Alchemist Luscious

Brewed by The Alchemist
Style: Imperial Stout
Waterbury, Vermont USA

Serve in Snifter

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21oz bottle. Big thanks to Wallace for sending this our way. Shared in socal with a bunch of folks... Pours a silky cola black, some reddishness to it all, lesser Intense edges and topped with a light beige head... Affirmng and nicely developed aroma of roasty dark chocolate which take hold and leave very little room for cracking. Cocoa and a lighter yeastiness come through later... Yeast and cocoa present upfront. Roasted qualities and pretty sweet throughout which dries out fairly quickly. Smooth medium level of body with a lighter side of carbonation. Really solid imperial stout that rivals barfly but not quite as developed and tasty for that matter.

Date: March 24, 2012
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, HMOG
Appearance: opaque dark chocolate, scant head
Aroma: rich roasted aroma, rich chocolate, light fruityness
Body: creamy body
Flavor: rich chocolate flavor, roasted, sweet caramel
Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.6/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *** /4

22 oz bottle. Ebony with a thick, foamy tan head. Nose is chocolate, coffee, caramel, molasses and smoke. Medium body with a zing. Not as heavy as expected. Taste is honey, blackberry, Greek coffee; wow, this stuff is really sweet. Lingering cane sugar, cocoa and red licorice. Massive; maybe too much, but i tend to like these kinds of brews.

Big thanks to yourefragile for sharing this bottle. Served in a snifter. Pours a very dark brown with a nice tan head. Good retention and some nice lacing on the way down. The nose carries a nice dose of bourbon and oak with a bit of vanilla in the background. Touch of milk chocolate as well. The flavor falls off from there with a decent amount of booze to go alongside the barrel character. Body is medium with average carbonation. Pretty good, but the flavor could have used as much depth as the nose.

Dark black. Burnt wood, caramel, smooth roast with a punch of astringency at the end, gives way to almost a hint of wateriness at finish.

A - Pours a dark black color with a finger of tan-chocolate frothy head. The head fades down slowly leaving behind some good lace. S - Aroma is a mix of dark roasted chocolate malts with a touch of burnt malt, sweetness, and a touch of caramel. T - Starts off with some roasted chocolate malts with some sweet dark fruit, caramel, vanilla, and oak. Through the middle, some more oak and burnt flavor comes through with some more dark fruit and a touch of booze. The finish is a mix of roasted chocolate, oak, vanilla, caramel, and a bit of booze. M - Full bodied with moderate carbonation. Feels smooth with a warming finish. D - Very drinkable. Really nice balance with some nice sweetness from the dark fruit that goes well with the big body and other flavors.

wow, i hate to say but i was pretty diappointed in this beer. first off it pours like a nut brown ale, very dark, and of course a huge malt body to it, a bit too much. very thick and syrupy bw like malts here. then the hop profile, oi! i assume they thought they could balance the thick malts by using lots of high alpha hops, but man it just doesnt work. the hop profile is astringent and stinging, very one sided. you really have to search for anything fruity or complex in the hops, and then only in the aftertaste. i cant believe this is the same brewery that makes delicate and balanced heady topper, this beer is not refined, its big and brash, everything that heady topper is not. and for me, thats not a good thing. in our iipa tasting this came in dead last, and not even half the bottle was drank. definitely a let down for me on this one. will probably like this beer more with a year or two on it as a barleywine. wait, this is an imperial stout??? rated as a iipa for some reason. i dont know what the hell this beer is.

Rating 500!!!!! Woot!!! Pours jet black, aroma of sweet and a bit of soy. Bitter rosary chocolate. Very nice imperial, but kinda one sided.

Bomber thanks to duchessedubourg.
Appearance : Pitch black with brown creamy head. Some lacing. Long head retention, nice lacing.
Aroma : Sweet chocolate with brown sugar. Light citrusy hops. Chewy malts.
Taste : Great rich malts with coffee and chocolate. A bit sweet and almost sugary. Molasses on finish with malt and a light hoppy astringency. Nice dark choco.
Palate : Enjoyable carbonation, not too fizzy.
Overall : Good stuff. Had this right after HFB Daybreak and this one felt a bit simpler and less rich. Still a fine brew with nice malts.

Wow - this beer is amazing, thanks Chase2634! I can imagine it was probably amazing right out of the barrels all spring long before the terrible night of the flood. The stout pours deep dark coffee in color with a generous deep cinnamon mocha head, so beautiful. The aroma lends roasted malt flavors with almost smooth barrel notes surprisingly; then the flavors are excellently balanced with sweet chocolatey notes that are not overbearing at all. The body is not too thick, smooth and deliciously creamy. So awesome.

My Bottom Line :
Roasted bread crusts, chocolate cake, and sugar-y icing coalesce in this Imperial Stout’s plump mouthfeel, as alcohol heat and light hop resins add depth.

Further Personal Perceptions :
-A healthy head of foam covers the pure darkness.
-This is a luscious dessert indeed.
-Dark malts could yield more flavor; residual sugars are quite important in this one.
-The roastiness in the finish is delicate, softened up by chocolate-y malt sugars.

Bottle.