Brew Kettle Kitka Coconut Chocolate Stout (10/10)

At the 2012 Columbus Beerfest, Brew Kettle's Kitka Coconut Chocolate Stout was one of the few beers that really stood out to me.  It was probably the only beer there that I sampled more than once (more than twice, actually).  I was incredibly impressed with it.  Finding it on tap at The Pint Room was like bumping into an old friend you weren't expecting to meet.

The pours a completely opaque black with a finger-thick beige head that dissipates quickly but leaves behind a thick lacing.

The aroma hits you with coconut and dark chocolate right off the bat.  Think a Mounds Bar and you're on the right track.

The flavor begins with that traditional roasted malt stout bitterness, which quickly gives way to the coconut and chocolate flavors, ending with a milder malt bitterness.

Mouth feel is a silky, mildly creamy thickness.

This is one of those beers I can't recommend strongly enough to you, especially if you like coconut and chocolate.  (If not, well, this is certainly not the beer for you.)  The brewers do an excellent job of making the coconut and chocolate flavors balance each other out, and balance against the grainy bitterness.  None of those flavors overwhelms the others, and they work extremely well together.  To me, this is truly a great beer.  It's a beer I would be happy to have again and again.

Beer Advocate has only a small number of reviews for this one.  One rates it low, claiming there is a mint element to the flavor that drowns out the rest.  I think that reviewer may have forgotten to spit out his gum, because I don't get any mint in this one.  The other reviewers rate it very high (4.5+/5), and seem to have had the same beer I did.

I had this at the 2012 Columbus Winter Beerfest and at The Pint Room in Dublin.  I've not seen it available for purchase in bottled or growler form.

ABV: 4.6%

IBU:  unknown, best guess 26-28

My Rating: 9/10