Bos Solar Eclipse Imperial Stout

Formerly brewed at Bos Brewery and Bistro
Style: Imperial Stout
Pontiac, Michigan USA

Courtesy hopscotch. Pours black, with almost no head. Smells of light chocolate, mild roast, black malts, and some sweet raisins too. The flavor is pretty damn intense. It said 20% on the label I think, but whatever it is, its was monstrous. Big alcohol heat, chocolate malts, and roasty chestnuts were what I pulled out. Could have been toned down some, a little more balance would have helped, but still was a unique experience which I enjoyed for the most part.

Name: Solar Eclispe Imperial Stout
Date: 04/27/2006
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewpub
Vintage: 2005

black, big fine beige head, sweet aroma with licorish and fruity notes, rich malt flavor, hot, nice sweetness, balanced, hints of dark bourbon character, a touch of a chalky character that turns into a bitter finish
-------- /> Name: Solar Eclispe Imperial Stout
Date: 07/09/2006
Mode: bottle

strong sweet bourbon and licorice aroma, huge alcoholic burning flavor, a touch of sweetness and bitter roastedness that is lost by the alcohol, all sweet alcoholic bourbon
-------- /> Name: Solar Eclispe Imperial Stout
Date: 06/21/2007
Mode: bottle
Vintage: 2004
Words: Tasting Pre-RBSG

still lots of alcohol, lots of roasted with dark fruits, big body, rich dark chocolate comes with warming,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: **4

12 ounce bottle at pre-RBSG tasting (2004 vintage)

Thanks to CaptainCougar for bringing this to the tasting. Much like the vintage ale the second it was opened the smell of alcohol filled the tasting room. For some reason though the experience was totally different. Unlike the Vintage Ale which I enjoyed, this one was just straight booze. Perhaps it would be good if you wanted to get drunk quickly - if that’s the case World Wide Stout might be your ticket. I am going to have to be in the right mood to crack open my bottle.

Aroma / Appearance - The body was deep black. I’ve not seen anything this dark, even Dark Lord or Expedition. Thanks to the high ABV there is no carbonation or head at all. Swirling it creates huge legs that slime their way down the sides of the glass for quite a while. The nose reminds me of the La Chouffe coffee liquer that I recently picked up - very strong and to the point. Anise is masked by a port like quality that dominates the rest of the experience. The first word to spring to mind here is alcoholic.

Flavor / Palate - A warm sensation of alcohol overtakes the senses from the first sip. Anise, coffee, slightly overcooked brownies and vinous notes are all that is detectable over the base of 22% ABV. It’s hard to pick up anytthing from this. i realize that there are very few beers that make it to this level but I think I’d rather have an average imperial stout at a third the alcohol content than another one of these.

Pre-RBSG Milwaukee: 2004 Bottle: Poured black with a tiny off white head. Aroma, chocolate, dark fruits, and some serious booze. Flavor, overpowering alcohol, dark fruits, some coffee, and an ashy chocolate. It’s too imbalanced, give it 10 years and see what happens.

2004 bottle thanks to Coug! Poured deep black with not much going on for head. Aroma was similar to the Vintage Ale with deep, lightly smoked chocolates.. some figs too.. HUGE, but not as complex as hoped for. Flavor picked up sweet, rich darker fruits and chocolate upfront with lots of gum-burning booze!!! Sharp all-around to the point of not being enjoyable. Sharp and lightly roasted on the palate with lots of rum and whiskey influence. Thanks again to Tom for the opportunity!

2004 vintage. Pours to a pitch black body with a thin tan head. The aroma is huge with roasty anise and black patent malt and a DFHWWS-like dark raisin thing going on. The flavor is rich roasted black patent, anise, fennel, and coffee. Dark black chocolate. Very DFHWWS-ish. Rich full dry palate.

From a 12oz Bottle. Dark black, viscous oil slick of a pour with ruby tinged ebony fingers stroking the insides of my glass. Almost no head. Strong pruny aroma with some port-like oxidation qualities and a thin layer of earthy cherry fruits. Some deep chocolate roast in there as well. Full bodied, thinly carbonated mouthfeel. Almost enough roast to balance out the sweet cloying malt sugar flavors, but not quite. Lots of sweet molasses flavors start out the palate with some hints of raisins and rum soaked prunes. The finish is pleasant and the alcohol, while apparent, is acutally kept under control for being such a big hitter. On that same note, while the flavors are sweet, I’ve also had far more cloying and far more boozy with considerably less alcohol. Thanks for sharing, Tom!

Pour from a 12oz Bottle. Burning aroma with light almonds and rushing juniper alcohols. Crisp and bold. Pours deep black with a yellow film, not much head and oil black centre. Flavor develops from a fiery alcoholic core to a nuanced nicely roast built body, a mouthful of piney hops and a cascade of muddled nuts, maybe hazlenut and caramel. Toasty and roasty. Not as potent as one would expect. But packs a number of clean, appreciable features into a real whopper. In the vein of Dark Lord. Thanks Shaun!