 Bobsy (196), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Jan 18, 2008
’I’ll finish the dinner’, I tell the wife, ’you pour the beer.’ I’ve been anticipating this stout for a good couple of weeks now. Good God! It looks like flat cola! ’I poured it as slowly as I could so it didn’t get a head’, says the missus. After beer 101, I drink some (more of this later), agitate the bottle and create a creamy mocha head to top this onyx beast. What a difference a head makes! the appearance is exceptional, and will remain so throughout, leaving prodigious lacing.
The aroma is nutty, chocolatey and rich, and after sipping I have to say that it is excellently matched to the drinking experience. My first impression on sipping is caramel - there’s a lot present and it lends a nice sweetness to the drink, which along with its heavy texture, reminded me of sipping on chocolate milk. Hidden behind this are flavours of roasted malt, café mocha and vanilla. The alcohol is extremely well-concealed, and only became apparently when I started nibbling on some Ghiaradelli dark chocolate while drinking. It turns out that the sweetness performs a function. The finish is smooth and creamy, but also shows the impressions of a nice hoppy bitterness.
This experience really felt like dessert in a glass. I would gladly repeat it.
phishpond417 (1386), Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA
Aug 20, 2008 Pours a thick opaque black colour with a barely noticeable tan head. Aroma is sweet of roasted malts, caramel and toffee. Taste is creamy, rich and full of generously toasted bready flavors. Smooth all the way through and very filling.
JasonG (629), Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Aug 19, 2008 22 oz bottle - Pours a fairly dark but not totally opaque black color with medium sized creamy tan head. Aroma is fairly roasty, with notes of light caramel, vanilla, cream. Flavor has fair amount of chewy malts, roastyness that comes across a bit chalky, hint of ash and vague herbal hops. Palate is very nice if just a touch overcarbonated for the style, which lends a bit of a rough bicarb bitterness in the finish that mingles with a subtle, balancing hop bitterness. Overall it’s very good, and definitely more drinkable than some imperial stouts, but it’s not quite at the level of many of the imperial stouts around from the better breweries.
PolakPorter (50), , Illinois, USA
Aug 19, 2008 Black pour, great aroma. Bursting with coffee, choco-dark fruit aroma. Flavor follows suit. Incredibly easy to drink. Usually after a bomber of an imperial stout leaves me craving something light. At the end of this one, I just wanted more. Great beer, wish more Bear Republic was available in Illinois.
17thfloor (637), Chicago, Illinois, USA
Aug 13, 2008 Pours a thinner black with a bubbly fizzy beige head. Big roasty, smokey raisin and chocolate aroma with light notes of licorice. Medium/light bodied, fizzy carbonation, quite "off-style." Bitter deeply roasted malt flavor with lots of chocolate and a hint of raisins, big hop bite. Flavor is incongruent with the body. Very easy drinking due to the relatively lighter body, covers the alcohol very well for that fact as well. The carbonation settles down quite a bit after being poured for a few minutes, much better.
grikmok (63), Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
Aug 9, 2008 Poured to a dark beer with a lacy and big chocolate head. Aromas of roasted hops and malts. Initial flavor of bitter chocolate and malts, followed by bitter hoppiness. A very good stout.
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