Buxton Tsar

Brewed by Buxton
Style: Imperial Stout
Buxton, England

Serve in Snifter

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Bottle from Beer Ritz, Leeds. Swarthy black pour with the merest of brown heads. Plenty of dark choc in the nose alongside notes of figs, blackberry, roast and maybe a little smoke. Silky, fullish mouthfeel. Sweetish flavour with the roasted malts and chocolate notes in the driving seat. Barely noticable ABV and steady rollin’ ballsy hop bitterness that carried on way into the finish. A real little belter of an impy. Tsar La....

Bottle conditioned. Thin tan head, almost purple. Jet black body. Rich ripe plums, lots of spicy grapefruit hops. Smokey, roasty flavours as I take the first sip. Liquorice coming through. Bubblegum. Full bodied. Long dry roasted nut finish. Bitter with some hints of sweetness. Warming and comforting. Reminds me of drinking Fuller’s London Porter on cask for the first time.

Bottle from Euston Tap. Colour is opaque black, tan head. Nose is lots of Marmite yeast extract, molasses, a fair about of zingy citrous hops when first poured, thick road tar, salty, peppery. Taste is really salty, Marmite, earthy, burnt roasted malt., bitter green leafy hops. This is really complex and frankly a bit unusual in flavour. Not much sweetness for an ’imperial stout’. It’s really salty. Quirky, interesting, but slightly offbeat.

UPDATED: MAY 25, 2012 Bottle from Star Grocery, Berkeley. Pours black with a thin tan head and a treacle aroma. There is a rich sweet dark molasses and chocolate flavor with a dry bitter finish. This is a mellow tasty brew that is good for sipping.

Bottle. Almost black and opague. Grapes, dried fruit and a hint of roast in the aroma. Roasty creamy flavor with ash and a hint of licorice. Grapes. Very well balanced brew.

Thick like molasses, with the colour to match. Roasted coffee and citrus aroma, which lead to a sweet and slightly bitter flavour. Very smooth and well balanced...good beer.

Bottle at home 10th May 2012. Aroma is crushed coffee bean and cocoa, some hops and a little booze. Palate is soft, rich and smooth and the flavour is sooty, liquorish, some leather, expresso and some flowery hops. Good as always from Buxton

Bottle. Pours a black color with a small tan head. Has a roasted malty licorice and chocolate aroma with hoppy hints. Roasted malty chocolate and licorice flavor with hoppy bitter hints. Has a roasted malty chocolate and licorice finish.

Dark brown and a good brown head. That’s normal for an imperial stout. The rest is somewhat different. The aroma and taste are kind of fruity or flowery. Like they’ve put a bit of DIPA in there. If you ask me, you could name this a Black DIPA. Some lychee or grapefruit is present. IT’s different, but nice.

Bottle shared with Nick at the Euston Tap, London. Pours thick black like oily tar with a creamy, brown head. Burnt cocoa aroma with lots of dark roast, some oak and whiskey. Big sweet flavor but not cloying at all, lots of dirt, tar, dark roast, espresso, dark chocolate, bitter burnt grass. Full bodied, chewy with fine carbonation. Mild warming finish with lots of dark chocolate, bitter baking cocoa, heavy roast, light peat, burnt earth. Really just an immensely good, highly quaffable beer. Superb.

Pours a dark brown with almost no head and a bunch of floaters suspended. The aroma is rich with bitter chocolate, coffee, caramel and roasted malt. The flavor is quite sweet up front, followed by a bitter hop towards the end. Nice beer.