The Vixen

Brewery: Samuel Adams

Style: Bock

• ABV: 8.5%

  Size: 22 oz bottle

  Website: http://www.samueladams.com

Randy and Jan invited us over for enchiladas tonight, so earlier today, when I stopped by Petaluma Market for a few necessities, I picked up a little something that caught my eye: The Vixen, a chocolate chili bock from Samuel Adams. An “Ale brewed with cinnamon and with spices and cocoa nibs added,” The Vixen sports an attention-grabbing label, featuring a lovely blonde, rose clenched in her teeth, eyebrow provocatively arched. Can’t resist a pinup. And the ingredients? Promising.

The Vixen pours near black, with an implicit reddish-brown tinge, and a half-finger head that quickly gives way to an equatorial ring, bulls, and kiwi birds. Chilies, cocoa, and cinnamon on the nose. Suggestions of mole–perfect with enchiladas–on the tongue; warm roast chiles, sweet chocolate, earthy cocoa and malt. Dark, fruity, and candy sweet. Warm alcohol and bitter hop finish. Smooth mouthfeel; goes down easy.

Very drinkable. Fairs well against Theobroma and Suckhole Stout. Paired nicely with dinner, and into dessert, a The Niner cupcake from Sift.