Foothills Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout
North Carolina’s Foothills Brewing has been shipping their tasty products to Virginia for about three years now, but their Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout has evaded my grubby hands. Granted, the big stout only arrived in small quantities — until this past March, that is. I stopped by one of my favorite local shops and came across what could only be described as a wall of the 9.6% ABV brew, and with no cap on the number I could purchase. Baffled, I was finally able to snap a handful of the big beer for the first time.
Cracking open this big stout let me know almost immediately that it wasn’t the beer I was expecting it to be. I supposed I was prepared for something sweeter, more decadent. Instead I was greeted by a smooth earthiness that persisted from start to finish. The flavor profile — complete with espresso, cocoa, molasses — is still rich and rewarding without presenting itself as a dessert brew. And I thoroughly enjoyed that about Sexual Chocolate. That earthy richness was an outstanding surprise that really only improved the experience of enjoying this thick imperial stout.
Not only was I happy to procure several bottles of Sexual Chocolate, but I was even more pleased to find the beer was a bit more robust than I had anticipated. The big stout still lived up to the lofty expectations that I had set over the last couple of years. I’m even more curious now to see how the beer changes with a good bit of cellaring.