Highland Black Mocha Stout

Well, it’s officially winter now and for some reason that puts me in the mood for darker beer, stouts in particular always taste better when it’s cold outside. One of my favorite stouts is the Black Mocha Stout from our neighbors in North Carolina, Highland Brewing Company. As far as microbreweries go, Highland has been around for a while – 1994 as a matter of fact and many of us are familiar with their brews as there are several places in town that have them on tap and they are plentiful in the local Kroger and Food City.

To the right you’ll see the Highland Assorted 12 pack that I picked up at Bearden Beer Market. The 12 pack features many of Highland’s best brews. Included is their Gaelic Ale (3), St. Terese’s Pale Ale (3), Oatmeal Porter (2), Kashmir IPA (2), and Black Mocha Stout (2). If you’ve never had any of Highland’s brews, this is a real easy way to check many of them out at once.

Now back to the brew at hand. Black Mocha Stout is a very flavorful stout that pours black (imagine that) with very little head. I had to pour it into a Duck Rabbit glass, which while I love Duck Rabbit, doesn’t seem right. I don’t have a Highland glass though (hint hint Travis @ the Pizza Kitchen if you’re listening – let’s do a Highland pint night). There is also a very distinct chocolate scent. Actually it reminds me a bit of a donut shop in that there’s a coffee scent as well as a chocolate scent that doesn’t overpower but let’s you know that, “hey, good things happen here.”  Hmm…now I want a donut.

This beer is very smooth on the tongue with a subtle hint of hops and a bit of a sweet aftertaste. ABV is cranking in around 5.3%. Overall, this is a very drinkable beer. Those who are not wild on stouts would probably enjoy this beer and for people who are big on stouts would probably enjoy 2 to 3 of these bad boys and a cold winter night. Definitely another great brew out of the Highland Brewing Company.