Friday, March 8, 2013

Beer Review: Clare's Right Hook (aged with Cocoa Nibs)

Reviewing Clare's Right Hook (aged with Cocoa Nibs) from Haymarket Pub & Brewery out of Chicago, Illinois. This beer is a bold American style barleywine (13% ABV) aged for 6 months in Woodford Reserve Barrels with two pounds of Roasted Cocoa Nibs. The "Cocoa Clare's" is the second glass from the left. The beer to the right of it is the lemon zest version.
Score: 90

4 oz sample served in a taster glass and enjoyed at Haymarket's 2nd Anniversary Party on 01/12/12. Review is from iPhone notes.

Appearance: Looks like an unfiltered, hazy homebrew milk chocolate milk shake blended with a dash of roadslush. 3/5

Smell: TONS of cocoa notes in the nose, followed by figs, leather and hot chocolate mix. 4.5/5

Taste: Much sweeter and less bitter than anticipated given the amount of cocoa in nose. Leather, oak, fig, prune and malty caramel. A little biscuit too. In such a small sized pour, the sweetness is not overwhelming, but I can tell that I would struggle to finish a 12+ ounce pour of this in respectable time. 4/5

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, minimal carbonation. Sweet. Very dry on finish. 3.75/5

Overall: The nose was complex and enticing, but the rest of the beer does not quite live up. The flavors were than I would have liked, and the mouthfeel was thinner than hoped for. That said, this was still a pretty darn good beer that I would order again.

Recommendation: Worth ordering if on tap, but there is no need to order a larger sized pour of this one.

Cost: $2 for a 4 oz pour or $6 for a 12 oz pour.

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