Seattlest Beer of the Week: Rogue Chocolate Stout

Did you forget to buy your beer-loving valentine something yesterday? The Rogue Chocolate Stout is the perfect way to say I love you, with a buzz.

If you can appreciate both a good stout and a good piece of chocolate, then you should dig the combination of the two in this beer from Rogue Brewing in Oregon. The recipe for the Chocolate Stout was originally created for export to Japan, but it was later released in 22 oz. bottles to the US market on Valentine’s Day in 2001.

The Rogue Chocolate Stout is made with four types of malt, Cascade hops, rolled oats and, of course, real chocolate. The result is a smooth, creamy, dark beer with tastes of roasted malt and more than a hint of chocolate. There is a kick of hops in the finish that balances everything out nicely and cuts down on the sweetness.

Not surprisingly, this beer goes well with chocolate desserts, but it can be overkill if you don't really, really love chocolate. The first time we went to the Rogue Brewpub in Issaquah, we had a glass filled with 2/3 of the Chocolate Stout mixed with 1/3 of Lindeman's Framboise, a raspberry Lambic from Belgium; the pairing was excellent. Another of Rogue's signature desserts at their brewpubs is a chocolate stout float with vanilla or chocolate ice cream; you’ll never go back to root beer. We also once made a batch of Rogue Chocolate Stout Ice Cream that was sublime.

Rogue had a cask of this at last year's Washington Cask Festival that was amazing. We hope to see it again at this year's festival, which is on Saturday, March 22. It's this Seattlest's favorite festival of the year (full profile to come).

You should be able to find this in 22oz bottles at grocery stores and bottle shops all over, for about $5.

Image thanks to Matt & Kelly on Flickr.