Welcome to The Session, a monthly event in which beer and brewing bloggers get together to all write about a chosen topic on the same day! This is Session #18, for which The Barley Blog writer Ray Henry has chosen the topic, “Happy Anniversary.”

The great thing about anniversary beers is seeing your favorite breweries trying something different and knowing that what you’re about to drink is going to be unique. After going a little overboard at our recent excursion, we found ourselves with four anniversary brews, one each from Brewery Ommegang and Stone Brewing Co., and two from Weyerbacher Brewing Co. We’ve been laboring to drink one every night this week, silently tasting and gathering our respective thoughts before compiling our notes together into comprehensive analyses, all for you, the readers. I HOPE YOU APPRECIATE THIS.

Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence

We got lucky with this first one. Mel picked it up on her first trip to the Canal’s on Rt. 38, thinking that it was just one of the Ommegang brews that we didn’t know about. It wasn’t there on our second trip, though, and when we got home and looked at the bottle, we discovered that this was Ommegang’s 10th Anniversary brew from last year! Nice of Canal’s to age it for us. Shame we’ll probably never find it again.

Chocolate Indulgence is a “True Belgian-Style Chocolate Stout,” brewed with Belgian chocolate and chocolate malts. The bottle is worth 10¢ in Michigan.

Appearance: Opaque. Dark, dark brown — just shy of black. Cream/mocha head that dissolves quickly.

Nose: Sweet and alcoholic, like a Belgian ought to be. Subtle roastiness beneath the alcohol.

Taste: Bitter chocolate with the slightest hint of coffee. As alcoholic as the nose makes you expect.

Mouthfeel: Creamy. Medium bodied. Very light for a stout, but spot on for a “Belgian-style” stout.

Overall: We liked it, but it wasn’t nearly as chocolaty as we expected. “Indulgence” suggests that you’re going to say, “Hey-oh! Chocolate!” which doesn’t end up happening. It could be that the chocolatiness sank beneath the weight of the alcohol during the bottle’s year on the shelf at Canal’s. Neither of us was blown away, but it’s still very good.

Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

Phew, that name is a mouthful. Incidentally, so is the beer. Wow.

It sounds delicious just from the name. Stone tends to favor big, hoppy beers for their anniversary specials. According to the label on their 12th Anniversary brew, however, the hop shortage staid their hand to an extent, and they opted instead to use unsweetened chocolate from Chuao Chocolatier for most of this stout’s bittering.

I thought of Mel as soon as I heard that this was coming out. It’s kind of her thing, after all.

Appearance: Jet black, with a foamy, dark mocha head.

Nose: Sweet and alcoholic. Less chocolate than we expected, but there was still no missing it.

Taste: Super roasty, with lots of chocolaty bitterness that becomes more and more pronounced as the beer warms up to room temperature. Slight astringency makes me think they had some roasted cocoa beans in the boil along with the unsweetened chocolate.

Mouthfeel: Thick, chewy, and creamy, with a really nice alcohol bite that smooths out as the beer warms.

Overall: Wow. Easily one of the best stouts we’ve ever had, certainly our favorite out of the four beers we bought for this post. We’re going to need to stock up on this one. This is exactly why I think the hop shortage is such a blessing.

Also, we got about halfway through the 22 oz bottle before deciding, “Holy crap, this needs to be in a float.” After topping off our goblets, we dropped a scoop of Friendly’s Vienna Mocha Chunk ice cream into each one. It was the perfect summer dessert.

Geeeez, those were some delicious freaking floats.

Weyerbacher XIII Thirteenth Anniversary Ale

To celebrate their 13th year, Weyerbacher crafted a “Belgian-inspired Imperial Stout made with 5 malts, a touch of oats, and Pilgrim and Saaz hops.” They’re not kidding about the Imperial part — at 13.6% ABV, this thing is a beast. We slept like rocks that night.

Appearance: Opaque black, with a thin brown head that disappears almost instantly.

Nose: Lots of Belgian banana esters, and lots of alcohol.

Taste: Sweet, very alcoholic and estery. A bit of roastiness. A sweet hint of nuttiness right at the end, though this is concealed a great deal by the alcohol.

Mouthfeel: Definitely a lot of alcohol bite, but it is smoother than we expected. Creamy, medium body.

Overall: We were a little disappointed with this one. It’s just way too alcoholic. Aging would probably help a bit, but right now, the whole beer gets lost in the alcohol. Perhaps it’ll be more like a stout a year from now. Definitely Belgian-style, though.

Weyerbacher Twelve Anniversary Ale

For their 12th anniversary in 2007, Weyerbacher brewed a Rye Barleywine. I was optimistic: I love barleywines, and I love Weyerbacher, and this is a Weyerbacher barleywine that’s been aging for a year. Oh. Man.

Appearance: Crystal clear, bright, golden amber. Foamy, lingering head with lots of lacing.

Nose: Almost like a strong pilsner. Malty, with some tangy alcohol.

Taste: Hearty sweetness at the beginning and dryness at the end. Super smooth, very balanced, and just a little bit citrusy.

Mouthfeel: Thick, creamy, and smooth. Lingers on the back and sides of the tongue.

Overall: I’m a fan. It’s a very different bareleywine, and I’m all for different. Deceptively drinkable, nice and clean, and the alcohol doesn’t slap you in the face the same way that Weyerbacher’s other big beers do (Quad, I’m looking at you). I need to try this next to Blithering Idiot to compare. Would buy from again, A+++++++++++.

Craft Beer, Tasting, The Session