Ratchet Brews – Spicy Cocoa Stout

Howdy fellow snobs –

Hope this post finds you well. Recently we were given a few bottles of home brew from our fellow beer snob Jason Carpenter – who we all know as Ratchet. Ratchet has been brewing for quite some time and I’ve had one or two of his home brews before – always good stuff. So Don and I were honored when he asked us if we’d do a post on one of his brews. So here we are!

On deck this evening is the Ratchet Brews Spicy Cocoa Stout. Ratchet tells me that this is brewed with pale chocolate malt, cocoa and a little lactose to add some sweetness. The “spice” comes from Tennessee cherry chilli’s provided by Rushy Mountain Farms added at the end of the boil AND some smoked red jalapenos in the primary fermentation. Now, Ratchet provided me this info in a Facebook message in which he also told me to serve it at about 60 degrees – which I had forgotten and left the bottles in the beer fridge. When we poured them into the glass, I had a eureka moment and we grabbed the laser thermometer (which EVERY snob should own) and it read 41 degrees. Don has been hand warming these glasses since. Evidence below shows we have waited the appropriate amount of time to review this beer.

 This beer pours dark with some amber edges. The head is small but lingers with great lacing on the glass. On the nose Don is getting Robitussin DM with a slight amount of cocoa and roasted malt. I’m getting what he’s smelling and I guess this has something to do with the peppers/malts. Regardless, the distinctive cocoa scent is there. We were both wondering what the taste would be like and Ratchet doesn’t disappoint – definitely no Robitussin in this beer! On the tongue you immediately get cocoa notes and the roasted malts with a slight pop from the spice. As the taste dissolves the heat picks up – definitely feeling a tingle in the back of my throat. As the beer continues to open up the spice becomes much more prevalent. The chili flavors aren’t really coming through but the heat is. Wow! This is definitely a well balanced and unique beer.

Final Snobs: Love it! Great job Ratchet. You’ve definitely created something unique with this brew!

If you’re wondering where you might be able to sample some of Ratchet’s brews, keep an eye on his blog here. He’s also on the twitterverse and often posts where he’s off to, so be sure to give him a shout.

Cheers!