 bradlyc77 (226), Sebastopol, California, USA
Mar 25, 2009 Pours black with tan head. Sweet aroma of roasted malt. Lots of chocolate and roasted flavors, some coffee. Warming alcohol in finish with essentially a perfect co2 level. Nice moderate to high hops level balances nicely. This was great.
iowaherkeye (1832), Bakersfield, California, USA
Mar 21, 2009 So I have every vintage thus far, but none in CA--so I’m going to start with the 2008 bottle. Very deep brown pour--black in the glass--with a three finger tan head in my Duvel tulip. Lots of milk chocolate up front with some vanilla, light oak, and plenty of dark roasted malts to back it up. There is also some brown sugar, faint bourbon and spicy alcohol. The flavor is where I get the anise. All of the flavors blend very nicely, with nothing being sharp at all. Bitterness is around a four, and the finish is roasty. Alcohol seems about right for 11%. Full silky body with low to moderate carbonation. I very much enjoyed this--now to try the vintage bottles!
coyotehunter (542), , Michigan, USA
Mar 21, 2009 Bottle shared courtesy MrBunn. Fantastic pour of black with dark tan thick head. Absolute black in the glass. Anise and chocolate are at the forefront. Light pine note shows through with a bit of bitter chocolate at the end. Wow.
MrBunn (1521), Western, Pennsylvania, USA
Mar 21, 2009 Bottle with a thanks to Jon. Pour is perfection... dark brown/black with a massive forming frothy head and thick aromas of molasses, chocolate, dark fruit and anise. Flavor is a little edgy with the ABV, but has a nice mix of anise and dark chocolate with a touch of citrusy hops.
Petrucci914 (574), Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA
Mar 20, 2009 Thanks to the bro for sharing this. Pours black with a large dreamy mocha head. Aroma is milk chocolate, anise, alcohol, with hints of molasses and bourbon. Mouthfeel is very creamy and smooth, with little alcohol burn. Taste is dark roasts, milk chocolate, and licorice. Solid.
Juelze (889), Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA
Mar 20, 2009 Thanks to Cary for the hookup. Pours a rich black color with mocha colored thick head. Aroma is intense milk chocolate, dark fruit, some anise, and fuse alcohol. Taste is rich milk chocolate up front with alcohol, anise and some roasted malt in the finish. It’s creamy in the initial swallow and gives way to a bit of warm alcohol. However, the alcohol never takes away from the beer itself. Smooth and brash, which is the way I like my Impys. Glad I was finally able to taste this!
HonkeyBra (1275), Lemont, Illinois, USA
Mar 17, 2009 Crushed with CaryTheDude and Jakebra. Phew. Burnt chocolate nose with charcoal, licorice and coffee. Flavor is dry and bitter, like chewing on burnt wood. It’s nice that it’s not overly sweet. Nice full mouthfeel. Love it. Thanks guys.
timsilvia32 (445), from Michigan now in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Mar 17, 2009 22 oz. Not quite a jet black pour with a dark brown and ruby hue head. Fades to a ring then pretty much sticks around. Aroma is heavy roast malt and coffee with anise and dark chocolate. Thick mouthfeel, a little rough, but not bad.
Flavor has lots of roasted malt and coffee up front. Some molasses, oakiness with just a hint of ripe dark fruits. Coats the throat nicely with oak, molasses and mocha espresso. A little bit hot and in your face at this point. A top notch imperial, but could use some aging. Top 5, I can think of 4 or so that I like better at this point, which means you can’t get much better than this. I am glad I have 2 more of these.
A side note positive that can seperate this from some, is that it has reasonable availability. Way to go Deschutes.
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