Detroit Brewing Company, also known as Detroit Beer Company, is one of many Detroit-based purveyor of spirits. That Detroit has a number of breweries is no surprise—this is a city of hard workers who need a good beer to relax. Though they do distribute, Detroit Brewing Company had not shown up on my radar until I saw Sanders Chocolate Stout. The name is somewhat strange, but there is an explanation behind it:
In the fall of 2009, Detroit Brewing Company began tinkering with their Pub Classic Smooth Cream Stout in order to make the best Stout available. A chance meeting, over a few beers, with the folks from Sanders brought the final sweet ingredient. As a result of this Michigan combination, Detroit Brewing Company’s Sanders Chocolate Stout was created. Detroit Brewing Co. found the best way to combine Stout and Sanders chocolate to create the dark, satisfying aroma and flavor of a fine Stout Ale with the restrained richness and elegance of the hand selected cocoa used by Sanders Fine Chocolatiers in Detroit since 1875.
Before continuing on with this discussion, I would like to briefly address a name discrepancy. As you will see in the picture below, Sanders Chocolate Stout was created by Detroit Brewing Company. However, the real name of this brewery is Detroit Beer Company. For whatever reason, there are websites for both Detroit Brewing Company and Detroit Beer Company, though the former contains just a logo and an e-mail address. While composing this review, I spent about 15 minutes trying to tease out the difference. Is Detroit Beer Company changing its name? Do they just want to own both names? I have no idea. Of course, it would help if they simply updated their website to mention that they brew Sanders Chocolate Stout.
Impressions
Name discrepancy aside, Sanders Chocolate Stout delivers on to its cocoa-y promise. The taste is a very chalky, perhaps too much so, and that powdery residue lingers on your tongue after a not-too-creamy, not-too-sweet, limited tide of flavor. I noticed a few coffee and espresso notes, but they don’t add much. Oh well. I wasn’t expecting much from this beer, so it wasn’t disappointing.
Sanders Chocolate Stout definitely has a place as a starter stout for drinkers new to the craft beer game. Before diving into the deep end of complex imperial stouts, it’s a good idea to get your feet wet. This beer is great for that.
