Welcome back to another Sunday Session my beer brethren.
This week we’re delving into some brew trickery with Fallen Angels Chilli Mocha Pale Stout.
The whole idea of a pale stout has had me fascinated for quite a while. The idea of having someone sit down to a beer which looks like a pale ale but with all the attributes of a stout is something I’ve been working on for a year or so now. I’ve had limited success with a few methods, I’ve used a gelatin purification process to remove the colour while leaving the flavor and I’ve also used coffee and cocoa nibs both haven’t quite turned out the beer I’ve been looking for. I guess the experimenting will continue. In any case today’s beer is one such example of what I’m trying to achieve. Lets dive in hey?
Appearance – Pours medium gold with orange highlights, a nice tightly packed white head that hangs around for a good while before dropping to a nice cover with good lacing. This is a great looking beer and I’m hoping it will be what it’s intended to be.
Aroma – Coffee beans up front followed by some light chocolate and a hint of raw chilli. Not quite stout like as all the components are identifiable and clearly not from the malt bill. This is exactly what I managed to achieve with using the same ingredients, not fooling anybody here.
Taste – Following the nose closely with a coffee character that doesn’t resemble a stout at all. The cocoa does come through more but also falls short of what chocolate malt provides. The body also lacks, maybe some oats and a higher mash temperature could replicate the body of a stouts grain bill. A little thin no real malt sweetness.
Overall – I’m not on board with this example of what I’m starting to call the holy grail of brewing. The flavor components are there but they just don’t mesh together like a good stout does. I really want this to happen but I don’t think this is the way to achieve it. It has re sparked my interest with the idea so it’s off to the the drawing board again for me.
Well thats a wrap for this week my beer brethren, So stay tuned, drink up and brew strong! I’ll catch you all next week on the Sunday Session.