UPDATED: MAY 7, 2022 Refrigerated 75 cl brown 2019 bottle poured into a glass. Black with medium light brown head. Aroma is coffee, medium/thick body, medium carbonation, and good small-bubble lacing. Taste is coffee, chocolate, and green pepper. Past it’s prime.

UPDATED: MAR 4, 2022 Shared 2020, 750 ml. bottle poured to a snifter showing a black/brown hue, a decent layer of brownish tan froth, and foamy spots of lacing. The nose was roasted, cocoa, lesser coffee, cinnamon, slight pepper, and sweetness. Medium+ bodied, the taste was as the aroma notes, with well integrated alcohol, but minimal carbonation that prompted the impression of thinning texture. Otherwise, a pretty solid Imp. Stout.

UPDATED: FEB 13, 2022 Poured from 650mL bottle (2020 vintage) @ Black Valentines. Black with small tan head. Very coffee forward, roast, vanilla, lactose. Nice.

UPDATED: JUL 16, 2021 750 ml bottle. Pours a pitch black in color and capped by a small tan layer of foam that settles in quickly to a thin film and leaves patches of lace on the glass. The aroma shows notes of,rich, dark chocolate, roasted coffee, cinnamon, and a touch of vanilla over a dark roasted malt base with some earthy bitterness and ample chili pepper spice. The flavor follows suit with the dark chocolate, cinnamon, and coffee up front to go with the roasted malts, lightly toasted vanilla, and chili pepper spice that adds heat on the back end that grows as it warms up. The coffee adds another layer and brings some nice earthy roast and bitterness into the fold. Full bodied and fairly smooth with moderate carbonation that leads to a bitter sweet dark chocolate, cinnamon, and coffee on the finish with some lingering heat from the spicy chili peppers. Really good stuff and a really solid variant from the standard Abraxas base beer. I liked this one better than the vanilla version as the coffee really complements the other components.

UPDATED: JAN 16, 2021 Pours thick black with a thin, dark tan head. Aroma is coffee, cinnamon, cocoa, roast and molasses. Taste is chocolate, cinnamon and brown sugar, moving to espresso, roast, vanilla and light pepper heat. Finish is chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla and coffee. Tasty stout.

UPDATED: JUN 29, 2020 Motor oil look and feel. A little green pepper underneath a huge coffee nose and flavor. Pleasant but not as well balanced as the elite original, and big $$$.

UPDATED: MAR 2, 2020 On tap in Madison, WI Coming on the heels of other world class drafts, this still managed to shine. I need to try regular Abraxas a few more times to really get a handle on which I prefer. I certainly would not turn down either though as this excellent variant once again demonstrates why Perennial is a top reason to visit Saint Louis. AROMA / APPEARANCE Fresh black coffee roasted to near perfection percolates upwards with a boozy malt at its core. Unlike regular Abraxas it presents a much more coffee forward profile from its fluid black base. FLAVOR / PALATE Creamy raspberry, black coffee, and sweet sticky malts glue themselves to the tongue. A rich wave of warm dark fruit then glides into the boozy finish. As a heady nightcap this very potent imperial stout manages to sneak up on the senses. It would be somewhat fun to try a few side by side though I doubt the variance is as dramatic as the changes from the base Abraxas release.

UPDATED: DEC 29, 2019 750 ml bottle. Pours black with short dark tan head. Aromas of vanilla, cinnamon, sweet black coffee. and slick roasted malts. Flavors of coffee liqueur, dry cinnamon, soy, and oily roasted malts. Seems hotter than the Vanilla.

UPDATED: DEC 21, 2019 Taster during a Darkest Day event. Appearance: very dark brown with a beige head. Aroma: coffee, some chocolate, vanilla, and lacto. Taste: along the same lines, lots of coffee, some chocolate, very thick. Overall: pretty good, excellent for the coffee lovers in the beer.

UPDATED: DEC 14, 2019 On tap. Pours a deep black color with a thick creamy head. Aroma of coffee, roasted malt with bit of chocolate. Taste of coffee, roasted malt, chocolate with bit of dark fruit in the background. Solid bitterness that lighters in to the finish. Full body, thick, touch of booze and a big coffee feel. Nice.