Last year, my lovely wife gave me a 2010 & 2011 Chocolat No. 7 Stout for Valentine's. This year I decided to do a three year vertical tasting to celebrate February 14th's Day of Love and so picked up the latest vintage 2012 directly from the brewery.
I served them all in identical snifter's to really compare the colors & aromas. I decided to start from newest to oldest, so here goes with my thoughts on one of the rare vintage beers made in Japan!
2012
It poured a dark reddish brown that was black in the glass with a thin burnt orange head and it looks like Coca-cola in the glass with an effervescent carbonation rising.
The aroma is boozy, umami savouryness & chocolate - think Hershey's chocolate syrup.
The body is smooth, med-full but the light carbonation is slightly distracted giving the beer a zesty finish.
The taste is surprisingly nutty, then umami, soy, alcohol heat & light chocolate flavor that is much less pronounced than in the nose. Repeated sips give more chocolate, sweet & tasty.
All in all the 2012 is solid but nothing to write home about.
Appearance 3-4
Palate 3-4
Taste 7-8
Aroma 7
Overall 12
2011
Next up is the 2011 that I've had sitting in my cellar since last year(bought as a set with the 2010).
It pours a similar dark black but the thin head of foam was more of a tan. The visible carbonation is much less which is to be expected.
The aroma has changed quite a bit becoming more complex, softer & not as boozy. Plums, soft chocolate, light mustiness indicative of slight oxidization. Still some hints of umami but more subdued, the chocolate is going towards the forefront.
The body is much smoother, more creamy with just a touch of light carbonation.
The taste is kind of wow, fudge, light caramel, umami, roasted notes in the finish. Really nicely balanced out, any harshness in terms of body+flavor is disappearing.
The 2011 has already markedly improved, going from solid to pretty damn good.
Appearance 3-4
Palate 4
Aroma 8
Taste 8
Overall 14
2010
Strangely the 2010 seemed to pour with more carbonation in terms of head than either of the other two as well as a small island of bubbles lingering on the surface of the beer. It pours the same reddish brown-black pour so in terms of appearance this beer didn't really change over time.
The aroma on the other hand has, wine or port like fruity notes, some umami but also a certain acidity or sour vinegar like quality. Not getting much chocolate at all. It's got more of a sour beer quality to it.
The body is smooth, creamy with soft round carbonation really appeatizing.
The flavor has completely changed, definitely more like a sour beer at first with umami, soy & chocolate covered sour cherries, then some woodsy notes before finishing on a sweet syrupy chocolate caramel. Frikin' delicious and not at all what I expected from a chocolate beer. Still has some warming going down but no booziness is evident otherwise.
Appearance 4
Palate 4-5
Aroma 8 (but completely different)
Taste 8-9
Overall 16
Honestly, I am blown away by how this beer has developed. It went from savoury & somewhat harsh to smooth chocolaty fruitiness before finishing after 4 years as a slightly sour fruity chocolate.
Definitely worth aging, none of these bottles were bad as they went from solid to pretty good to damn good/great.
My wife preferred the 2012, I liked the 2010 best but the 2011 probably had the most chocolate flavor to it. Not a super chocolaty beer, in that sense it is subtle but well done. I congratulate Shimane Beer on putting together this beer!
