My taste in beer is extremely varied.  My normal go-to beer tends to be Coors Light.  That said, I very much enjoy a good brown ale and also a good amber ale.  Lately, I have been jonesing for two of my all-time favorites, Moose Drool (brown ale) or Wild Huckleberry (unfiltered wheat with a touch of huckleberry).  The problem is, both are brewed, on a small scale, in Montana.  Great when you are in Montana, not-so-great when you are in Arkansas.

As a result, I’m always looking for that next great beer.  The one for a special occasion.  You know, it’s Wednesday night and you are manning the grill kind-of special.  So we are kicking it at home and my lovely wife says that a local liquor store has craft beers and we should check it out.  So we roll down to Cheers, I’m not making that up, and see what beers they have.  After confirming what I already know to be true, they don’t have any Moose Drool, or Trout Slayer Ale for that matter, we locate a pint bottle of Chocolate Ale, a Boulevard Smokestack Series special release.

Cool bottle, with a cork, cool label, and not too damn bad.  Can’t say that I would knock back six or seven of them while mowing the yard.  But, a nice curve ball, nonetheless.  I can say this, I would buy another bottle and I look forward to trying other beers in the series.  Boulevard says “Chocolate Ale is full of surprises, beginning with a glowing amber hue. The aroma is given over to earthy, fruity cocoa, with just a hint of hops. Smooth layers of dark chocolate intertwine with threads of caramel, vanilla, and nutty malt as the flavor warms and rounds to a bittersweet finish.”  To me, it just tastes like chocolate beer, and, depending on your mood, that pretty much tells you everything you need to know.  Check out this link for more information on the Smokestack Series Beers.  http://www.boulevard.com/beers/smokestack-series/beer-faq/