Judge’s Review: 96 Rating – Chocolate Factory by Clocktown Brewing Co.

Spice, Herb or Vegetable Beer | Collaboration | USA

By Joseph Formanek

Judges Rating: 96
Aroma: 24
Appearance: 6
Flavor: 38
Mouthfeel: 9
Overall Impression: 19

Chocolate Factory by Clocktown Brewing Co.is an impressive example of how judicious use of chocolate in a solid base stout recipe can deliver a great marriage of flavors in a complete beer package. This brew is being evaluated as a Category 30A Spice, Herb and Vegetable Beer with chocolate as the herb, along with Category 16A Sweet Stout as the base beer, per the 2021 BJCP Guidelines. The chocolate character in this brew is very complementary to the sweet stout notes, and it is a delicious brew to enjoy.
The aroma of this brew shows off the expected base beer roasted and black malt notes with a moderate level of dark and milk chocolate aromas layered on top of this. The ferment is quite clean, as no other aromatic characters are present to distract. It is overall quite rich and inviting. This dark brown-to-black brew has great clarity when you look through a thin section of the glass, and has an impressive, off-white, small-bubble head with great retention and a lot of lace. Spot on!
The flavor of this brew carried through well from the expectations delivered by the aroma. There is an up-front dark and black malt character along with some roasty chewiness. The dark chocolate character closely follows this and builds through the middle and finish all the way to the next sip. There is a background of lactose sweetness, which is balanced out by the slightly sharp dry note from the chocolate. All is complementary without any character dominating the drink. A mild hop bitterness is also present to complete the package. There is no hop flavor, which is correct for the style. The body is medium, and the carbonation was moderate.
The sweet stout base beer in Chocolate Factory is a great example of the style, but the artistic use of chocolate in the bill and how it interplays with the base beer is the true star of the show here. Highly recommended if you are a fan of the stout style as well as scrumptious, rich chocolate.