Troegs Scratch 27- Cocaobunga Chocolate Stout

I stopped by Troegs to pick up a case of the most recent scratch beer, Scratch 27- Cocaobunga Chocolate Stout. This beer was developed with the Scharffen Berger Chocolate company. From the Troegs website:

This collaboration resulted in the delivery of a special blend of cocoa nibs that were added during the boiling process. In addition to the nibs, lactose was added at the end of the boil to give a little sweetness in the body. The addition of Galena and Simcoe hops lends a subtle fruity balance. After primary fermentation, the beer was aged for three weeks on a blend of cocoa nibs and Ugandan vanilla beans.

The beer has a dark brown color. It has a medium bodied and bubbly tan head. The smell is full of roasted malts and sweet chocolate. The taste is sweet and chocolaty with a nice roasted undertone and vanilla accents. It finishes with light hop bite that is faintly detectable and also is a a little bitter in the chocolate finish. The alcohol content is not posted on the website, but through Twitter correspondence Troegs estimates it to be 6.0% ABV. This was an excellent example of how a chocolate stout should taste and be presented. The vanilla and chocolate flavors play with each other through the drinking experience and the nice bitter finish really makes it seems like you are eating a chocolate bar.

Dundee Wheat Beer

The fifth beer I tried out of the Dundee sampler pack was the Wheat Beer. The beer has a pale yellow color with a lofty foamy white head. The smell is lightly citrus and wheat. The taste is wheat and light lemon flavor. It drinks pretty smooth and has a light dry finish. The alcohol content is 4.2% ABV. Overall, this is a light beer and not too complex but I have found that this beer is well liked by females, so it is good to have around for the ladies.

Dundee Pale Ale

The fourth beer I grabbed out of the Dundee sampler pack was the Pale Ale. The beer has a light golden color with a thin white filmy head. It smells lightly of malts with slight hop accent. The taste is sweet and malty and finishes with a faint hop accent. The beer has a faint creaminess to it as well. The alcohol content is 5.3% ABV. The Pale Ale was not the best beer, but still found a way to be pleasing. It was also not very complex, but very easy to drink. This is a perfect beer to introduce someone to craft beers that usually drinks something a little more mainstream and tasteless. I'll call this a transition beer.

Dundee India Pale Ale

The third beer I tried out of the Dundee sampler pack was the India Pale Ale. The beer has an amber color with a light frothy white head. The smell has a nice accent of earthy hops. The taste is light with sweet malts at first. The taste then twists to a light hop flavor with a slight pine with lemon undertone. The alcohol content is 6.3% ABV. I thought that Dundee has provided a decent IPA. The hops are not overpowering and the lemon accent is very pleasing.

Dundee Pale Bock Lager

The second beer I drank out of the Dundee sampler pack was the Pale Bock Lager. The beer has a light yellow color with a foamy white head. The smell is malty with light accents of hops and honey. The taste is malty with a bitter hop finish. The hop accents consist mostly of pine hops. The alcohol content is 6.2% ABV. Overall, the Pale Bock Lager was a little dry, but pretty decent. It wasn't the best beer I have ever had, but the experience will keep me coming back to this beer.

Dundee Honey Brown

I picked up the sampler pack from Dundee and the first beer I had was the Original Honey Brown Lager. The beer has a yellow color with a light white bubbly head. The smell is sweet and consists of honey and malts. The taste is light and sweet with honey accents that is very light and crisp. The alcohol content is 4.5% ABV. I thought that the Honey Brown was a decent drinking beer. It isn't very complex, but is a decent easy drinking beer for all occasions.

Blue Point Old Howling Bastard

My Long Island native co-worker went home for a weekend and return with a bottle of Blue Point Old Howling Bastard Barley Wine Style Ale for me. The beer has an amber color with light red hues and a foamy cream colored head. The aroma is sweet and malty and consists of grapes and apple with a hop freshness to it. The taste is hoppy on the front end with a nice amount of earth hops. The taste then turns to sweet malts with a toffee lacing. The beer leaves a hop flavor in the mouth on the finish. The alcohol content is 10.0% ABV. I liked this barley wine very much and would recommend picking up a bottle. The mixing of the toffee and earth hops really makes drinking this beer a pleasurable experience.