Chocolate, like beer, is one of the small luxuries in life that makes things that little easier. We could live without it, but the world would be just that wee bit less sweet.
Chocolate and beer are, admittedly, not the most obvious of bedfellows. Not many would think washing down a Mars Bar with a pint of Skol is a classic pairing (Or perhaps you do. Confess below in the comments if you dare you strange, chocolate mouthed, little Skol Goblin).
You see, lagers don't quite work... Where a good dark chocolate and a single malt whisky can certainly be savoured, beer was generally thought not to have enough flavour. (Some whiskies work, some don't. It's worth experimenting till you hit a good combination. Y'know, any old excuse...).
But chocolate and beer actually make better partners than you might think. Many darker richer brews like porters, stouts and barley wines employ chocolate malts in the recipes, a type of malted barley that is roasted to higher temperatures during production than normal pale ale malts, delivering a richer, smokier flavour of chocolate and cocoa when used.
Why not, then, use actual chocolate?
Young's have a history of being a little experimental with their ingredients. I've mentioned before one of their honeyed ales, Waggle Dance, which certainly changed character after they took it over from Vaux. In 1997 they were the first known brewer to add real chocolate essence to a stout recipe along with chocolate malts creating the "Double-Chocolate" of the name.
You see, lagers don't quite work... Where a good dark chocolate and a single malt whisky can certainly be savoured, beer was generally thought not to have enough flavour. (Some whiskies work, some don't. It's worth experimenting till you hit a good combination. Y'know, any old excuse...).
But chocolate and beer actually make better partners than you might think. Many darker richer brews like porters, stouts and barley wines employ chocolate malts in the recipes, a type of malted barley that is roasted to higher temperatures during production than normal pale ale malts, delivering a richer, smokier flavour of chocolate and cocoa when used.
Why not, then, use actual chocolate?
Young's have a history of being a little experimental with their ingredients. I've mentioned before one of their honeyed ales, Waggle Dance, which certainly changed character after they took it over from Vaux. In 1997 they were the first known brewer to add real chocolate essence to a stout recipe along with chocolate malts creating the "Double-Chocolate" of the name.
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| The former label's resemblance to a certain chocolate manufacturer was toned down... slightly |
Knowing this might be a little bit of a hard sell, they then pushed the new brew at places like the UK Chocolate Fayre and went one step further by using a certain easily recognised purple colour on their label. The original bottle certainly screamed CADBURY'S, though I don't think there was ever any real link beyond some cheeky marketing.
But Young's beers do seem to be in a constant state of flux at the moment. Although their F&B division is as healthy as always with new bars popping up (and it's always worth a visit), the brewing side has been a little unstable for a while. A good old-fashioned brewer from London, established in Wandsworth in the 1830s, Young's were matching their local rival, Fuller's, stride for stride through the Millennium.
But from a position where they were buying up other brewers, in 2006 they merged with another old brewer Charles Wells, taking a 40% stake in Wells & Young's. In 2015 Young's sold this stake to Wells who dispensed with the Young's company name but continued to produce the Young's brand beers under licence, though not before moving some of those brands across to its own stable first, like the aforementioned Waggle Dance.
Earlier this year, matters became even more confusing when Wells sold their entire operation to real ale giant, Martson's, adding to their already large portfolio of beer brands like McKewan's and Hobgoblin along with their own brands. This sale included Wells' most famous beers like Bombardier along with the Young's Licence. It's said that Charles Wells will reopen anew in the next few years, though I'm not sure if this would include any of the beers they have since sold to Marston's? If anyone knows, let me know, it would be good to see them continue in some form.
So what of Young's? Well, it's clear that Marston's now hold the rights to brew Young's beers under licence so you would hope that nothing really changes. In fact, Marston's do have a good reputation for letting their brands "breathe", so perhaps there may even be a bit of a push. I'd love to see a continuation of Double Chocolate and Special London ales. Perhaps the realignment of Waggle Dance to the Young's brand and possibly the re-emergence of Young's Old Nick, a beautiful old style barley wine that disappeared around the same time they merged with Wells.
Double Chocolate Stout is a smooth stout, brewed at 5%. Complex yet well balanced, the sweet notes of chocolate and biscuit are rounded nicely with a bitter finish. It pours a deep colour with a paler head than usual for this kind of stout.
Not many places in Malaysia stock the various Wells & Young's beers and I do hope the new ownership doesn't stop the few lines of import we do have.
If you like this, you can also look out for Rogue Chocolate Stout or, if you're lucky (and have the money) you could try and find Rogue Double Chocolate Stout, which is obscenely decadent in all the best ways.
But Young's beers do seem to be in a constant state of flux at the moment. Although their F&B division is as healthy as always with new bars popping up (and it's always worth a visit), the brewing side has been a little unstable for a while. A good old-fashioned brewer from London, established in Wandsworth in the 1830s, Young's were matching their local rival, Fuller's, stride for stride through the Millennium.
But from a position where they were buying up other brewers, in 2006 they merged with another old brewer Charles Wells, taking a 40% stake in Wells & Young's. In 2015 Young's sold this stake to Wells who dispensed with the Young's company name but continued to produce the Young's brand beers under licence, though not before moving some of those brands across to its own stable first, like the aforementioned Waggle Dance.
Earlier this year, matters became even more confusing when Wells sold their entire operation to real ale giant, Martson's, adding to their already large portfolio of beer brands like McKewan's and Hobgoblin along with their own brands. This sale included Wells' most famous beers like Bombardier along with the Young's Licence. It's said that Charles Wells will reopen anew in the next few years, though I'm not sure if this would include any of the beers they have since sold to Marston's? If anyone knows, let me know, it would be good to see them continue in some form.
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Double Chocolate Stout is a smooth stout, brewed at 5%. Complex yet well balanced, the sweet notes of chocolate and biscuit are rounded nicely with a bitter finish. It pours a deep colour with a paler head than usual for this kind of stout.
Not many places in Malaysia stock the various Wells & Young's beers and I do hope the new ownership doesn't stop the few lines of import we do have.
If you like this, you can also look out for Rogue Chocolate Stout or, if you're lucky (and have the money) you could try and find Rogue Double Chocolate Stout, which is obscenely decadent in all the best ways.
You can read about some more stouts to be found in Malaysia, here.
2021 UPDATE: We haven't seen Young's beers in the country for a while now. Hopefully they'll return, but until then, we'll still have Paris...
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