Alright Paleo Water. I don't like you, you don't like me, but let's just get this over with. This is the last of Stoke's underwhelming series of beers that I have trudged through on this leg of the journey. These beers have been brewed with the sturdy precision of Michael J Fox armed with a Gatling Nerf gun. Dark beers can be hard to master, so I'm concerned as to how the shotgun approach will fare under these conditions.
This ale looks like dark cola syrup, and could easily be mistaken for a stray glass of Pepsi sitting on the table. Before my mouth even reached the glass I was socked in the nose by something reminiscent of an overhand right from Chuck Liddell. Chocolate and coffee aromas spewed forth from the glass, encapsulating my skull in a swirling mist of mocha. The flavour... is surprisingly focused compared to it's siblings. It's basically chocolate, malts and coffee. The beer is balanced enough though. While still feeling slightly 'cheap', there is some harmony to be had here. The aftertaste is draped in bitterness, but more of a sweet bitterness than dry.
This is not a bad Dark Ale. I have a bit of an aversion to coffee, so these 'mocha' beers will almost always miss the mark with me. It's a bit watery and tacky, but as a Dark Ale for the mass market it is an acceptable beer. New to the scene? Not a bad place to start. Had a fair few Dark Ales? Been there, done that.
5.5/10
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