 boboski (1095), USA
Dec 18, 2007
Black from afar, close inspection reveals very dark chocolate browns. The body is totally opaque and appears oily. A thin, dark tan head mostly dissipates rapidly and lightly laces the glass. Chocolate icing covering cooled brownies is the first thing I sense as I raise the glass to my nose. Caramel and sugarplum notes follow, then a procession of glamourous roasted grains of varying degrees of char. Alcohol seems fairly well-disguised, what little emitted takes on the form of dark fruits and mingles cohesively with prickly earthiness from robust hoppiness and toffee scents. Caramel and nougat, with a slight nuttiness all glimmer in the backdrop of pleasant maltiness. Raisin and plum notes are more formidable with warmth. Milder molasses brings up the rear. A conspicuous lack of discernible coffee is noted. Very nice, easy to partake in and so far flawless. This seems to be a nod to the Russian imperial style but is still a distinctly modern version of the style. The nose is full and luxurious, traits I’m glad to see a usually unimpressive brewery pull out of their respective hats. The technology and prowess was there; I suppose someone just needed to give the green light - hopefully we’ll see more freedom along these lines with other profit-driven breweries that have what it takes to get it done. The flavor is fantastic, as was anticipated (but not guaranteed) by the lovely aroma. Roasted malt leads the rambunctious charge and is closely tailed by the now bold coffee, which is neither an exciting nor bland addition. Sweetness is medium-high and fits well with so many dark fruit eccentricities that spring from the crest of each sip. Caramel, raisin and tobacco now noted are of moderate strength and equally grainy composition. Bitterness and perceptible hoppiness are mild and cumulative. Astringency is low. Alcohol is moderately warming in a finish that leaves syrupy semi-bitter chocolate behind, lightly bitter and very lengthy. The mouthfeel is erratically carbonated, prickly bubbles causing a slight distraction from the mellower fine points. The body is heavy on the plate but not exceptionally so, therefore this is very easy to drink and quite satisfying. Very well done.
ilovedarkbeer (766), Dallas, Texas, USA
Oct 8, 2008 Bottle thanks to BMan1113VR via zathrus13. Blackout pours with the tiny fishegg tan bubbly head. Nose: soy sauce, milk chocolate. MOuthfeel is thick. Taste: salt, dark chocolate, teriyaki, sweetness. Its good but lacking.
BMan1113VR (913), Los Angeles (and Dallas, TX), California, USA
Oct 7, 2008 Bottle thanks to zathrus13. Pours thick with a largish, inky dark brown body and a dark brown head to match. Aroma is yeasty with soy, liccorice, and chocolate. Taste is chocolate, soy, yeast and some coffee. Lots of Mocha. Creamy mouthfeel with light bubbles
SQNfan (476), Wheaton, Illinois, USA
Oct 5, 2008 This poured deep black in color with a moderate brown head of very fine bubbles. The nose was semi-sweet with aromas of fig, fudge and dark caramel. In the mouth it was full-bodied and concentrated with flavors of bittersweet chocolate, fig, fudge and dark fruit. This is really well-balanced and had fine carbonation that kept this feeling light and was enjoyable to drink now.
daknole (853), Plantation, Florida, USA
Oct 4, 2008 Ok holy shit this is amazing. I must stock up on this and fast. Seriously amazing. Black pour wtih a pretty decent brown head. Aroma is tons of chocolate and molasses. Some raisin notes are evident as well. The flavor is just delicious. Sweet and creamy with chocolate, sweet cuban coffee, molasses, raisins, maple syrup, fresh cane syrup, fig preserves, and a hint of soy sauce. Damn this is fine. Again, I need more...asap!
FlacoAlto (2142), Tucson, Arizona, USA
Oct 3, 2008 Bottle code of 04258 & 31710; Sampled October 2008
A vigorous pour into my 25cl tulip glass creates a slightly cascading, tightly beaded froth that starts out three fingers in height and has a darkly browned, tan colored head. The beer is quite black in color thought it shows some dark chocolate brown notes around the edges. The aroma has rich notes of concentrated, sweet, dark malts as well as an ample roast character that produces aromas of dark cocoa, soft burnt grain, and a rich toasted whole grain character. There is something here that is a bit like burnt nuts, or even burnt play-doh. The aroma is actually fairly restrained, I was expecting this to be a bit more aromatic than it is, though I do like that it seems pretty well integrated and balanced (but that might just be because everything is so muted).
The flavor has a rich, complex, dark malt sweetness to it that accentuates sweet dark chocolate notes up front and a nice dark cocoa note towards the finish were the sweetness is not quite so prominent. A touch of dusty, roasted grain character adds some burnt bitterness to the finish. Reminds me of a rich, dark chocolate something or other that has a strong, black coffee infusion. As the beer warms up the sweetness softens a bit and starts to couple with concentrated, roasted fruit flavors of prune and perhaps a touch of fig. This does have a really complex, rich malt character to it, unfortunately a lot of this gets masked by the sweetness.
This is actually quite sweet tasting, though it is not as thick as the sweetness might suggest; it could actually use more roast malt character to balance things out and some more body, without more sweetness, would help to balance this a bit more too. I like that this is a fairly well integrated and smooth in its roast character. Not a bad example of an Imperial Stout & it is certainly quite enjoyable, and if it was not for the simplistic sweetness, this would be really damn good.
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