I believe the first Southern Tier Brewery beer that I had was their Imperial IPA, Unearthly, a couple of years back. Since then, I’m always keen to picking up what few bottles of theirs I’m able to find locally. Mostly it’s the IPA, but every now and again, like last week for instance, I’m able to snag a couple bottles of something special.
Mokah is a combination of two of the brewery’s other products (Jahva and Choklat) and is the first of their Blackwater Imerpial Stout series that I’ve had the opportunity to enjoy. Weighing in at 11% ABV, this big brew is decadent, delicious and down right dangerous.
Appearance
One can only imagine what an Imperial Stout heavy on the coffee and chocolate will look like once poured into a glass, but it’s always a surprise to see it in front of you. Sure Mokah pours dark, but it’s not as dark as some stouts out there. It does, however have some really nice garnet highlights throughout. The head was nearly nonexistent.
Aroma
You certainly know what’s coming your way on the first wiff of this brew. A heavy, sweet chocolate punch in the face is quickly followed by a more subtle roasted coffee scent. This thing smells rich.
Taste
It’s a good thing I had already eaten dinner before cracking Mokah open. This brew is dessert in a bottle! It’s first and foremost wonderfully thick and chocolaty. There’s a nice, smooth coffee bitterness in the finish that combines with the higher ABV tingle and warming. The chocolate is certainly the dominating flavor in this beer so those of you looking for more of a coffee presence may be a bit let down. It’s there, but it’s subtle and compliments the rich sweetness well.
Overall
This is definitely one of those beers that I would need to share with another person the next time I have it. I loved Mokah, but after a pint and a half of it, the chocolate richness did get to be a bit much. I’m planning on setting aside the other bottle of this one I purchased for the Holidays later this year. Let’s see how an additional six months treats its chocolaty goodness.
Rating: 4/5
August 4th, 2009
Scott-TheBrewClud said:
I had the terrible choice of choosing between the mokah or the JahVa the other day. (I couldn’t get both) I chose the Jahva.
I haven’t tried anything from Southern Tier yet, but I’m really looking forward to seeing what its about!