Chocolate Oak Yeti

Almost definitely the first/only beer I've had from Great Divide (though Old Ruffian sounds familiar), this week's entry comes after a mini-hiatus thanks to Sandblast. I was gifted this lovely bottle by my good friend Tiffany at a party back in Buffalo a few weeks ago. A Chocolate Oak-aged Imperial Stout sounds just delicious.

To be completely honest, I've become somewhat weary of dark big beers when it comes to this blog. Most of what we've done in the past hasn't worked out magnificently, but I figured I'd give this one a go. The beer itself poured somewhat flat, but was almost pitch black in color. It wasn't anywhere near as chocolatey or oaky as I'd expected, but it was definitely dark, roasty, and slightly boozy (clocking in at 9.5%). Only one way to find out how it does as pancakes, though.

Prep/Cooking

Almost definitely the best part of this process (spoiler alert?), the batter was almost cake-like. Pretty much everything melted away except the subtle chocolate notes, which were enhanced by the inherent sweetness of the batter. I did notice a considerable amount of separation in the batter, as well - I basically had to stir it every time I poured because it had separated that much already.

Results

In terms of flavor, the exact opposite happened to the pancakes that did to the batter - the chooclate flavors dropped off almost completely, and the pancakes took on this interesting oaky flavor. If you tried really hard, you may've been able to get some malt and cocoa, but you'd have to really try. The pancakes were also really flat and had a slightly boozy aftertaste. My favorite one was probably the first one, which was kinda crispy from the olive oil I used to cook it with. Odd.

The Decision

• Pancakes: No. I'm on the fence with this one. They weren't terrible, but they also weren't great. The beer itself is probably better if only for the alcohol content, but to be honest I was kind of disappointed with the beer as well.
• Syrup: Yes. I'm honestly not sure how I feel about syrup. This is one of the rare beers that the flavor actually stands up to the syrup's sweetness, but I couldn't make up my mind if that's a good thing or not. I'd say try it for yourself.

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