Stone Xocoveza Mocha Stout

Another new stout from Stone, and unlike the last one they made I will be very upset if they don't make it again.  Simply put, Xocoveza is the best beer they have ever made.   It's part of a recent fad of so-called "Mexican stouts;" these are stouts loosely-inspired by Mexican hot chocolate (often made with vanilla and cinnamon) and Oaxacan mole negro sauce (which contains some combination of peppers and chocolate).  For this particular beer, stone started with a very strong cream stout base and then added coco, coffee, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pasilla peppers.

As was the case with Stone Coffee Milk Stout, a local place had this on draft.  After tasting it once, I decided to come back almost every day until their keg kicked, then I bought two bottles for good measure.  It is that good. 

The appearance is fairly typical for a stout.  A mocha-colored crown of foam rises above a menacingly black beer.  The lacing is excellent and the foam retains pretty well.  All in all, carbonation looks more than adequate.

The aroma smacks of chile, cream (lactose) and chocolate upfront, with a touch of cinnamon.  Faint vanilla and coffee in the background.  No hops, but I didn't expect any.

The flavor starts off with chocolate, cream, and a dash of nutmeg upfront.  Chile pepper comes in mid-palate, where it is met with a flash of cinnamon and vanilla.  The more typical stout flavor of roasted barley makes an appearance here.  The finish is a long wave of mild pepper heat mixed with stronger tones of nutmeg and chocolate.  There is a kind of afterglow of warm chile and nutmeg.  Throughout all of this, coffee is more faint.

As for the texture, Xocoveza is creamy smooth and crazy easy to knock back.  Using a cream stout as the base beer was a wise choice on Stone's part.  Every single occasion I drank this, I had to force myself to slow down and savor it.

Overall this reminds me a bit of Ska Mole Stout, which isn't surprising given they have the same inspiration.  Xocoveza is creamier and fuller than Mole is, with a greater emphasis on the chocolate and other spices; Mole has more pepper heat.  I prefer Xocoveza though.  Yummy all around and if Stone doesn't brew this again I might legitimately need a prescription for antipsychotic pills.