Taverner (827), San Ramon, California, USA Feb 7, 2008 This is as good as a dark ale can get. Reminds me of Dogfish Head IBA, but with a little different flavor - the hops really take center stage in this one. It has a dark, rich, creamy texture and notes of coffee, chocolate and malts. This stuff is excellent! gunhaver (1024), Tampa, Florida, USA Feb 2, 2008 Updated: Jun 4, 2008Thanks to rustychiles for this. 22oz bomber. Pours dark as night, with a thick tan creamy head. Lacing everywhere. Textbook definition of how a big stout should look. Although RB says this isn’t a stout? Whatever. Aroma is sweet rich chocolate, roasted coffee, watermelon, some unexpected bourbon. Flavor is again representative of a stout: chocolate, vanilla cake, smoked chicken, hazelnut, toffee, coffee. Smooth, watery on the swallow, and a pleasant chalky finish. Very good. jmikolich (405), Athens, Ohio, USA Feb 2, 2008 22oz, bottle, pours a nice dark surprisingly dark brown, similar to the motor oil description, taste is very easy to drink, dangerously so.. i gulped this one down mighty quick.... getting some roast, vanilla and wood... must be the bourbon... delicious. TampaBeer (181), Tampa, Florida, USA Feb 1, 2008 Nice, lots of good dark, roasted, and sweet flavors. I must say that this one traveled on an airplane and I’m becoming suspicious of the way shipping beer this way affects the flavor. But its good. dmac (1420), Toms River, New Jersey, USA Feb 1, 2008 22 oz bomber thanks to padrefan98. Pours a 40 weight oil thickness with a solid deep brown body with slight mahogany on the outer most edges and a tight small lbeige head that leaves a fantastic amount of lace. Aroma of chocolate, vanilla, wood and slight bourbon. Full bodied yet highly drinkable with a creamy feel and good touch of carbonation on the swallow. Flavor of vanilla extract, chocolate and wood. Drank this prepping for Grandma’s Boy and yes it did make the movie even that much more funny. jasonm (22), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA Jan 31, 2008 It’s inky blackness of the 2001 monolith variety. Topped with 2 inches of rocky cocoa colored head. Coats the glass in quilt thick layers of sheeting. Somewhat underwhelming aroma of chocolate, roasted grain, dry earthy oak with a bit of tannins. The flavor definitely a more assertive punch than the aroma. Bittersweet chocolate, roasted espresso, oak, and vanilla. Then the flavor gets a bit boozy with a burn in the back of the throat and finishes dry with a big roasted malt and hop bitterness. I found the body to be almost harshly carbonated with a extreme amounts of heat and drying bitterness. Overall its a big, rough RIS style beer, definitely big in flavor. I found it had a bit too rough and unpolished flavor at this point. Perhaps more age will smooth it out.
Addendum: Just poured the last bit out and must have gotten a big chunk of yeast cake. The mouthfell has gotten really thick and chewy ans the burn has been quelled somewhat. Almost like what happens to Dark Lord once you pour the sediment. illidurit (851), Santa Cruz, California, USA Jan 26, 2008 A vigorous pour into my snifter provokes a 1.5 finger head to materialize out of the beeradvocate-background-colored liquid. 10 minutes later the coffee + creamer hued foam is gone, without so much as a trace of lace to remember it by, but oh how it will live on in my nasal memory.
As the vapors enter my nose I feel bombarded by single malt scotch and espresso, while milk chocolate makes a much less violent foray into my senses, slapping feebly at my olfactory faculties. The hairs therein struggle to remain unsinged by this roasted malt powerhouse.
Coffee inundates my tongue, flanked by dark chocolate and another regiment of roasted coffee beans. Alcohol fires warning shots across my palate but never mounts a serious offensive.
Mouthfeel is sublime, small bubbles march across the entrance to my alimentary tract, providing support and cover for the tank battalion that is this beer’s taste.
Well I’ve run out of steam for this absurd war analogy, perhaps that will give you an idea of the drinkability (I wouldn’t have been this creative if I wasn’t slightly buzzed). Nevertheless I want another. And another. I just wish my truck could produce it like the label shows.
JJClark (545), Roscoe, Illinois, USA Jan 25, 2008 22 oz bottle. Pours a black color with a small tan head. Aroma of roasted coffee, malt, wood, and bourbon. Taste of fermented fruits, vanilla bean, chocolate, coffee and hops. Has a dry semi sweet finish.
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