kiefdog (1586), Tampa, Florida, USA
| 3.9 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 5/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 15/20 | Apr 17, 2009 On tap at the Brass Tap (Tampa, FL). Pours a murky dark brown to black color with a slightly foamy tannish head. Aroma is roasted and malty with notes of floral hops, ripe dark fruit, chocolate, tobacco, hints of coffee and vanilla. Flavor is also roasted and malty with even more of a hop presence and notes of chocolate, dark fruits, caramel, toffee, some hints of brown sugar. Generally medium to full body with a floral hop finish. Pretty good but a tad too much hops for this style. zizzybalubba (358), Elizabeth City, North Carolina, USA
| 4.5 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 9/10 | 5/5 | 9/10 | 5/5 | 17/20 | Apr 11, 2009 Updated: Jul 9, 200922 oz. bottle from Grape & Gourmet. Pours black like you would expect from an Imperial Stout. Aroma is much hoppier than any Imperial Stout I have ever encountered. The hops are certainly present in the taste. Comes across not even like an IPA. This is certainly one of the more complex beers I have ever tasted. I’m glad I bought 2 bottles so that I can see how this one ages. Well done at the early stages of this beer but if you are buying throw your expectations out the window as to how you perceive an Imperial Stout...07/09/2009 3 months after my original review I am revisiting this beer. This is almost completely different than my original review but some of the same things are still true. Some hops are still present but no where near as detectable as they were 3 months ago. I am able to detect more smoke from the malt than when this was fresh. This is still a very interesting beer that doesn’t really seem like an Imperial Stout. I like it enough, and the price was right, that I picked up an extra bottle. I can’t wait to see what this is like at 6 or 9 months. An outstanding beer. darkguardian (506), Florida, USA
| 3.5 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 3/5 | 12/20 | Apr 10, 2009 22oz bottle. Pours black with a big tan head. Nose is completely wrong for the style with tons of citrus fruit, a slight roastiness and pine. Flavor up front is chocolate roast and then a completely overbearing hop profile that only serves to illustrate just how overly obsessed americans are with hops even when its not appropriate for the style. This beer seems more like a double IPA than anything else. The flavors are fine but its completely the wrong beer. GandGKevin (189), Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA
| 4.7 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 10/10 | 4/5 | 10/10 | 4/5 | 19/20 | Apr 9, 2009 Updated: Apr 10, 2009WOW!!!! My brain is in overload. Is this an Imperial Stout or is it a Black DIPA? You decide. Either way it’s an awesome beer. HOPSHUNTER (376), Tampa, Florida, USA
| 3.8 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 4/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 16/20 | Apr 8, 2009 Bottle. Poured black with thin brown head. Aroma is of roasted malt, alcohola and some anise. Firm chewy body, with flavors of burnt malts, chocolate, anise, and some hints of vanilla. Finishes dry with hoppy bitterness. A somewhat unusual example of the style but good. sjolles85 (80), Tampa, Florida, USA
| 3.9 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 4/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 17/20 | Apr 5, 2009 almost black pour.. small tan head..soy sauce and oak..chocolate and hoppy. Overall awesome beer. thejon375 (392), Tampa, Florida, USA
| 3.7 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 14/20 | Apr 5, 2009 Shared with Steve and Eric. Pours dark almost black, with a short tan head. Nose of soy sauce and oak. Great flavors of choc, coffee and hops. Great beer to keep you warm during those winter months. timsilvia32 (446), from Michigan now in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
| 3.9 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 6/10 | 5/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 16/20 | Apr 4, 2009 22 oz. My bottle said 8.9% abv.
Nice used motor oil colored pour. Good sized dark tan head. Aroma is way dominated by pineyness. Some faint roast tones, coffee, malt, dark chocolate. Flavor does have quite a bit of the hops up front, but does fade. Warming definetely helps this out as well. Roast malt, dark fruits and some chocolate ease on through. Just a little bit hot. Mouthfeel starts a bit prickly, but mellows to near creaminess. The lingering is a mix of coffee and the hops again.
I thought this was very good, if not a bit different. The thing this reminded me the most of was 3F Alpha Klaus, but slightly better.
I think this may age very nicely and mellow the hops out a bit. With the abv just slightly lower than normal, assuming my bottle was correct, this will also have a nice amount of drinkability to it.
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