Harpoon Chocolate Stout

As far as I can tell, I am one of the first people to drink Harpoon Chocolate Stout. According to our friends at beernews.org, Harpoon Chocolate Stout is brand spanking new for this year. I found it at a company gathering where it was part of Harpoon’s winter variety pack. I was actually reaching for one of my favorites, the Harpoon Winter Warmer, when it caught my eye. I figured it would be a lot easier to get my hands on the Winter Warmer, as I am certain they sell it in 12 packs, than this diamond in the rough, and knowing that I had Belching Monkey on the front burner, I grabbed the bottle, an opener and my iPhone.

I opened the bottle and immediately noticed the scent of chocolate. which was a little bit stronger than I expected. The vapor has a soda-like quality to it which I was not expecting, but that I should probably have expected from a company who does not normally brew stout.  This is not a bad thing, it usually results in a lighter stout which can be interesting.

This is one of those cases.

Harpoon Chocolate Stout does indeed have a certain carbonated taste about it. Although they claim the chocolate flavor is subtle, it is actually very evident. The beer is quite smooth aside from the carbonation. You could look at that as slight turbulence. I was not certain at first, but after a couple of tastes, I realized that it finishes with a hint of cherry flavor. This is a welcome new seasonal offering from one of my favorite regional breweries. It does not play in the same league as say a Young’s Double Chocolate Stout, but I am giving it a 79. I see room for improvement, but given that Harpoon is better known for IPA, this was a very courageous effort.