 Beerlando (1135), Orlando, Florida, USA
May 9, 2008
Pours an extremely dark chocolate brown to virtually black. Nearly opaque. A small, foamy, coffee colored head leaves minimal, sudsy spotting behind. The nose is rich and full, with massively roasty espresso notes, dark cocoa, mocha, and a heaping helping of heavy cream. There is an earthy hop bite in there as well. Really inviting nose. Flavors agree, with dark chocolate and mocha being smoothed out considerably by the oatmeal and cream. This is simultaneously roasty and silky smooth, which is something that not many brews achieve. The mouthfeel is full, slick and creamy. Finishes short and chocolatey. Incredibly drinkable for such a big beer, with virtually no traces of alcohol coming through. Really awesome stuff here.
BlackDonald (696), On a beer trip all over the USA, California, USA
Jul 16, 2008 Super concentrated aroma, nutty chocolate, graham cracker maltiness but the 60 IBus add balance and bitterness. Deep oily black pour, leaving a thick brown tannic tear lacing. As it warms you get some smoky, tobacco flavors and just a hint of unbalanced vegetal notes, which really puts me off, but also has some cocoa nibs as well. A little too heavy, a little too concentrated on the flavor and never really opens up and is way too heavy on the oatmeal.
omhper (10140), Stockholm, Sweden
Jul 16, 2008 Bottled at Petalax Beer Festival. Perfectly black with dark brown head. Oily and tarry from nose to finish. Sweet and thick, but never cloying or inky. Huge, but never assaulting.
Soft, but powerful. Whipped cream with chocolate and licorice. No finesse or finer details, but a damn solid, edgeless stout. A gentle giant - like having the biggest guy in highschool as your best friend.
oh6gdx (5195), Vaasa, Finland
Jul 15, 2008 Bottled. Black colour, small brown head. Aroma is roasted malts, some wooden notes as well as coffee, vanilla, some toffee and chocolate. Flavour is the same in a rather powerful, but smooth way. Very balanced and nice.
oteyj (254), Canterbury, New Hampshire, USA
Jul 14, 2008 Updated: Jul 16, 2008Snifter. Pours squid ink black with one finger brown head. Aroma is pronounced, complex, and powerful. Bitter chocolate dominates, with oatmeal and espesso notes wholly evident as well. Roasted malt character is complex and quite robust, with aspects of caramel and biscuit. Flavor is mocha, vanilla, bitter chocolate, slight bittering hops, with tons and tons of roasted malt. Coffee and chocolate dominate, making for a powerful and flavorful expirience. Palate is viscous and rich, but incredibly drinkable. Smooth, velvety, and caressing. Forms a lasting coating on the mouth that lingers with a dry finish laced with dark chocolate. Got the 2008 version, could only imagine what some cellaring could do. Alcohol completely unnoticable. I wasn’t expecting nearly what this brew delivered, but needless to say, it is one of my favorite Imperial Stouts to date. Contains all the balance, craft, and elements of a world class beer- Respect to Fred Karm and his crew.
sayravai (2992), Helsinki, Finland
Jul 12, 2008 (Bottled, 0.66l) Pitch black with a small, beige and lacy head. Slight sourness from the oatmeal, but also salty licorice, lots of malt. Roasty-malty, licoricey flavor with smooth oatmeal sourness, as well as pretty high bitterness. Full-bodied, low-carbonated palate. A beautiful Imperial Stout with the oatmeal bringing lots of silky-sourish character.
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