McKenzie 5 Czars Imperial Stout

Formerly brewed at McKenzie Brew House
Style: Imperial Stout
Glen Mills, Pennsylvania USA

Original Rating (8-3-8-4-16=3.9): Dry, fruity, sweet roasty aroma with almost a hint of smoke. Opaque brown body is topped by a thin but lasting cover of fine-bubbled, tan head. Very sweet and yeasty chocolate-cocoa flavour upfront. A rasty bitterness creeps out from beneath the thick, sweet malts. Medium-full body with moderate carbonation that engages the tongue. Bottle enjoyed with Lubiere, MartinT, muzzlehatch, Olivier_MTL, Rastacouere and Yowie.

Rerate (7-2-8-4-16=3.7): Biscuity chocolate wafers in the aroma. Opaque black body topped by a decent, fizzy, large-bubbled head that recedes rapidly to ring. Orange, chocolate syrup with fair roastiness and underlying biscuity malts. Medium-full body with spritzy carbonation. Bottle (trade, May-05) enjoyed with beerbuzzmontreal, MartinT, Olivier_MTL, Rastacouere and Yowie. Thanks, hopdog!

Pours a deep brown /black hue with a big bubbly head. Aromas of soap and flowers with not much of the typical coffee/chocolate. The flavor, however, does have such flavors with a light smokey finish.

The Lure:
Burnt toast roastiness hangs on to the spritzy, big bubbles. Dates and figs show up late, yet mingle nicely with the dark chocolate and milky soy.

The Festivities:
Light-bodied and heavily carbonated for the style. Yeastiness joins the creamy roastiness in its dominance, and evokes ashes. Some dark chocolate, but no lip-smacking decadence. Grapey fruitiness evokes again the Belgian proximity, as raisin biscuits create more depth. Rather easy-drinking for an imperial stout, which isn’t a problem if you’re in the mood for that. An aged bottle calmed down the carbonation somewhat, and made everything more creamy, classy and better united. A superb product.

Transcendence:
Liveliness can be energetic and inspiring, but can also fall into muddled and chaotic.

Huge brown head sticks to the glass with class, very foamy. Black appearance. Globally complex nose boasts powerful tobacco and roasty notes paired up with a vinous side, grapey and bready in nature. Interesting dark fruit range (plums, grapes, blackberries) yet not passing over the more typical chocolate and roasty overtones. Dry chocolate flavor, feeling a bit dusty, almost rocky. Milky yeastiness, fruity and dry. Maybe not as rich as I hoped or it’s just the very strong carbonation that plays tricks on me and makes me miss some. Medium bodied, nicely not too focused on hops. In the end, somehow, like pretty much all the Mckenzies I’ve had, it’s neatly done, but not particularly remarkable. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not rooting for the bigger the better clan, but for instance, their super saison didn’t appear as marvellous and shining as the Dupont and on parallel with the new Heavyweight, I can’t give a clear winner while the Heavyweight was not even 6%. Their beers are all great rendition, displaying excellent brewing, but I wouldn’t point any of them as world-class.

Pours thick and black with a small dark brown ring. Sweet milk chocolate, coffee, and licorice aroma. The flavors incredibly complex...chocolate cake, roast, smoke, sweet licorice, etc. Great stuff!!

3/18/05. Poured out of 12 oz. bottle, obtained in a trade with TAR on RateBeer 3/8/05. Hand-bottled. Dark, black-- opaque. Deep brown head which lingers in a trace with a thick ring. Lacing is solid but a bit too fast and broken up. Beautiful soft cocoa and dark malt nose, sweet like chocolate mousse with a faint sourness. Very inviting. Taste is rich chocolate and dark cocoa powder, a touch of burnt black malt. Medium-full body, a hint of burnt acidity and a light alcohol zip. Black licorice and a slick, velvety body, Dark chocolate liqueur going down; finish is long with beautifully melded roast and dark chocolate notes. A touch dry but oily in texture. Nose and taste have a raw woodiness that work very nicely with the big of lively alcohol. The chocolate liqueur sweetness is a bit too much on top of this beer, not quite melding with the wood and dark malt. Just a touch TOO sweet, I suppose, almost like chocolate frosting. Carbonation is pretty good, softening the fluffy mouthfeel and prickly dark roast bitterness and burnt acidity. A sticky, lingering sap residue on the lips and tongue. Really good malt presence with a solid "dark beer" flavor: you can almost taste the freshness of the grains, and it’s not all chocolate, coffee, and roast in there-- there’s a definite malted barley taste that I really like.

Spritzy palate evident on the pour from the hand-bottled 12 oz, sent by TAR. Lovely two-toneish brown head. Great graininess and coffee rise up. Outstanding coffee aromas, and fresh roasted malt. A delicious cross between the big coffee stouts and plummier, sweeter versions, this one hit almost all the right buttons for me. Vinous, but not overly so (which I attribute to a higher hopping level, not sure with what - no pine, but maybe a bit of grapefruit, and other unknown spiciness). Highly drinkable. For me, the flavors are very well integrated. A bit of acidity at the finish.

Bottle pours black, quite opaque, large brownish frothy head, with spotty lacing.   Light cocoa, apple skin, and soft alcohol on the nose.   Perhaps a bit of coffee and chocolate as well, but very subtle.   Somewhat spritzy mouthfeel, and a bit more fig/date on the tongue.   Body and mouthfeel seem fairly medium, somewhat fizzly.   Fairly smooth on the finish, slightly chalky/dry, with the aformentioned fig/date.   Tasty!   Thanks goes out to egajdzis for the trade!