Endless Beers: Stone Xocoveza Mocha Stout
Stone sends us their most recent collaboration brew: The Xocoveza Mocha Stout. This weird name represents the sentiment of the true engineer of the beer: Chris Banker. Chris won Stone’s homebrew competition in March of 2013, where the champion wins the chance to brew their homebrew at the next level. Stone provides their facilities, expertise, and ingredients to create a bigger and even better version. The name is derived from the idea of a Mexican hot chocolate, which is what the beer is supposed to remind us of – sweet and spicy hot chocolate. Given the Mexican twist, Stone invited well known Mexican craft beer representatives of Cervecería Insurgente to join in the collaboration.
The suds include malts and specialty ingredients of a milk stout. Cocoa and milk sugars were added during the boil, which adds noted sweet and roasty flavors throughout the brew. Then, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, pasilla peppers, and coffee are added. The end result is a very complex flavor profile. While I don’t taste the chocolate as much as I do a sweet roasted coffee – it does remind me of a spicy hot cocoa. Here are the ES tasting notes:
ABV: 8.1%
(Poured into a Spigleau Stout Glass)
Appearance: Solid black with a tan head. Good carbonation coming from a bottle that was shipped cross-country.
Aroma: Spicy coffee up front. Sweetness comes through with cinnamon as well afterward along with a roasted scent that brings back more coffee for me.
Taste: Right away, I get cinnamon and a sweet coffee taste. Coffee lasts throughout, but the taste finishes with spicy/smokey taste of the pasilla peppers complemented with some vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Not very bitter at all – definitely a sweet milk stout. The drink is not so smooth that it leaves the roof of your mouth feeling creamy, but not dry either. Pleasant lingering aftertaste that includes heat of the peppers and a unique sweetness.
Stone Suggested Pairings:
Appetizers: Bacon-wrapped figs, roasted pecans sprinkled with cinnamon, jalapeño poppers, candied salmon, coconut shrimp
Soups: French onion, beef stew, pork chili, butternut squash, clam chowder
Entrees: Chicken mole, coffee-dusted filet, vegetarian green curry, stuffed poblano chiles, mushroom stroganoff, lamb chops
Cheeses: Camembert, Hook’s EWE CALF to be KIDding, Beehive Cheese Big John’s Cajun, Point Reyes Original Blue, Maytag Blue
Desserts: Cinnamon rolls, pecan pie, chocolate lave cake, tiramisu, vanilla ice cream float
Cigars: Alec Bradley Prensado Robusto Corojo, Casa Magna Colorado Extraordinario, Rocky Patel 15th Anniversary Robusto, La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor, Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series Maduro
