Midnight Sun Obliteration VII

Brewed by Midnight Sun Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Anchorage, Alaska USA

Serve in Snifter

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I got this at the Sushi Bar in McCall, Idaho. It poured a used motor oil black and thickness and raised a big dark tan head and left very thick lacing rings behind. The nose is heavily roasted malts with coffee, smoke and pine and citrus hops in abundance. The mouthfeel is bold and the body is very full and rich. The flavor is simply potent, a big rush of burnt malts and lots of hops. The high alcohol is well hidden, always a plus, and the bitter finish keeps you enjoying this to the last drop A simply superb brew

Medium dark brown head. Opaque black body. Deep raisiny malts and roasty chocolate aroma with milky earthy notes. Dry-sweet roasty resiny dusty caramel taste with burnt rye crisp bread notes. Fullish body. Mild, soft mouthfeel. Dry roasty chocolatey earthy aftertaste with metallic dusty burnt notes. Excellent! A year’s cellaring has only improved the harmony and balance, with lots of deep, subtle flavours. (0.65l bottle, City Beer, San Francisco.)

Pours black with thin tan head. Aroma of dark chocolate, roasted malts. Taste follows suit with a nice citrusy zip that leaves some hop bitterness behind. Nice thick mouthfeel. Thanks Juice.

Bottle:   Sat on this for a year.   Black pour, moderate to large frothy beige head, nice lacing.   Slight chocolate, roastiness, and muted citrusy hops.   Lots of cocoa comes out as it warms.   Bitter roastiness, but not overly bitter.   Soft citrus like sweetness, background of dark chocolate.   Seems pretty good, and I bet much less of a bruiser now that I waited a year.   Body and mouthfeel are moderate.   Piney finish, with dark chocolate like roastiness.   Fairly smooth, with a little bit of a hop bite.   Respectable.

In short: A roasted stout with an assertive biting bitterness. Very good intense beer.
How: Bottle 22oz. Consumed almost exactly one year after the bottle release. Bottle sent to me by mcberko, thanks a lot Matt
The look: Black body topped by a small tan head
In long: Nose is roasted, notes of coffee beans and a lot of green hop pellets. Taste is just that, this is not a complex beer, a solid roasted malts backbone, caramel, some coffee and some bittersweet black chocolate. Then comes an assertive bitterness that seems to come from both the high-alpha-acid hops and roastiness. In mouth the hops profile offers a flavor that is uber-bitter grapefruits, pine-tree and biting in a green hop pellet. The 100ibu advertised on the label really shows. This is an intense stout but it is also something easy to drink for a Black IPA lover like me, I had no problem at all drinking a full bomber. To compare it to more available beers I’d say it is somewhere between the excellent Black Flag Imperial Stout Hop Harvest and the harsh Beer Here Dark Hops. I liked it a lot. And why did Midnight Sun called this beer Obliteration VII and not Obliteration 7? Because, honestly, those roman numerals, what are they good IV?

Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a nice thick dark brown foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of dry roasted malt with some medium dry hops notes. Taste is a mix between some deep roasted malt with some pretty astringent hops which doesn’t make me want to drink too much of this beer. Body is full with great carbonation and no apparent alcohol. I understand this is an experiment but not sure I am a big fan of Magnum and Warrior hops which are too astringent.

Dark black in color, clear with a thick tan head. Super hops and chocolate malts aroma and flavor Super dry finish this was a terrific brew. Warms up very well and drinks smooth.

22 ounce. Big beer. Huge nose. Hoppy. Chocolate. Bitter. Roast. Wow. Everything I like in a big imperial stout.

bottle. pours medium thick black with frothy tan head. aroma is a mix of ipa and stout. taste is super hop meets smooth chocolate

Very dark brown, thin head. Rich malt with chocolate and almost coffeeish notes on the nose. Rich dark chocolate and hints of burnt fruits. Fairly intense.

UPDATED: JAN 17, 2012 Bomber, about a year old I would guess. The body looks pitch black at arm’s length, showing glints of mahogany at the edges when strongly backlit. The head is initially thick and spongy, slowly receding to a thin but lasting blanket. Dense, solid swaths of lacing coat nearly the entire glass. Aromas are super roasty, loaded with blackened caramel malt, bitter coffee, and darkly toasted pumpernickel bread. Hops are just as prominent, even after a year in the bottle, striking the nose with pine resin and, secondarily, grapefruit. I get hints of meaty, slightly smokey grilled figs as well. Flavors mirror the nose, biting with loads of bitter, blackened, caramel-cocoa roast and sharp, striking pine resin hops. A good amount of caramelized dark fruit adds ample sweetness at the mid point, before switching back to a long, roasty, super bitter finish. The palate is medium-full in substance, sporting a sugary body that is falsely covered up by the immensity of the roast. If you look beyond the bitterness, it is quite the hefty, syrupy brew. Carbonation is moderately active. Well after the glass is gone, sugar coats the mouth. Overall, it’s a pretty solid brew, but I’d really like to see more balance here.