Moylans Ryan OSullivans Imperial Stout

Brewed by Moylans Brewery & Restaurant
Style: Imperial Stout
Novato, California USA

Pours a very dark borwn, small off white head. Aroma of bitter chocolate. Flavor is full of more chocolate, roasty malt. One dimensional flavor.

Bottle shared by Blake. Black body, thick tan head. Molassesy dark malted aroma. Super mouthfeel! Rich and not much carbonation. Sweet rich coffee / molasses flavor with warming alcohol tha fits well. Dark chocolate finish. Very enjoyable.

Poured from a bomber. It pours to a rocky brown medium thickness fully lasting head with good lacing. Looks kinda watery, however. The aroma is dark chocolates and coffee, not very complex. The flavor is hugely roasted. Chocolates, coffee, light alcohol, hidden fruit, creamy goodness. The palate is BEAUTIFUL. Rich, full, creamy. I recommend getting this one. It’s very good for what it is.

pours a dark black w/ a nice thick tanhead w/ mild lacing. Beer gives off a heavy aroma. smells like beer says dave. Scent is a big roasted chocolate malt and a light grass scent. Palate is full bodied rich and creamy lightly warm. Flavor is roasted malt a nice mocha sweet malt light coffee hints of alcohol and a tiny touch of bitterness. Somedang good stuf, thanks for sharing blake.

Head is initially large, frothy, light brown, fully lasting. Body is dark brown to black. Aroma is moderately malty (chocolate, caramel, roasted grain), moderately hoppy (resin), with notes of alcohol, walnut, dish rag. Flavor is heavily sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter. Finish moderately sweet, moderately acidic, heavily bitter. Full body, creamy/velvety texture, lively carbonation, moderately alcoholic. Luscious and creamy, if slightly abrasive, in the mouth. Alcohol shows in the finish, but isn’t too out of place. A bit too much hops in the nose for my liking, and there’s a musty dish rag like smell going on in there too.

(22 oz bottle: $3.99 at BevMo in La Jolla, CA) A very good, but not elite Imperial Stout, it’s very drinkable, perhaps too drinkable for a bomber of 10% ABV beer. The fairly sweet, moderately roasty malt is the prevalent flavor up front, the finish shows a strong, dominant, toasty and earthy maltiness, and the moderate bitterness is pretty consistent from start to finish. As alluded to in my opening sentence, the alcohol is extremely well hidden. I think the robustness of the flavor and viscosity of the body (medium-to-full) are about average for Imperial Stouts. The expected dark roasted nose was, in reality, mostly just sweet and malty. The beer is opaque and black in color, but dark ruddy brown along the edges. Sizeable, creamy light tan head during the pour has good retention with some rings of lacing. Definitely something I’d buy just to have around.

Bottle: Lots of dark chocolate and black coffee in the aroma. Alcohol is barely detectable. Pours a dark brown with some orange hilights near the bottom edges of the glass. Very malty up front with lots of chocolate and a touch of vanilla. Light caramel lingers in the background slightly. Roasted coffee finish with moderate hops and no alcohol detectable.

I hold this glass of motor oil in front of a lamp and no light escapes through it’s black heart. Fumes of roasted coffee drift from the darkness. Nice balance of coffee and cocoa. Lingering light plum/cherry flavors. Quite drinkable for an imperial stout. I’ll have to grab a few bottles and store.