 Ernest (4186), Boulder, Colorado, USA
May 19, 2008
Bottle.
Head is initially small, frothy, brown, mostly diminishing.
Body is dark brown to black.
Aroma is moderately malty (burnt grain, chocolate), with notes of soggy burnt campfire wood/ashes/creosote, sulfur, seaweed/brine.
Flavor is moderately to heavily sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter.
Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly to moderately bitter.
Medium to full body, creamy/syrupy texture, lively/soft carbonation, lightly to moderately alcoholic.
Ok, fine, so I’m not a fan of Islay malts, I knew that going into it. But I don’t dislike them so much as they’re just not my cup o’ tea. And while I can give credit to the fact that there is PLENTY of Islay Scotch aroma on display here, it just isn’t attractive at all. I literally winced when I first sniffed it, and I don’t do that with straight smoky/peaty Scotch. This is literally like the smell of a campfire the next morning...a harsh and unpleasant acrid creosote/sulfur/ash odor permeates it and wrecks everything else. I actually went easy on the aroma score because I *do* realize there are some elements here (the brine, the smoke) that are inextricably intertwined with the nature of Islay malts. But the beer character can’t escape the burned wrath...this is just not integrated at all. And this is one time that I can’t fully separate the flavor balance from the retronasal aromas...those burnt seaweed smells keep wafting up the back of the throat and destroy any hope of drinking the beer. Genuinely and utterly foul stuff.
ChainGangGuy (1457), Kennesaw, Georgia, USA
Jul 19, 2008 Appearance: Pours a dark brown, near black body with no more than a few random bubbles.
Smell: Dark maltiness with a fair amount of chocolate, then it’s a super-duper intense smokey peat scent that borders on smelling of medical grade rubber.
Taste: Chocolatey dark malts and again there’s that knee-buckling peat character followed by a rather pronounce alcohol presence and a drying ashiness. Dash of table salt. Good grief! This is one of those beers that leaves you looking for a glass of cool, refreshing water.
Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. Medium-low carbonation.
Drinkability: Preferred the 005 by far as this was more than a little overblown on the peat for me.
aplusbreaks (24), , Colorado, USA
Jul 15, 2008 Batch 008 best before 6/6/09. Pours a dark chocolate coffee, almost purple when held to the light. Dark mocha head which quickly diminishes into nothing. Aromas of roasted malts a touch of coffee and overwhelming aromas of whiskey. Palate is very thin much more than expected from an impy. Flavors are sweet roasted malts, and a ton of whiskey, too much IMO.
Ethereal (724), London, Greater London, England
Jul 12, 2008 330ml bottle, at home with renffisch, 17th June 2008. Pours a still deep brown with an eye wateringly peaty whisky aroma. The flavour is all malty, smoky, peaty earthiness. Lovely and smooth with a lingering taste. Almost a bit too much!
mreusch (433), Olathe, Kansas, USA
Jul 7, 2008 11.2oz. bottle, best before 06/06/09, with another thanks to BlackForestCO! Pours a dark brown with a sizable chunky foamy tan head, good lacing. Aroma has more of that telltale smoked peat, but to a lesser extent than the 009. Also present are molasses, bourbon, and light chocolate. Flavor is more of the same, with some earthiness added, again like the 009. Very similar to the 009, but everything is dialed back a bit and more subtle except on the finish, where the earthiness is a bit sharper than I’d care. Another good one, but would take the 009 of the 3 I’ve had. Thanks again Jake!
dkachur (640), Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
Jul 7, 2008 Bottle from Wine Warehouse in Charlottesville. Viscous dark chocolate brown pour with no head and no cabonation. Aroma of smoke, peat, whisky, tobacco. Taste is much the same with the peat and alcohol very pronounced. Too smoky and too dry for my tastes, which is a shame.
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