Rating: 4.5/5

The Nothing by Smog City Brewing is a 9.3% ABV Double Chocolate Imperial Stout.

Label:
Vintage 2014

You hold in your hand a beer so dark, so rich you may love yourself as you fall into the never ending depths of temptation. The Nothing exists to be the most decadent dark Chocolate Imperial Stout. You have met your greatest fore. Now defeat it.

Darkly toasted chocolate malts are combined with 2 types of cacao nibs creating a balance between subtle chocolate cake decadence and residual malt sweetness to pull you deeper into the complexity of The Nothing

Don’t be afraid of the dark.
___

Smog City of Torrance California is a one of the local brewing companies near where I work and live. They have recently started releasing their beers onto the masses and some people in so-cal or even online can go ahead and get this one. Smog City works to makes some pretty damn amazing beers. For being the first, that is not a growler release, I will do my best to bring forth The Never Ending Story named beer from my childhood and bring it to light!!

Aromas:
Dark chocolate, bakers chocolate, roasted coffee grounds, smokey notes, hazelnut caramel, mild peppery spices, dark cherry hints, vanilla, brown sugar, graham crackers, dark fruit hints and molasses.

Flavors:
Dark Chocolate, Bakers chocolate, milk chocolate, dark cherry hints, caramel, vanilla, cocoa powder, roasted coffee, cinnamon, graham crackers, tobacco hints, earthy coffee grounds, peppery spices, hazelnut, dark fruit notes, molasses, plum sauce hints and brown sugar.

Aftertaste:
Roasted coffee, earthy hop bitterness and dark chocolate. No alcohol in the taste, a sipping beer with a creamy medium mouthfeel and pitch black eternal body.

Overall:
This one is very good reminding me of the chocolate Yeti but a little more earthy. While still being a good stout with lots a rich flavors, this one has a certain level of smoothness. Not to big but just enough to engulf the taste but with darkness and chocolate. The difference in chocolate releases some aspects of sweet and bitter but also rich and spicy. This beer is definitely worth a try if you can find it online or at a local Southern California, or even then, just go visit the brewery and see what they have to offer. Smog City is definitely making some great stuff!

Anime Corner:
Original Character by Wen-Jr was used in this pairing to embody The Nothing! While The Nothing in the Never Ending Story is never given a body, just the existence to take everything back to absolutely nothing, this brings forth something to work with. If The Nothing represents the vastness of space with the exception of existence then The Nothing is more than the emptiness or the absences of existence or light. Either way, She is pretty delicious that is for sure!

Sources:
http://wen-jr.deviantart.com/art/Darkness-again-335535900