Chicory Stout is a winter seasonal beer from Dogfish Head, a moderate-alcohol (5.2%) stout brewed up with the Dogfish twist:

A dark beer made with a touch of roasted chicory, organic Mexican coffee, St. John’s Wort, and licorice root. Brewed with whole-leaf Cascade and Fuggles hops, the grains include pale, roasted & oatmeal.

I don’t believe I’ve encountered St. John’s Wort in a beer before… is the idea to fight depression during the winter months? (Oh… I just noticed this on their site—that’s exactly where they went with it.)

Appearance: Inky black that resolves to red if held to direct sunlight. Head is a cola brown—literally reminds me of the foam of a cola.

Smell: Dark, dark malts, coffee—dark roast. Burnt wood, but not in a harsh way—sweet and chocolaty. Nice roasty smell.

Taste: Smooth, very dark but not burnt at all. Slightly dry but has more of a lactic (?) character to it. Nice roasted flavor—coffee-like, I’m guessing it’s the chicory. Bitter cocoa powder, French roast.

Mouthfeel: Lighter than I expected—but like a Guinness in that regard. Nice and creamy yet dry texture.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores 84 out of 100 with 95% approval. On RateBeer, it scores 3.55 out of 5, and is in their 87th percentile.