Top of the Hill Lewis Black Imperial Stout

Sampled at the brewpub. Pours a nice dark brown w/ crimson edges and a medium sized tan head that sticks. Nose of the usual suspects: dark fruits, licorice, coffee, and cocoa. Flavor is a little boozy (even at 7.6%) and tasted a lot like bailey’s irish cream infused with a little bit of chocolate. I actually think Bailey’s made a drink like that. palate is pretty clean and suggests that this beer was nitro. Didn’t ask, but as I can see from KP’s rating it probably was. Happy to see TopO trying new styles...they’re getting there.

pint at brewpub. Good aroma, bitter sweet, malted chocolate, roasted grains, little honey sweetness. Black color, good head & lacing. Bitter roasty flavor. Medium body, smooth creamy mouthfeel, bitter dry finish. Good brew, might of fooled me if I had it blind, as it seemed a tad thin for an imperial stout. Still tasty though.

Date: 02/02/2008
Mode: Draft, Nitro
Source: Brewpub

Appearance: black, thick creamy tan head, waves of lace,
Aroma: dark chocolate aroma with lots of dry roasted character,
Flavor: sweet chocolate flavor, touch of roasted for balance, nice fruity character rises out of the sweetness, touch of butterscotch in the sweetness but it goes ok with the chocolate,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 14/20
Rating: 3.6/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: ***/4

On tap at the brewpub. Pretty good one here. Roasty, rich and chocolately. Black as heck with a light browinsh head that hung around. Thumbs up.

Appearance: Onyx black body with a full, lush, creamy beige head. Smell: Black malts and roasted barley with notes of unsweetened chocolate and aniseed. Taste: Sweet flavors of dark chocolate and dark caramel with a touch of anise and roastiness. Light, earthy bitterness. A bit of earth, a bit of roast, and more dark chocolate for the finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Mild carbonation. Smooth, silky mouthfeel. Drinkability: It’s delish! Like melted chocolate ice cream.