Well, if that isn’t some of the best eight bucks I’ve ever spent! I‘m talking about the bottle of Westbrook 5^th Anniversary Chocolate Raspberry Imperial Stout, a beer you probably can’t buy anymore because it’s a one-off (I think) and I bought it a while ago. Still and all, it’s so good that I’m hoping they bring it back again as a specialty release, and it has me wondering what kind of delight Westbrook will conjure up for their 6^th anniversary.

Here’s the breakdown. My bomber bottle of Westbrook 5th Anniversary Chocolate Raspberry Imperial Stout was packaged on January 5^th of 2016. I bought it in May of 2016 while on a business trip to Fort Mill, South Carolina at a Total Wine in Greeneville. I thought it was a steal at $7.99, so it went into my cart faster than you can say “Bob’s your uncle”. The label suggests drinking fresh or cellaring up to a year, although I think it could go much longer than that. Anyway, I darnk my bottle on October 20^th.

The label also says:

Our 5^th anniversary beer is a dark and decadent imperial stout fermented with raspberries and finished on cocoa nibs and a touch of vanilla.

I missed Westbrook’s 4^th Anniversary beer, but fondly recall their 3^rd Anniversary Orange Bliss Chocolate Orange Stout.

Westbrook 5th Anniversary Chocolate Raspberry Imperial Stout is definitely a sipping beer at 10% alcohol by volume. Said sipping may occur, however, at a fairly rapid pace; I found the beer simply irresistible and kept quickly coming back for more.

Westbrook 5^th Anniversary Chocolate Raspberry Imperial Stout pours to a jet-black color with a thick creamy tan head and a powerful nose of bittersweet dark chocolate and sweet raspberry. Taking a sip, the beer has a thick full mouthfeel, the dark bittersweet chocolate I got in the nose to exponential intensity, luscious raspberry fruit, warming alcohol and a big roasted bitterness in the finish. The beer recalls a Godiva raspberry dark chocolate but more intense. I just love the way the bright raspberry fruit pops against the chocolate, that deep dark cocoa chocolate. This beer is simply amazing.

Five years of Westbrook. Five stars for this beer. Nuff said!

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

 

 



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