Welcome back beer loving friends.
Christmas the religious festival that has been hijacked by consumerism and overindulgence. Talk of Christmas and thoughts go to the fabulous food, the roast turkeys, hams, Christmas cake and plum pudding. It wouldn’t be Christmas without a tin of Quality Street (that gets smaller every year) and the ubiquitous Terry’s Chocolate Orange, you know the one ‘tap it and unwrap it!’ Well, here is an attempt to recreate the experience of the chocolate treat in the form of a stout, ‘crack it open and tuck in’. Will it have more appeal that the dusty bottles of sweets sherry and advocaat that are brought out when aunty visits?
- Name : Terry Chocolate Orange Stout
- Brewery: Roosters Brewing Co, Harrogate
- Hops : Not stated
- Grain : Malted barley and wheat
- Aroma : Orange, sweet and with a touch of roasted malt
- Appearance : Very dark brown, almost black, with a head the colour of milky coffee
- Body : Medium bodied, medium carbonated but little head retention
- Taste : Initially some roasted malt flavour, then dark chocolate bitterness and an orange tang to the finish. The aftertaste is orange but to me tasted a little artificial
- Dietary restrictions : Allergens highlighted and vegan friendly
This delivers pretty much what it promises, a fair approximation of the flavour of the famous confectionary. Its pleasant enough, though the orange flavour I found a little artificial, exactly like the chocolate.
It’s perhaps a little bit thin, but with an ABV of only 4.5% it’s a fairly guilt free festive indulgence.
I’ve had several cans of this and I think it is one that is better served cool rather than chilled.
Peters overall rating: 3.5/ 5.0
The|Eternal|Hoptimitsts 