 cazort (346), San Diego, California, USA
May 9, 2008
(On tap) Rich, hearty, aromatic. Hardly bitter at all. Only a mild roast is present. A bit more like wine than beer, except with a rich caramel quality. While I would appreciate more bitterness, and while the alcohol is not well masked, I think that overall, this is a pretty good beer. I do not, however, think that it warrants the high ratings that it has been given. I notice a tendency of reviewers to give higher ratings to beers with high alcohol contents regardless of taste. I simply don’t think this beer has the flavour to back up its strength in abv. It is rich, but it hardly has any bitterness, and in my opinion, this leaves it lacking. I simply cannot taste any hops at all, and I barely taste the roast. And it does come across as too heavy.
Slayer85 (443), Firenze, Italy
Sep 2, 2008 Winter ’05-’06 bottle (8,25% ABV). An absolutely pitch black and opque beer, with a small and disappearing but nice brown head. the nose is mild for the style, though enough satisfacting. Some rosated malt, surely black chocolate and some licorice. The flavour is not overly sweet, with heavy black chcolate notes. Thick, but also creamy and smooth mouthfeel. Medium to full body, soft carbonation, long finish with medium to high bitterness. Lightly alcoholic in both nose and mouth. Surely well done.
PaulHegedus (66), Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Sep 1, 2008 Bottle at Beer Bistro, Toronto, December 2007. Poured dark black with a small, creamy head of foam, aroma of chocolate, coffee, vanilla. Mouthfeel is wonderfully thick, full, smooth. I taste dark coffee, chocolate, licorice.
changeup45 (567), Orlando, Florida, USA
Aug 31, 2008 Pours very thick and black with a brown head that settles to a thin layer, which produces some spotty lacing. As advertised, there’s lots of dark chocolate flavors which are mixed with molasses and some toffee. Rich, full-bodied, creamy, and smooth. Very light bitterness and dry in the finish. Aftertaste is all chocolate. The alcohol barely shows at all with maybe just a slight trace but all that does is remind me that this is something to be enjoyed slowly. The drinkability on this thing is ridiculous. One of my favorite stouts to date.
Tranquillity (1069), Espoo, Finland
Aug 30, 2008 Very dark brown, huge beige-brown head. Dark coffee, bitter chocolate, sugar in the aroma. Taste more bitter chocolate than the aroma suggests. I might be high, but this is good!
albertane (277), Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England
Aug 27, 2008 A late night purchase at the Ship & Mitre in Liverpool, this is very tasty and frankly better than any of the cask beers they had available. It’s a velvety very dark brown with a sweet and boozy aroma, and it tastes powerfully of chocolate (what a surprise) with a bitterness that lingers for ages.
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