Deschutes XX Imperial Porter (Double Black)

Draught at the 6th Boulder Strong Ale Festival. Pours opaque with a large, creamy, dark brown head, lasting with good lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (chocolate, coffee), average hops (perfume), average yeast (leather) with notes of prunes and tar. Full bodied, creamy texture, average carbonation, and a bitter finish. Average duration, heavy sweetness, light acidity and bitterness.

2008 Strong Ale Fest (Boulder, CO): Deep burgundy with a nice head. Intense aromas of coffee wafted up. Creamy smooth; full body. Drenched in sweetness (syrup, caramel, chocolate). Big, bold flavors and aromas of espresso and cream. Lesser notes (but still strong) of vanilla bean and dark chocolate. Mild bitterness fecklessly tried to keep up. Very tasty beer, albeit a bit too sweet for me.

On tap. Poured a thick black color with thick off-white head that left great lacing. Aroma of coffee, roasted malt, and light chocolate. Flavor consisted of light chocolate, caramel, and a nice roasted coffee and malt finish. Smooth on the palate, with a light coffee dryness/bitterness on the palate. Really nice, I enjoyed it much more than Abyss.

Nitro @ Brewpub: Dark brown, near black pour with an immense brown head. Aroma is roasty and coffee filled, light burnt malts. Flavor is roasty with coffee and chocolate and really compliments the barrel aging part of it’s character. Finished with light bitters. This was easily the best of the pub exclusive brews sampled on this trip through Bend.

Pours dark brown with a tall khaki head. Roasty nose, chocolate and light earthy hops. The palate was smooth, letting the thick body stick to the palate and saturate it with big roasted chocolate flavors. Finish has a light iced coffee note to it. Very solid brew, they should release this as part of the Bond Street series.