Seasonal offerings are great ways for breweries to stretch their creative legs and test market waters. They reap the benefit of immediate feedback with no real commitment. On the flip side, if a brewery were to create a masterpiece brew that garners widespread praise and demand, it can create a precarious situation. They now face the tough decision of whether or not to include that beer in their year round product line. The obvious benefit is the generation of steady profits, but with a possible loss of intrigue. The dice roll comes with an outside chance of creating a Holy Grail seasonal: a beer so highly anticipated that it flies off the shelves with every release. These beers are rare mind you (see Bell's Hopslam as a notable example). But if a brewery can succeed in creating one of these rarities, then they have become a brewery that lays the golden beers.

I consider myself incredibly fortunate to live in a region that produces one of these highly coveted brews: the Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout by Foothills Brewing Co. To put this in perspective, when this beer's release date nears, fans will actually camp out at the brewery overnight to get their hands on this glorious nectar. Could a beer really be that good? Yes, yes it can.

In the glass, Sexual Chocolate is stark black with no visible edging. It comes with a creamy coppery head that dissipates at a normal pace. When it comes time to describe the aroma, the word is amplification. Take all of the standard imperial stout traits and pump up the volume. The roasted coffee notes get amplified to espresso levels. The rich dark chocolate notes get amplified to Swiss bittersweet levels. You get the idea. This beer's intro foreshadows one massive flavor explosion.

That first sip is a doozy, so make sure you're strapped in. A huge burst of rich cocoa powder greets you up front. It can give a somewhat chalky presence to the mouthfeel, which is otherwise thick and smooth. Fortunately the grittiness significantly dies down as the beer warms, so definitely take your time with the experience. As a matter of fact, I would highly recommend drinking this beer at room temperature (as you should anyway). But seeing as how it is notoriously difficult to get your hands on a bomber of this glorious liquid (hence the yearly campers), you’re probably going to come across it on a chilled tap first. So just keep that in mind if you do. Following up the cocoa powder flavor is a mixture of sensual dark chocolates and aggressive espresso. These two traits dominate the middle ground, which is where this beer shines.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this beer is the unusual finish. Once all of the chocolate and espresso notes subside, you get a giant burst of hops. It’s almost like the hops are pacing around like caged attack dogs just waiting on their roasted chocolaty masters to unlock the gate. Luckily the hop profile isn’t overly bitter or abrasive, just a perfectly balanced aggressiveness acting as a counterweight to the rich chocolates.

Overall, Foothills’ Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout is a seasonal masterpiece. I cannot recommend this beer enough to anyone with an appreciation of dark imperial brews. I would love to share this wondrous concoction with novices, but I will be the first to admit that it’s simply too much to handle. On a brighter note, Sexual Chocolate is a regional summit beer that can be utilized year after year as a palate tester. If I had to choose the top three beers that the Carolinas region has to offer, this lovely lady would most certainly be one of them (if not number one). Sexual Chocolate is always on my short list of regional must tries, but as a seasonal Holy Grail, it can be highly illusive. So if you are lucky enough to find yourself staring down a tap of Foothills Sexual Chocolate in a craft brew establishment in the Carolinas during the winter months, consider your ass planted for a while.