Almanac Biere de Chocolat

Our Biere de Chocolat celebrates the long and lauded history of chocolate production in San Francisco. Our aim was to create a beer bursting with cocoa flavors and aromas, balancing sweet and savory to create a complex but quaffable chocolate brew. To accomplish this we partnered with Dandelion Chocolate in San Francisco to create this rich brew brimming with chocolate character. Working with the unique flavors of Dandelion’s single-source beans, we created this decadent beer by layering in smoked and dark-roasted malts with citrusy Ivanhoe hops from Clearlake, CA. Finally, we added a blend of hand-roasted cocoa beans sourced from Madagascar and Río Caribe, Venezuela. The Madagascar beans add bright berry-cocoa flavors, while the Río Caribe adds dark chocolate and bourbon notes. A touch of vanilla rounds out the supporting flavors to create an eminently drinkable beer that is a chocolate lover’s beer through and through.

Formerly brewed at Hermitage.

3.5

181 reviews

Alameda, United States

Community reviews

3.6 Bottle at Gaasa. Black colour with a tan head. Aroma is chocolate, roasted malt. Flavour is chococolate, roasted malt, hop, cocoa. Medium body. Nice beer.

3.2 Bottle. Beermoth, Manchester. Clear, very dark, reddy brown. Sticky film of tan head. Cocoa. Light coffee bean. Taste is cocoa dry. Thin, watery palate. Finishes dry, with a light bitterness. Sets off great this one. Lovely chocolate. But lacks any oomph, thereafter. Disappointing.

3.9 "Kind of a delicious surprise even though the 2 previous Almanac brews were very solid. Wonderful pungent aroma of chocolate and vanilla, with light roasted malt. Smooth body and texture. Flavor of bakers cocolate, vanilla, light coffee and roast. Lighlty bittersweet. Nice!"

3.7 Bottle 355ml, a dark beer with good copper head and nice lace work. Nose is intense on coffee and dark chocolate. Aroma is on the same, nice dry roasted chocolate body, long roasted chocolate and dark coffee aftertaste, medium creamy, light licorice, smooth, excellent.

3.7 Bottled. Pours deep dark brown with a small off-white head. Aroma of roaste malt, chocolate, coffee notes, vanulla and hoppy notes. Sweet flavor that ends up more dry with a hint of bitterness. Medium bodied, oily texture and soft carbonation. A very nice Porter.

4.1 Bottle at Appellation. Pours black, nose is milk chocolate, biscuity, taste is sweet, dry, biscuit malts, rich chocolate.

3.8 Bottle at beer dudes tasting at Appellation Wines Comely Bank thanks to BenH I think. Appearance - opaque black with a nice fawn head. Nose - milk chocolate digestive biscuits. Taste - more malty chocolate. Palate - medium bodied with a nice crunchy texture and a balanced dry finish. Overall - lovely beer.

3.3 Bottle, tasting at Appellation Wines. Dark brown body with a thin beige head. Light lacing. Aroma of milk chocolate, digestives and caramel. Flavour of strawberry jam, biscuit, chocolate and ash. Medium body with a smooth texture. Soft fizz. Straightforward and tasty.

3.4 Bottle at MAD tasting, cheers BenH! Pours brown, thin off-white head. Aromas of chocolate milk. Taste is more chocolate. Nice beer if you like chocolate.

3.9 Bottle. Black. Dark chocolate and espresso aroma. Taste follows exactly with citrus hop bitterness on the finish. Sweet creamy mouthfeel. Very drinkable and packed with flavor. Excellent.

3.8 Bottle. Black with a thin tan head. Aroma is straight cocoa. Taste is chocolate Easter bunny, roast malt and a little leather. Medium mouthfeel and strong carb. Awesome.

3.3 Draft courtesy of Matt at Naja’s, thanks! Black, yellow beige head. Aroma of milk chocolate. Taste is pure chocolate syrup. Tasty and dessert-like.

3.2 Wally’s, LA: Pours dark brown with creamy head. Aroma is vanilla and hazelnuts. Seriously, if you rate this beer and fail to mention the vanilla, you need to rerate this. Taste is sweet, with plenty of the above flavors, plus some chocolate and loads of sugar.

4.4 THANKS! More than half of a 355 ml. bottle. Bottle is gorgeous as with all Almanac beers. Dark brown, creamy mocha head. Sweet cocoa butter (or at least how I imagine cocoa butter tastes like), sweet sugar, chocolate syrup, exotic sugar,… Taste is pretty much liquid cocoa butter (same comment), exotic sugar, chocolate syrup, cacao beans, creamy mocha, light bitterness in the back, tastes more like actual cacao beans / etc. than extracts or artificial stuff. Body is a bit lighter than I would have preferred. Really reminds me of ST Choklat, bit lighter than I prefer for this kinds of beers to be but very lovely all the same.

