Chocolate beer, anyone?

From Mainichi:

ATSUGI, Kanagawa — A limited edition “chocolate beer,” produced by a local brewer, is in short supply as customers snap up the beverage ahead of Valentines Day.

The “Imperial Chocolate Stout” beer does not contain cocoa, but the malt is roasted at a high temperature to create a chocolate flavor and produce a rich, dark beer.

“Don’t underestimate it because it says chocolate,” the company’s 44-year-old president said. “Make it your favorite drink.”

When the manufacturer started selling the beer last year in the wake of a boom for bitter chocolate, it sold its entire stock of 6,000 bottles in just four days. This year it increased its stock by 10,000 bottles, but now the only stock left is spread over just a few stores.

The beer, which costs 630 yen a bottle, has an alcohol content of 8.9 percent.

If you’re interested in this beer, I suggest you check out the homepage of Atsugi’s Sank Gallen Brewery, which includes a lost of stores offering the beer (in Japanese).