 acrdz (4376), Boulder, Colorado, USA
Jul 23, 2003 Updated: Oct 17, 2007
Bottles from 2002, 2003 and 2006. Black as motor oil with a dark tan head. Big sweet-chocolate and cherry nose, with other hints of alcohol and smoke, and a slight hint of wet-dog as it warms. Quite smooth because of the lack of carbonation, but this is actually well appreciated. As best I can describe it, this is like drinking sweet chocolate syrup. Quite an amazing performance on the tongue. Starts out rich and creamy, then bites my tongue with a hint of sharp cherry and alcohol. Finish is strong semi-sweet chocolate chips and cherry undertones. Wow? has a complexity that is too much to take in. I can smell the cherry and plum syrup in my nose as I drink, and the smoothness of the chocolate coating on my mouth is amazing. I’m always impressed when I drink this, and it’s becoming one of my favorite stouts, the very definition of a malt bomb imperial stout.
southamptonsam (51), New York, USA
Oct 8, 2008 Expectation is very important with this beer. Knowing nothing about it, I drank it after a couple of other beers expecting a straight Imperial Stout that would sit nicely on top of what preceded it. It clashed terribly and I was left with a bad feeling about the beer. Ready for a rich, oily sweet beer with nothing preceding it, it is one great beer. My memory tells me it’s similar to Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, but my nod goes to the Bells. Good future blind tasting.
DeadGuyFrank (345), http://westchesterbeer.com, USA
Oct 7, 2008 I really am torn about this beer....I know I know - it’s awesome, it’s from Bells, it’s an Imperial Stout....that being said, it’s way too concentrated - really high in alcohol taste, in other words this will drink like a meal and feel like you drank twenty beers. The torturous part about this review is the initial taste of this beer is everything I love about stouts - chocolate richness, coffee and smoky flavors reside in the mouth feel for minutes. I think this beer deserves another try, but for my palate is too much power....
edmajorjoe (52), Vail, Arizona, USA
Oct 5, 2008 Eerily similar to Surly Darkness and an Oatmeal Stout with reddish tint and long lasting head. Aromatic scent to die for and taste is also amazing.
Moggman (54), Columbus, Ohio, USA
Oct 2, 2008 Bottle. Pours almost black with very little head. Scent of chocolate, coffee, and a little smoke. Flavor is coffee, chocolate, smoke. finish is bitter hops and warming alcohol.
Chipper (68), Red Lion, Pennsylvania, USA
Oct 2, 2008 Draft at Kclinger’s Pub. Nearly black with minimal head. Chocolate, smoke, malt, and coffee aroma. Smooth drinking and the alcohol is present but muted. A little bitter on the finish.
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