BLACK by popular demand - BLACK Stout Trio

Last winter we put it out there that once you go BLACK you never go back. Well, this winter - BLACK by popular demand - our three-headed monster, the BLACK Stout trio is back.

Returning to shelves and pouring forth from taps for the colder months, is our BLACK Toasted Malt stout and BLACK Espresso stout collaboration with Mojo Coffee, along with a new chocolate stout.

For this year's BLACK choccie brew, we reached up onto the very top shelf for choc from local boutique chocolatier, the Wellington Chocolate Factory (WCF), a warm, toasty, moreish-smelling little corner situated in Leeds Street, where their chocolate goes from bean to bar using only 100% Fair Trade organic cocoa beans.

Our production manager, CJ, was duly sent to WCF (with two little helpers, daughters, Poppy and Willow, who at that point surely thought their dad had the best job in the world) with the task of picking the perfect cocoa bean for our chocolate stout.

After much deliberation and consultation with WCF founders, Rochelle Harrison and Gabe Davidson, they recommended the Dominican Republic cocoa bean, thanks to its rep as the most chocolatey, full-flavoured tasting bean, and offset by a rich, dark, malty flavour that would marry up perfectly with a winter stout.

"We chatted about their chocolate-making processes and our brewing processes, noting any similarities in how the raw ingredients interact," said CJ.

"It was key to use a cocoa bean which had high flavour, richness and a milder bitterness as we were using 100% cocoa with no added sugar."

Using a blend of cocoa husks, nibs and finished 100% chocolate, over 90 kgs of chocolate product was used in the brewing.

"We hadn't done this before, so it was a bit of guessing game, getting it right!" said Rochelle.

"I suggested using as much husk as possible due to the fact that it has a lot of aroma and flavour without any fat, which is in the nib of the cocoa bean."

CJ said the WCF Chocolate Stout is probably Tuatara's most heavily worked and babysat beer, as it required a fair amount of imagination to figure out the tipping point where one component outweighs the other.

"It was a bit tricky to retain the 'chocolateness' (our collective technical terminology!) and not allow the beer to get too bitter as the fermentation process gobbled up the sugar," said CJ.

"We were after maximum chocolate flavour without obscuring the structure of the stout. What we've ended up with is a rich but subtle chocolate syrup aroma reminiscent of one of WCF's fantastic hot chocolates."

CJ said the brewing team added dark roasted malts to impart both a coffee and chocolate hit, as well as a small amount of natural vanilla bean to lift the chocolate aroma.

The WCF crew swung into the brewery from time to time during the brewing process when the brewing team were experimenting with the stout, as well as post-ferment to give feedback and decide upon the best "dry choc" addition.

Rochelle says she the WCF Chocolate Stout is "delicious and nutritious with a refreshing aroma of toasty chocolate".

The next batch of choccie stout will see more chocolate added to the brew to play up more of that warm chocolate-y goodness.

Like all our BLACK Stouts, the WCF Chocolate Stout is one that that will age and mellow over the next 36 months (if you can wait that long, adds CJ).

But in the meantime, we really wouldn't blame you for cosying up to all three during the blackest of these winter days.