Stone Xocoveza Review

Name: Stone Xocoveza 
Style: Imperial Stout
ABV: 8.1%
IBUs: 50

In one of my previous reviews, I stated that I've gained an appreciation for coffee-based beers so I'm continuing this trend with Stone Brewing's Xocoveza, Stone's winter seasonal Imperial Stout made with coffee, cocoa, vanilla, cinnamon, pasilla peppers, nutmeg, and milk sugar; In other words, it's a laundry list of ingredients.

I recall seeing this last year....and actually remember having this at either the Republic last December (my memory is a bit fuzzy) but I do remember saying to myself "Man, I really need to review this." However as soon I ventured out to find a bottle, they were already gone and would be gone until the following year. Thankfully I secured a bottle much earlier this year and am now ready to give this a proper review.

Appearance - Pitch black color with a thin khaki-colored head that has some mild retention, along with a small amount of sticky lacing left along the sides of the glass.

Aroma - Chocolate malts and cinnamon, with a mild spicy/nutmeg zing. I'm also getting some coffee ground & vanilla notes along with some light lactose.

Taste - Chocolate malts and coffee grounds start things off on the front of the palate. The middle of the palate opens up to that nutmeg/spicy zing with some cinnamon & vanilla notes, while the back end of the palate opens up to some lactose notes along with more vanilla and chocolate maltiness. The aftertaste is made up of light cinnamon zing, coffee roastiness and some mild bitter hops.

There's a great deal of stouts & dark beers that will be released this winter, but this one stands out to me thanks to its complex and robust flavor profile. You've got roastiness, chocolate and bright sweetness all in one here, plus a nice spicy zing to liven things up. If you so happen to come across this, I would highly recommend checking this out.

Stone Xocoveza - 9.5/10