Here is one of the selections I made at the local supermarket that now has a section for making your own six pack.
Earlier I had written about Star Island Single from Smuttynose Brewing in New Hampshire. Today's brew is from closer to home, Thomas Hooker brewery in Bloomfield, CT. Taking a tour of the brewery is on my to-do list. I've been told the samples are great and worth the trip.
The beer in my self-selected six pack is an offering from Hooker called Chocolate Truffle Stout. And who could pass up something with three really good things in the title? As you can see from the bottom label the chocolate comes from another iconic Connecticut mainstay, Munson's Chocolates. They have been a supplier of many a holiday chocolate treat for our family, whether it be Christmas, Valentine's Day or Easter.
The first thing you notice about this beer of course is the inky darkness of the brew. The second thing is the cocoa aroma that hits your nose as you bring the glass towards you. Then you take that first taste.
Your first impression is of roasted coffee and cocoa notes. There is a slight bitterness as well to offset any sweetness. The flavor overall is balanced but it struck me as being on the light side. Maybe it was the color and that imposing dark-colored head, but I expected more heft in this stout. There is a slightly bitter cocoa aftertaste after you swallow, and then poof, the flavor is gone.
Now the great aromas and flavor are easily recovered with the next swig, but as a wine-taster might put it, the flavor does not "fill the mouth".
Overall the Chocolate Truffle Stout has good balance, definitely not too heavy, nor too sweet, nor too bitter, but a good blend of all the flavors and influences. Just wish the flavor would hang around a little while longer.
I give Hooker's Chocolate Truffle Stout 7 mugs out of 10.
Website for the Hooker brewery is here.
They have brewery tours every Saturday from 12-5 PM, and open houses the 1st and 3rd Fridays for each month.
Earlier I had written about Star Island Single from Smuttynose Brewing in New Hampshire. Today's brew is from closer to home, Thomas Hooker brewery in Bloomfield, CT. Taking a tour of the brewery is on my to-do list. I've been told the samples are great and worth the trip.
The beer in my self-selected six pack is an offering from Hooker called Chocolate Truffle Stout. And who could pass up something with three really good things in the title? As you can see from the bottom label the chocolate comes from another iconic Connecticut mainstay, Munson's Chocolates. They have been a supplier of many a holiday chocolate treat for our family, whether it be Christmas, Valentine's Day or Easter.
The first thing you notice about this beer of course is the inky darkness of the brew. The second thing is the cocoa aroma that hits your nose as you bring the glass towards you. Then you take that first taste.
Your first impression is of roasted coffee and cocoa notes. There is a slight bitterness as well to offset any sweetness. The flavor overall is balanced but it struck me as being on the light side. Maybe it was the color and that imposing dark-colored head, but I expected more heft in this stout. There is a slightly bitter cocoa aftertaste after you swallow, and then poof, the flavor is gone.
Now the great aromas and flavor are easily recovered with the next swig, but as a wine-taster might put it, the flavor does not "fill the mouth".
Overall the Chocolate Truffle Stout has good balance, definitely not too heavy, nor too sweet, nor too bitter, but a good blend of all the flavors and influences. Just wish the flavor would hang around a little while longer.
I give Hooker's Chocolate Truffle Stout 7 mugs out of 10.
Website for the Hooker brewery is here.
They have brewery tours every Saturday from 12-5 PM, and open houses the 1st and 3rd Fridays for each month.
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