 The_Beer_God (2837), Newport News, Virginia, USA
Jan 10, 2004 Updated: Jan 12, 2004
First, HUGE THANKS go out to jeffc666 for sharing this rare and awesome beer with me! Bottle #48. Pours motor oil black with a small brown head. Nose is intense! Wood, vanilla, molasses and some dark chocolate or cocoa. The taste is more of the same. It's a rich, meaty mix of alcohol, wood, more molasses and some sweetened notes. Rich creamy, although slightly alcohol, mouthfeel. Some alcohol is definitely noticeable during the finish but does not detract from this powerhouse. Pure power in a bottle. Again, I feel honored that jeffc666 shared this virtually impossible to find beer with me.
golubj (990), Redwood City, California, USA
Sep 4, 2008 Bottle shared at the CA-GA cultural beer exchange hosted by alexanderj, 2003 bottle, #43 of 196. Dark brown / black pour with no head. Not lively looking at all. Aroma is strong bourbon, very hot, chocolate malt and black licorice. Flavor is also very hot with the strong bourbon, roasted chocolate malt, licorice, some wood. Pretty boozy, burns my tongue.
GregClow (2332), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Sep 1, 2008 Bottle shared with HogTownHarry, blankboy, tupalev, jerc & garthicus - courtesy of garthicus. 2006 vintage, bottle 57 of 235. Deep ruby-black with a wispy tan head. Aroma of charred malt, burnt wood, bourbon, vanilla-soaked raisins, and some boozy warmth. Medium bodied, a bit creamy. Very well integrated flavours of malted milk, coffee, whiskey/bourbon and chocolate. Long, luscious finish with a mild herbal character. Excellent!
garthicus (550), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Aug 27, 2008 My bottle via a tremendous trade with Irishboy - Shared with HogTownHarry, GregClow, Tupalev,Jerc & Blankboy. Bottle 57/235. App: Deep black/brown colour with a brown bubbly head. Aroma: I could get the aroma at arms length - ohhh yeah. Nutty, creamy, cappuccino, chocolate and caramel, mouth watering. Flavour: Nutty-coffee, brandy, alcohol, cinnamon, mocha!! So much going on, simply incredible. Very very drinkable with a long soothing finish, a great beer sent by a great ratebeerian and shared with great ratebeerians.
fiver29 (303), Strongsville, Ohio, USA
Aug 23, 2008 Tasted at Cleveland tasting on 8-23-08. Thanks!! We had a verical of 03, 04, and 06.
03: Pours pitch black with no head or carbonation. Has a nice aroma of vanilla, roasted chocolate malt, and coffee. Has a medium mouthfeel. Taste is bourbon, malt, chocolate, coffee, vanilla, and it all melds together in a nice smooth chocolate bourbon finish. Overall a world class brew.
04: Everything above, but with carbonation and a thin tan head. This made my experience a little better with this brew.
06: Everything above and has more alcohol aroma and flavor to it.
Overall, all three beers taste exactly the same. The only difference in my mind is that the 03 had no carbonation, the 04 was carbonated, and the 06 had more alcohol in the aroma and taste with even more carbonation. The lesson here is don’t let these go too long or you won’t be drinking a carbonated world class brew versus a flat one.
blankboy (2570), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Aug 19, 2008 Bottle (750ml) shared with HogTownHarry, GregClow, tupalev, jerc & garthicus -- courtesy of garthicus. 2006 vintage, bottle 57 of 235. Pours an oily black with a small creamy light-brown head. Aroma has a good amount of bourbon barrel along with roasted malt, vanilla, chocolate and dark fruit -- if I had to nitpick I would say I’ve smelt this before in several other BA Impy Stouts, it’s not unique, but it’s still very nice. Flavour of bourbon, roasted malt, coffee, rich chocolate, vanilla and a bit of alcohol. Long roasty bitter finish. Oily / creamy mouthfeel, medium bodied. It’s all very well balanced and the BA isn’t overdone. Wow, this is absolute treat -- many thanks to garthicus and IrishBoy!
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