4.5 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 18/20Very dark brown or black with a beige creamy lasting head. Smells of rich dark chocolate malt, liquorish with plums, rasin and whisky. Smooth silky body that makes it go down very easy. Starts off mild bitter chocolate and then very strong alcohol on the aftertaste that disipates. Fruity, caramel with an alcohol kick that gets better with each sip.
2.9 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 11/20
Bottle @ hotel room in Tokyo. Bel colore di caffè con pochissimi riflessi rossi. Profumo di cioccolato, di torba e di erba appena tagliata. Schiuma cremosa color nocciola perlage finissimo. Gusto dolciastro appena bevuta, poi dolceamaro di caramello bruciacchiato, in fondo diventa amarognola, come caffè e whisky torbato. Il luppolo è delicato. Ha un corpo appiccicoso e un finale amarognolo.
4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Bottle. Deep aroma of bitter chocolate, prunes, brown sugar and cough drop . Sticky black body, just a little thin in the mouth. Like others here have noted, a touch mediciney, but still a good stout- deep dark and delicious.
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Bottle. Light coffee, some "kampo" (herbal medicine), prunes, and brown sugar aromas. Dark brown with a 3-c. cafe au lait head and very thick lace. Initial flavors of cough syrup, prune juice, and yeast (do they still use some Brett yeast?). Final is a bit tart and sourish, with good alc. warmth. Medium thick body. Good, complex flavors. A bit thin. Kind of a hybrid stout. Years ago, I used to love this stuff. Still do, in a memory-warp kind of way. Asahi makes nothing else remotely comparable. M. Jackson writes that the brewers at Asahi make it in order to keep their skills up.
3.4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 14/20
Lovely full powdery cocoa and sweet chocolate nose. A bit more staid on the palate, but still rich with chocolate, cocoa and earthiness. Palate is a bit thin though. Pretty true to the description. A nice drop.
2.1 AROMA 4/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 4/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 8/20
Tried this when it first appeared in Tokyo and Yokohama. It is not a finished product but I do admire their pluck. It has a lot of taste but it not quite balanced, a tarry taste. i was hoping for more roasted grains and malts but this was not at all well defined.
3.3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
UPDATED: SEP 14, 2011 33,4 cl bottle @ hotel room, Hiroshima. bottled on 03/2011, BBE 02/2012
Sweet, syrupy-malty aroma with some roastiness. Some hints of chlorine. Very malty, sweet and syrup-like taste with roastiness. Feels a bit like rye pudding. Hides the abv well. An ok stout, but too malty and sweet.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
(bottle - 330 ml) Courtesy of KyotoLefty. Dark black pour with a fluffy tan head. Aroma is very sweet and malty with some hints of roasted coffee and whiskey. Flavor is smooth and roasted at the beginning with a smooth and slightly chocolaty middle. Finishes warm and roasty with a mild and sweet malt finish. Didn’t realize the alcohol was this high.
3.8 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
Bottled at RBJG park session. Nearly black, beige creamy head. With lots of chocolate, notes of salt and plums and solid full sized body it certainly takes me by surprise. Mild, yet warming with alcohol hidden in caramel and tar. Lingering cocoa bitterness. Why aren’t all Asahi beers this good?
3.6 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
From a bottle a few days past its "drink by" date.
Black with a tall tan head. Appetizing.
Sweet, fruity aroma, cherry, something sour, some metal, chocolate. Sweet-and-sour flavor with raisins, coffee, bitter chocolate, lots of burnt malt. Has a bit of a wild-yeast, sour flavor as well. Complex, but I think this bottle is showing its age. I’ll go for the draught for the re-rating. Nice stuff from this big brewer. Wish all their beers were this good.
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