How to get a woman’s attention (Youngs Double Chocolate Stout)

Member Name: Shazzy

Product:	Youngs Double Chocolate Stout
Date:	29/08/02 (215 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It contains alcohol and chocolate. What more could a girl want?

Disadvantages: Doesn't taste chocolatey enough

Beer and chocolate? These two things don’t really go together, do they? Beer and crisps, yes, but surely not chocolate? Hmmm. Very odd.

The first time I ever heard of this strange concoction was here on dooyoo, over a year ago. Some chap had written and op about it and I can distinctly remember thinking that it sounded thoroughly revolting. Little did I know that I’d one day be sharing a bottle of it with the author of that original op. Funnily enough, my comment on that op was one of the very first encounters I had with the man who now shares my bed, the washing-up and my PC (damn his Mac not working), as well as the odd bottle of beer.

I was sitting on the sofa, happily sewing curtains when he offered me a glass of choccie beer. I don’t drink a lot of beer, just the odd glass now and then, but being a bit pre-menstrual, the word “chocolate” was enough to invoke an immediate positive response. Yes, yes, bring on the chocolate!

Obviously, being only a very occasional beer drinker, I can’t give you an opinion from a connoisseur’s point of view, but I know what I like and what I don’t and this one isn’t going to have me rushing off to the local off-license in a desperate quest for more.

Of course, if you’re already a devout stout lover (no, I don’t mean a tubby person who’s good in the sack - I’m talking about somebody who likes to drink thick, dark brown beer), you may well see this stuff in a completely different light to me. I’ve never been a great lover of stout, y’see, and Young’s, even though they make this sound oh-so enticing with the words “double chocolate”, have done very little to change my mind.

Quite honestly, whilst downing this stuff, I couldn’t help feeling I’d been conned. All I could think was “where’s the damned chocolate?”. Ok, so it’s the right colour and th
e cream, caramel coloured head gives the impression that you’re about to experience something that’ll have your taste buds begging for more, but I’ll be buggered if I could taste the chocolate. BUT, and this is where it becomes interesting, about half an hour after finishing my glass, a distinct chocolately taste started to emerge. A sort of belated after taste. A bitter chocolate taste, rather like cooking chocolate. Unfortunately, it also left my mouth feeling very dry.

Actually, when I say it’s the right colour, I’m not being entirely accurate. According to the people at The Ram Brewery, who are responsible for this strange combination of malt, barley, hops and chocolate, it’s ruby coloured. Maybe if you hold it up to the light you’d see a reddish sort of tinge to it, but both on the table and in my hand, which is where you’d normally see a glass of beer, it looked dark brown. Personally, I think chocolate beer should be brown rather than ruby anyway. If I bought a bar of ruby coloured chocolate, I’d expect it to be strawberry or cherry flavoured chocolate, not beer flavoured or even just plain old chocolate flavoured. No, chocolate beer should be brown, and if I’d noticed that ruby colour, it may well have put me off.

Another interesting point is that whilst the beer has nothing more than a mild aroma of chocolate, the empty glass positively oozes chocolate. I kept sniffing at my empty glass for ages and wanted more. A very strange effect indeed.

Not being particularly knowledgeable on the beer front, I had no idea who Young’s were or that they were based in London. Oh lord, my dad would be ashamed of me! I’m so lucky to have the good Mr O, who really does know his beers, to give me all the relevant information I’d need. Did you know, for example, that in Central London, Young’s still deliver by horse drawn dray? Or that the Ram Brewery is the oldest
site in Britain on which beer has been brewed continuously? It’s true, they’ve been doing it since Elizabethan times, way back in 1581.

They’re a bit crafty though. The label’s purple and gold and immediately made me think of Milk Tray. Well, to be honest, I first thought of Dairy Milk, but they don’t have purple wrappers do they? Whatever way, there’s definitely a connection made when you see the label. I’m certain they’ve devised this stuff purely for the sake of capturing the female “that time of the month” market.

Anyway, now that you know not to expect too much of a chocolate sensation from this, I’ll tell you that it is actually quite drinkable. Not great, I wouldn’t go out of my way to get it, but if somebody’s offering then, yeah, sure, I’ll share a bottle. Mind you, according to the bottle, this “double dose of pleasure” could earn me a reputation, so, considering it has 5.2% alcohol content, I guess I’d better be careful who I share it with.

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