Origin: England
Type: Old Ale
Color: Reddish brown
Alcohol content: 6%
Recommended serving temperature: 10ºC/50ºF
Brewery: Robinsons Brewery
Webpage: http://www.robinsonsbrewery.com/index.php/catalog/product/view/id/1/category/22/
I must have suddenly developed a sweet tooth, something that I have never had (not even on Halloween, that was just greed), because I have decided to make this beer my first post on an English beer.
Despite the fact that there are more widely known English beers, which arguably deserve to have the first post dedicated to them, I tried this beer the other day, thoroughly enjoyed the experience and decided to write about it.
The Old Tom with Chocolate, or the Chocolate Tom as it was apparently called before changing its name to the former, is an Old Ale. There are different types or variations of Old ales, but in general, these beers are beers which are left to age in casks for a long period of time, achieving darker colors which range from dark amber tones to practically black. Although there are also softer versions, another characteristic is their higher than average alcohol content.
It is light brown in color with reddish tones. It is in fact so light a brown that you can still see through it, despite the fact that it is quite dense. Its foam, not excessive or very long lasting, is of a rich creamy color.
Its smells were to me the most surprising. The first and most obvious one is a chocolaty sweet smell, reminiscent of Hershey's Kisses, Cadbury Dairy Milk and other mass produced (despite Simon Dunn's -the chocolatier responsible for the chocolate in this beer- assertions, but as I said, I do not really have a sweet tooth, so what do I know) milk chocolates. Then there is, of course, the roasted touch which tends to be present in different shades in darker beers. This is mixed in with some other sweet smell which to me seems like caramel, although the brewery's web describes it as molasses (potatoe, potato).
The mix between these two smells combines into something which reminds of roasting caramel or burning chocolate, kind of like what you would expect Charlie's Chocolate Factory would smell like.
This might seem like every little kid's dream, but actually it is not. It is better. Why? Because it has alcohol and you can tell.
You can tell when you taste this beer. The roasted chocolate and caramel flavors which appear at the beginning are soon joined by a pang of alcohol, making it pretty delightful for any naughty little boy, who will instantly get the feeling he is doing something his parents would disapprove of if they knew.
This is also almost instantly accompanied by a slight bitterness which together with the appreciable (but by no means heavy) carbonation reminds you that, yes, this is still a beer, and you are still a grown up, who has come to appreciate beer, its bitterness and complexities, rather than a young adult dabbling in chocolate liquor.
In summary, this beer is sweeter and more chocolaty in smell than in taste, where the alcohol and bitterness give it a pretty decent bight, even if it definitely leaves you with a pretty chocolaty aftertaste (albeit drenched in alcohol). Fantastic for those alcohol lovers with a sweet tooth or without one, and I'm sure great with desserts of all kinds as a sort of digestive.
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