4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/2022oz Bottle, purchqsed from the Wine Thief - New Haven, CT and enjoyed from a plastic Amtrak cup with ice. Steel railings humming, this noses warm and a little bit fruity. On the palate this holds a mix of fresh toasted bread and some sweet grapes. I’m trying to enjoy this beer as though I were living in the UK in the 50s. It’s so hard to hold an old-style, nuanced lower gravity stout like this to all the brash, overly strong American renditions. This is subtle, hopped with Goldings, and a gracious old timey beast. If we split Imperial Stout into American and English, this would rock the latter category and thus I’m scoring it highly.
4.9 AROMA 10/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 10/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 20/20
Opaque black with no head. Medium-full body with medium-high carbonation.
Aroma: dark crystal and toasted and roasted malts, mushroom soy sauce, some yeast esters, and not much for hops.
Taste: bready malt, pleasant roasted malt, umami, dark fruit, and just a hint of charcoal. There is a subtle sweetness in the finish like malto-dextrine or some other non-fermentable sugar, but no lactose flavor.
Lots of dark malt character, but not overdone. Nice balance, and a more sessional body than most RIS examples. More of a perfect example of a traditional irish foreign stout.
3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 11/20
Dark brown pour, brown head. Aroma of dark roasted malts, coffee, a hint of metallic notes. Flavor is charred, slightly bitter, chocolate and the metallic notes are in the flavor too.
2.7 AROMA 4/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 10/20
Aroma is not so good. It ha a weird peanut butter like note to it along with a lot of dark fruit. There is also a bit of oxidation showing up as wet paper. There is some chocolate and roast, well balanced but subdued.
Pours black with brown highlights on the edges. A thin dark tan he's quickly recedes to the edges. No lacing or legs.
Flavor is slightly better than the aroma as the nutty note is lesser but it is still present. The dark fruit is more subdued as well and the chocolate malts show up more nicely. Light astringency and moderate bitterness. Still some signs of oxidation in the flavor. A light roast note in the finish as well as some alcohol.
Medium to medium full bodied with medium carbonation. Finishes with low to medium low astringency and a bit thin in the finish. Medium low alcohol heat.
Overall there is just something off with this beer. Whether oxidized or infected it has serious flaws. Definite drainpour.
---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone
3.2 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
on draft at willimantic brew pub, nah. Just a sweet ashy mess, a pretty terrible stout with not much body, the dry finish kind of saves it. Kind of.
3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20
UPDATED: JAN 18, 2013 650 mL Bottle purchased from Leary’s for $7. To snifter, it pours an oily dark purplish charcoal brown with a trim off-tan ring which rested atop. Smells straightaway of caramelized raisins, fudge, cocoa powder, milk chocolate and some heat. Ends with aromas of yeast, licorice and chile peppers. Tastes certainly milkier and fruitier than expected: lactose, raspberry jam, pears, and honey. Midway, it’’s hinting at chocolate malt, booze and, as TurdFerguson said, ashy which is quite prevalent by swallow. Overall, enjoyable stuff. Also has a nice warming sensation you find out almost immediately. I don’t love this beer, but Berkshire do know how to competently brew a beer that is both interesting and balanced. The chocolate flavors could have been more pronounced, but I’m not complaining.
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Bottle at Paul’s tasting. Pours near black with a beige head. Lighter roasted malts, dark chocolate, and a hint of floral hops in the finish. Decent.
3.3 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Bottle at Paul’s for the Blind Stout tasting. Pours a clear brown with a thin white to beige head. Soft roast and cocoa on the nose, chocolate, toffee. Medium bodied, toast, roast, a touch of sweetness. Long cocoa, toffee, sweet plum. A touch of oxidization. Warm and spicy.
3.4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20
Poured from 22oz into a snifter. Initial head was drk brown and robust within a few minutes laced down to a ring of grey. Aroma is malty and toasty and all the warm smells of a stout. Unfortunately the bitterness is missing. This tastes like a rich brown ale with a hint of stout earthiness but the love does not linger on. I was hoping for a Rasputin-like timbre to this stout but the marriage is already starting off on the wrong key. I’d probably buy it again if I had to, but I’d go for their Draymans Porter as that serving is light years ahead of this imperial swill.
3.1 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
Lotsa bottles. Dark brown with a minimal tane head. Light carbonation. Nose is booze, molasses, roast, light cocoa, and ash. Flavor is similar with a dirty, slightly earthy bitterness, some light dark fruits, ends ashy and boozy.
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