3.5 Deep brown with a broken tan foam. Chocolate aroma is nice. Unsweetened cocoa flavors are more bitter than sweet. Small hints of toast and coffee in the background. Finish is dry.

3.8 Sample at S&G tasting. Thx Mathieu87. APPEARANCE: black beer, small unstable beige head. NOSE: chocolate, mocha. TASTE: chocolate, mocha, coffee, nice!

3.8 Pitch black beer with a small beige head. Malty fruity aroma with chocolate, vanilla, caramel and cream notes. Malty caramel and chocolate flavor, licorice, cocoa powder with a light hint of roasted coffee.

3.8 Pours black with a creamy tan head. Aromas of chocolate, vanilla, slight berry notes, citrus, charred tones. Taste is chocolate, vanilla, hazelnuts, berry tartness, citrus. Mouthfeel is creamy and full-bodied with medium carbonation. Aftertaste is chocolate and vanilla with some charred notes.

3.4 12-JUL-2014, bottle in Kregme. Dark Brown with lasting tan head. Aroma is mostly just chocolate. Taste is sweet milk chocolate, some bitterness. Sweet with medium body and carbonation. An OK chocolate beer.

3.5 330ml bottle. Pitch black color. Small size, brown head, disappears. Sweet, chocolate, roast in aroma. Chocolate, roast, bit minerals, late hops in taste. Perhaps bit too sweet. Long lasting chocolate in aftertaste. Also some hazelnuts.

3.0 Bottle at home. Poured dark brown with a quickly disappearing head of foam. Smelled like malt and chocolate. Taste of hops up front and finishing with sweet chocolate.

3.2 Bottle at Chriso going Dutch tasting, 03/07/14. Light black with reddish hues, moderate light tan covering. Nose is sweet chocolate, tangy dark fruit, light orange in fact Terry’s Chocolate Orange vibes, dark maltings. Taste comprises artificial chocolate, dark toffee, vanilla fudge, earthy cocoa rinse, brown bread, dark fruits. Medium bodied, fine carbonation, semi drying close with light roastings. Ok Porter.

3.0 3rdJuly 2014 Tasting at ChrisO’s. Light haze on this dark brown - red beer, small pale tan head. Palate is airy and smooth. Light fine carbonation. Semi dry. Smooth malts, lots of chocolate but it tastes like cheap dark chocolate. Light tangy dark fruits. Light dry finish with a modestly bitter linger. Okay.

3.1 Bottle at Craig on heat tasting. Black beer lasting beige head. Chocolate yep. It’s fine lots of chocolate not much elsr but I like the chocolate. Some chilli

3.1 Bottle at chrisOs... Dark brown... Thin tan lacing... Dark bitter malts ... Soft chocolate nose... Dark sweet chocolate... Soft malts... Light chocolate syrup... Big vanilla

3.7 Bottle at hoime. High creamy lasting light brown head. Pitch black body. Sweet roasted malt caramel choccolate aroma. Mild roasted malt caramel choccolate cream flavor with a surprising but pleasant hops bitterness. Low carbonation. Long bitter sweet finish.

3.4 Bottle, bought @ Kihoskh, Cph. Pours deep brown to black with a large, frothy, beige head. Aroima has nice fat chocolate, light milky, some slight licorice, a bit of vanilla. Lowish carbonation, very dry and kinda light mouthfeel. Flavour has lots of malty bitterness and lots of chocolate. Very dry and quite bitter cocoa. Lots of character, but the mouthfeel is kinda light to justify the excessive cocoa-bitterness.

3.5 355 ml bottle. Near black with tan head. Aroma of dark chocolate, roasted malt, coffee and earth. Taste is dry, dark chocolate, roasted malt, roasted coffee with earthy hops.

4.0 Botella de 33 cl en el lúpulo en el momento el 21-06-2014. color negro intenso con poca espuma beige. Aromas no muy intensos a maltas tostadas y vainillas. Sabores también tostados con bastante chocolate amargo y vainilla. Buen regusto final amargo mezclado con el chocolate y cacao junto con vainilla, aumentando los tonos quemados y de maderas tostadas al final, al calentar. Cuerpo medio con 5.5 vol y un gran sabor. Bastante buena. Para repetir.

3.6 Bottle. Pours clear dark brown with a lasting small frothy tan head. Aroma is cocoa, chocolate, vanilla, flowery, toasted malts and mild citrus. Taste is light+ sweet, bitter and very light acidic. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is moderate. Finishes dry, chocolate and short though with a lingering bitterness.