a little chocolate with that beer, maybe some chipotle?

arcadia cocoa loco

for a change of pace i tried a couple of off-beat beers over the last 2 weeks: two chocolate, and one pepper infused. i wasn't new to the chocolate, having tried my first one last spring at the blind tiger ale house (a rogue chocolate stout). but the chipotle ale would be a first.

instead of having my attention focused on picking up wine for thanksgiving dinner, i got a little distracted picked up a stone "bitter chocolate oatmeal stout," arcadia "cocoa loco," and a rogue "chiptole ale" at decicco's market in ardsley. each was in a 22 oz. bottle (and cost what a draft pint would normally fetch at a bar).

i couldn't talk my brother into trying the chiptole ale at thanksgiving - but i did try it that weekend (the night before the pete mcardle xc 15k, actually). the smoked chipotle chile pepper infusion definitely made this beer finish with a bite. as it turned out, this was my favorite of the three. spice beat out sweet - again (as in the "bloody beer" from last month)


stone 12th anniversary bitter chocolate oatmeal stout

over the next two weekends i tried the chocolate infused beers. each one came out of the bottle almost black in color - with hardly any head. they were decidedly sipping beers and, while interesting, not really my cup of hot chocolate - to mix a winter metaphor.

they were nice change of pace, but while i can easily see myself going back for the chipotle ale, i don't plan on mixing sweets with my beer in the foreseeable future.


rogue chipotle ale