King Road’s autumnal pairing for 2024 make a play for shifting seasons, especially of the increasingly cooler Oldbury flats. And what better way to warm the mood than with a chocolaty stout. Utilising cacao husks from Margaret River’s Gabriel Chocolate, as well as a little lactose, King Road find themselves with a very agreeable liquid hug.
Unsurprisingly, there’s dusty baker’s chocolate and milk duds aromas, plus chocolate malt that welcomes a touch of cola in the glass. And, though lactose offers a light creaminess, Cocoa Husk Stout is relatively lean for the premise, keeping a taut sweet / dry / bitter balance which makes making the prospect of a few pints around the King Road fireplace very achievable – or wrapped up in your favourite hoodie for that matter. Simple pleasures.
Likewise, the returning Red Ale seems to look at a complicated beer world and say: "It doesn’t have to be like this." Read our review of the first release here.
Guy Southern
Published April 27, 2024 2024-04-27 00:00:00
