* Stone Cherry Chocolate Stout. This one was produced with Troegs Brewing Co. in Harrisburg, Pa., and based on a recipe by Jason Fields and Kevin Sheppard, who won Stone’s homebrewing contest.
Chocolate liquer, vanilla beans, and 9,000 pounds of dark cherries went into the brew, and their presence is evident from the first whiff. Black and smoky, the beer (7.3 percent ABV) produces a cappucino-style head, big bubbles and all. A complex aroma of roasted coffee beans, molasses, and cherries rises from the glass. The taste is full of cherries, java, and burnt dark chocolate. There’s a lot going on with this thick, substantial beer.
Sweet on the front end and bitter on the back, Stone Cherry Chocolate Stout provides interesting juxtapositions and immense satisfaction.
Each beer will be sold as 12-ounce singles, for about $3 a bottle.