is purely by accident. I didn't care. This was a damn good brew.

It poured black (like a stout) with a sliver of red in the middle when held up to a lamp. The head was honey-brown and had a pretty good staying power. I respect the staying powewr of the head.hehehe. I wasn't quite sure I was smelling toasted malt or chocolate,but the taste was definetly of dark chocolate,bitterness included. This is a pretty thick brew, Just like a stout should be. Not quite a meal in glass,but that's not what I was looking for. Overall, this wasa impressive for a british beer and will probably make a fairly regualr cameo appearance in my fridge.

Mackeson XXX Stout

This dark import was a wanting for me for several years before I got the chance to try. Hippie Nate used to rant and rave about it back '99 and it has always been on Weird Dave's top list of brews. I first tried Mackeson 4 years ago on my first foray into NYC. It was a beer of mystery, something I had only heard spoken of so I knew I needed to try it. I finally got my chance at the Peculiar Pub one night. From then on I fell in love and tried to hook Dave up with it whenever possible. I didn't drink this ambrosia again until Summer of 2005, during my honeymoon. Since there is a brewery in Trinidad, I was imbibing on a daily basis for the majority of my trip. It's been over a year, and now I have a legend in liquid available at a whim.



The basics: Poured dark enough so that no light got through. The scent is very malty,a fairly common occurance in stouts. The basic tasty goodness is full of chocolate and malt and it has a pretty thick mouthfeel.

I love the beer. For years it was my cuban cigar,now I can have it at all times if I wish. XXX is probably my session beer of choice. I love it that much. If I didn't need new things constantly, I would drink this like a redneck with Bud.