 11026 (1886), USA
Apr 16, 2004 Updated: Mar 9, 2007
From the bottle poured a dark brown head. Aroma of chocolate and coffee. Oily thick, can’t see through the thing. Great malt taste initially, a little alcohol in the middle and ending in mild hops. Best Bell’s I’ve had to date. 9/4/9/5/18 <P> Batch 6672 sampled Nov. ’06. Low escape of carbonation as the bottle is uncapped. Pours a fairly viscous black color with a smallish brown head that fades somewhat quickly to a ring. Decent lacing. Aroma is lightly oxidized, still full of deeply roasted malt and dark chocolate. Full bodied and coating. Light cardboard notes blend well with roasted malts. Alcohol is not very apparent. Chocolate, still packs a nice hop bitterness for balance. Damn this beer is rockin’.<P> batch 7205 consumed March ’07. Black with a quick fading beige head. Some lacing. Seemingly more malty than other editions. More roasty, less apparent hop bitterness. Slightly less hop flavor than other editions? Deep roasted aroma, slight oxidation. Pleasant, but seemingly lacking the hop punch in taste of earlier editions. Tasty all the same, just a more malty, roasty imperial stout. Quite enjoyable with an aged Acid cigar.
poolboy (28), Lafayette, Indiana, USA
Nov 29, 2008 A great imperial stout. Good in the bottle, even better on tap at the brewery. Dusty, chocolate, cherry, coffee raisins. Small head. Not heavily carbonated. Creamy taste. There is some slight taste of hops, but not much. More citrus I would say.
estoppel (1023), Buffalo, New York, USA
Nov 29, 2008 Bottle. Very dark brown body, small to no head, lightly carbonated, light coffee nose. Citric hops, moderate bitterness, not particularly sweet, coffee/chocolate roastiness, slight sourness, not really much different than the much-lower-rated Victory Storm King.
ATLBeerDog (279), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Nov 29, 2008 2007 Version
Poured from a 12oz bottle, Pitch Black with ¼ inch dark tan/light brown head. Smell of carmel/toffee malts, coffee with hops in the background. Totally black with no light able to show thru. Heavy, heavy lacing. Strong coffee taste of espresso along with a lot of hop bitterness. Mouthfeel is creamy.
Not my favorite of this style. The hop bitterness does not balance well with the rich malts and coffee. It’s a clash, like an unhappy marriage. Why can’t they get along? This beer is not very complex.
guyinchicago (275), marengo, Illinois, USA
Nov 29, 2008 Pour was black and thick with thick brown head aromas of heavy malts and hops,from the first taste you know you were drinking something special a world class imperial stout, taste were of heavy malts a shit load of hops coffee undertones,molasses and honey
taalhiker (172), Dayton, Ohio, USA
Nov 28, 2008 From bottle. Part of January Dayton Beer Tasting event. Pours black full brown foamy head. Aromas of coffee, hops and chocolate. Sweet complex flavors include smoke, vanilla, coffee and licorice. Outstanding effort.
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