OldMrCrow (1179), Seattle, Washington, USA Jan 20, 2006 Updated: Feb 14, 20072005: On tap at the College Inn in Seattle; also bottled.
Pours a deep black with a nice tan head.The aroma is the expected coffee and roasted grain, with a lovely full nose of black cherry. Flavor is rich - dark chocolate, coffee, cherry, molassas, plum, with a well-balanced but unobtrusive hop finish - and the mouthfeel equally so, full and satisfying and not the least bit watery like some of its competitors. The commercial description alludes to the "strengh of character of Imperial stout"; this is not an idle claim. An excellent big-beer styling at only 6.2%.
Sampling the ’05-’06 in Febraury ’07, the beer retains a very nice roastiness along with a lactic, almost sour aroma and flavor that is quite enjoyable.
2006: In bombers this year, at 6.6%. The coffee flavors are really heavy, especially late in the flavor profile, but this is really nice stuff. It’s drier than most of the imperial stouts, with a powerful burnt-coffee bitterness in the finish.
Note: This one comes into its own as it warms, and needs to be served at cellar temperature or above.
goldtwins (4079), Nesconset, New York, USA Jan 16, 2006 2002 Vintage: Poured a very very dark brown with a small tan head. Aroma had a big chocolate presence. Nice amount of rasted malt. Flavor of roasted malt with some sweetness and more chocolate. Finish is semi-dry and leaves you with a big roasty finish. Held up very nicely for an 3+ year old stout. Tasty. I need to find out if they start out this good..or even better. OhioDad (2491), Hilliard, Ohio, USA Dec 28, 2005 12oz bottle 2005-2006 release via trade with Indiana Red - Thanks Ken! - Gushed out of the bottle when the cap was popped. Poured thick black with a big mocha head that fades pretty quick. Big aroma of coffee. molasses, and some baker’s chocolate. Flavor is nice coffee, and baker’s chocolate with a touch of molasses and nuts. Nice dry finish. Palate is full bodied but very smooth and drinkable. Nice dry finish makes this seem more like a dry stout. Lots of burnt flavor throughout. Very interesting and quite tasty. robertsreality (2460), Minnesota, USA Dec 12, 2005 Black Coloring with Tan Head. HEavy Load of Sweet/Dry Barley. Pretty Crazy Tasting Stout. Really Sweet Barley Taste That Quickly Becomes Bitter and Dry at the End. Syrapy Mouthfeel. Really Tasty but Wimper at the Thought of Having Another. badgerben (3586), Blaine, Minnesota, USA Dec 8, 2005 Black color with a thin head. Interesting aroma of barley and black currant. Totally unexpected flavor that reminded me of madiera. Sour and malty with a strong bitter finish. Syrupy. SwedeDog (364), Windsor, Connecticut, USA Dec 5, 2005 05-06 bottle. A somewhat average stout. Maybe I should have let this sit a little while longer, but I couldn’t help myself. The aroma is a little light. Mostly semisweet chocolate and some roasted toffee. Can toffee be roasted, or does it just melt? Very roasty mouthfeel. A little bit of hoppiness and some chocolate join in as well. Thanks Secret Santa! oldrtybastrd (1801), Morlautern, Germany/Great Falls, Montana, USA Dec 1, 2005 Updated: Dec 2, 2005’03-’04 Version - Nice black body with a tan head. Aromas of roasted malts w/coffee and chocolate. Burnt malt flavors and bitter dark chocolate with maybe a hint of smoke. Excellent Beer acertain (249), Seattle, Washington, USA Nov 28, 2005 Updated: Sep 26, 20062005-2006 release A decent stout. Pours dark with small head. Coffee aromas. Thin feel. Good taste, slightly smoky. Nothing outstanding but plesant. 8/4/6/3/14
2006-2007Wow. New recipe for sure. Aroma still dominated by coffee, but a hint of sourness. Much more hops in both aroma and flavor, like the 3F Black Sun. Dry and slightly bitter at the end. Thicker in the mouth as well. I like the change! 7/4/8/4/16
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