Batemans Mocha is a strong stout from the traditional family brewers Batemans who were founded in 1874. Their company slogan is “Good Honest Ales” and a strong stout that has chocolate and coffee as the predominant flavours ticks all the boxes as far as I’m concerned so I have high hopes for this one.

Mocha pours a darkish mahogany colour as opposed to the more traditional jet black stout and no matter how it was poured from the bottle it was impossible to retain any head for longer than 30 seconds which was quite disappointing.

In terms of the aroma there was a faint note of coffee with a barely recognisable chocolate aroma which didn’t bode well for a powerful chocolate or coffee taste.

In the mouth the first thing I noticed was the reasonably high levels of carbonation (certainly for a stout) and this level of carbonation detracted from the mouth feel in my view. There was an overriding sweet taste to Mocha which was almost cloying and a hint of liquorice in there. At 6% ABV it is a pretty strong stout as far as UK stouts are concerned and you can certainly feel the alcohol there.

I like stouts to be bold – either bitter or sweet but Batemans Mocha seemed to be slightly muddled in that the sweetness was bold but a little too spicy. When considering chocolate or coffee I expect a good quality of either to be both strong tasting but also smooth. Mocha was a pretty unrefined. Put it this way, if you were expecting a luxurious chocolate and espresso experience evoking freshly ground coffee beans with Belgian chocolate (as noted on the label of the bottle) you will be disappointed because in my opinion if is more like cheap brand chocolate and instant coffee. This is a real shame because there is tremendous potential. Given the constituent parts of Batemans Mocha it should be spectacular but unfortunately, although it is reasonable it is disappointing.

If you would like to drink what I would consider as an excellent chocolate or coffee inspired ale, try the Young’s Double Chocolate stout or Titanic Cappuccino respectively which are both superior to the disappointing Batemans Mocha in my view.

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