Drakes Drakonic Imperial Stout

Brewed by Drakes Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
San Leandro, California USA

Serve in Snifter

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Bottle, first bottling run. Pours with a opaque black body with a slowly fading deep tan head that stays throughout. Slightly glass coating with some lacing. Aromas are roasty, tobacco, vanilla, dark chocolate, coffee, licorice. Nicely intense with pecans, esters, deep malt, caramelization and a brandy/lightly vinous alcohol character. Flavors are roasty, roasted barley, ashy, tobacco, bitter roast, and a bit astringent because of it. Some dark, unsweetened chocolate. Plenty bitter despite the low IBU (water profile with the roast?). Complex, vinous alcohol flavors and esters. Finishes a bit dry for the style, maybe a bit chalky. Somewhat astringent. Alcohol is prevalent but not extreme for an RIS. Creamy mouthfeel, slightly coating. Deep roasted coffee grounds. Packs a punch for its ABV. A bit heavy handed on the highly roasted malts makes this a bit roasty bitter for my liking (as in too much for a RIS of this weight, at least for my tastes).
Earlier Rating: 6/25/2009 Total Score: 4
Hard to believe I haven’t rated this yet, as it is everywhere. Bottle I have is a silk screen swing top with a white label (I have seen the gold one as pictured too). Pours with a huge creamy tan head over a black body with a few red streaks on the border. Great belgian style lace. Aroma is quite nice, cocoa, chocolate, nibs, with some currants and other dark fruits. Light hop bitterness in the finish, slightly estery yeast. Light sweet tobacco qualities. Taste is rich in cocoa powder with some nice light roast behind and a bit of fruitiness tobacco and earth. Some toffee and malted milk. Alcohol is noticeably light in flavor for an impy stout. Full bodied though, very rich on the palate. Light bubbles, very smooth and decadent. Good beer, barrel age this is all types of barrels please!

Solid stout with good roasted malt aroma and hints of dark chocolate. Small creamy tan head that dissipates quickly with good lacing. Medium-bodied for a stout, smooth, light finish.

Medium dark brown head. Opaque black body. Deep black chocolate and earth aroma with cocos notes. Dry-sweet malty alcohol and cocoa taste with roasty notes. Fullish body. Mild, faintly hot mouthfeel. Dry-sweet roasty caramelly aftertaste with mineraly burnt alcohol notes. Very nice and highly drinkable. (0.65l bottle from City Beer, San Francisco.)

Bottled. Caramel and liquorice. Intense flavour. Tar, coffee, treacle, port. Strong alcohol edge.

655 ml bottle. Black and seemingly clear. Small beige head. Caramel and roasted malts. Very rich and complex. Sweetness but body is light enough for it to be very drinkable. Coffe, chocolate, licorice and tar. A classic American imperial stout. Lots of caramel. Delicious.

Bottle. Dark khaki creamy head on a nearly black body. Lots of prunes and milk chocolate in the aroma with slight roast. Quite sweet with dark fruits and prunes dominating, with lighter chocolate notes and just a bit of roast. Medium body that’s a bit soft with soft carbonation. More like an imperial porter to me...

Bottled, thanks fiulijn! Pitch black. Aroma of licorice and pears. Full bodied with underlying sweetness and solid mouthfeel. Heavy roasty flavours of licorice and tar supported by slight perfumy pears and warming brandy. Mellows out to coffee and tobacco is a salty finish.
Earlier Rating: 12/25/2004 Total Score: 3.4
Bottled. Very black, brief jead. Saölty licorice aroma. Sweet and very roasty. Very rich with some molasses and coffee, salty bitter finish. The mouthfeel is a bit mellow.

dark sepia, near black with puffy cream head, considerable lace. Nose of considerable chocolate and oat, light toast. Flavor is more oat and chocolate, no-bake like, some stinging paper and hops through finish, balance though astringent.

Sweet and dark fruit nose. Soft creamy milk. Lots of milk chocolate, light cola and squishy bland malt. Rather dull.
Earlier Rating: 5/5/2007 Total Score: 3.5
Bottle from marcus. Dark brown/black body with creamy tan head. The aroma is roast, burnt, molases and milk chocolate. The flavor is molases, brown sugar, cola, burnt, toffee and oats. Full sticky body, fizzy carbonation and a bitter end.

Bottle. Pours opaque with a medium, fizzy light tan head, short retention with light lacing. Aroma is dark chocolate and roast malt, earthy hops, raisins and prunes with leather notes. Flavor is malt dominant, alcohol, dark fruity esters, oak, and a dry finish. Full body, medium retention and carbonation.

Dark brown pour with a great tan head. Earthen chocolate and caramel escalate into vanilla and tannic dark sugar. Quality for sure, but not exceptional by any means. Medium body with lower attenuation than i would hope for.