3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 16/20 elektrikjester (75) - Marietta, USA - OCT 14, 2011
Pours an opaque deep, dark brown--just shy of black. Tremendously huge head (despite my best efforts to control it during the pour) that is dark tan in color and pillowy, yet dense in texture. As head settles somewhat, a good bit of lacing remains. Aroma is of peat and licorice, with some piney, resinous character in the background. Smoky, but not in a salty, rauchbier way. As pronounced as the aroma was, I was completely unprepared the for wallop of flavor. Strong doesn’t even begin to describe how it hit me--flavor of sour cherries mixed with smoked wood. Some roasted malts are evident, as is hop bitterness, but there is really a sour-sweet flavor taste driving the beer. It’s rather unexpected to be honest. Although the alcohol is not--very forward. Palate is also unexpected, as the beer is surprisingly watery. In sum: A flavorful smoked stout, but one that may not be to everyone’s liking. Worth a try, however, if you’re a fan of beers like Bell’s Cherry Stout.
3.3 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20 DiarmaidBHK (1528) - Pennsylvania, USA - MAY 20, 2012
Bottle from the Anderson’s. Pours black with a thick 3 inch khaki head. Notes of cocoa on the nose. Tastes of moss and peat with a hint of sweetness. Finish lingers a bit. Solid but not my favorites style.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20 Yorker (102) - Århus, DENMARK - MAY 5, 2012
75 cl corked bottle @ home. Pours black with some sediment and a huge mocha head that slowly fades leaving very little lacing. Aroma is chocolate, coffee, roasted malt, salt and a little subtle smoke. Taste is bitter chocolate and smoke.
3 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20 PhillyCraft (651) - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA - APR 29, 2012
Bottle, Pours black with with medium beige head. Good lacing. Aromas of herbs, peat, smoke, nuts, dark cocoa, meat. Taste was similiar with some nice hops and roasted malts coming through. A decent amount of heat coming through.
4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20 sonnycheeba (875) - Fells Point, Baltimore, Maryland, USA - APR 22, 2012
Bottle. Pours opaque black with average, frothy tan head; decent retention and lacing. Aroma is roasted malt, dark chocolate, smoke, espresso, dark fruit, earthy hops, and light black pepper. Flavor is malt dominate with supporting dark fruit esters and hops; smoke throughout with a dry finish. Medium body, carbonation, and warmth.
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20 MrChopin (2213) - Baltimore, Maryland, USA - APR 19, 2012
near black, thin tan head small bubbled, lasting. Salty smoke and ash nose, light olive astringency reminds of HotD Adam , chocolate swirling in and out. Flavor shows chocolate and smoke at front, sweeter cake malt through middle before dry wood and char in finish, sticky light carbonation accenting dryness throughout, particularly in the finish. Bit off meat sweetness in finish, otherwise rather nice.
4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20 BeerandBlues2 (6126) - Lone Tree, Colorado, USA - APR 18, 2012
Bottle. Pours opaque with a large, frothy tan head, long retention with excellent lacing. Aroma is coffee, roast and smoke malt, earthy and woody hops with dark fruity esters and licorice. Flavor is smoke, meat and dark malt, dark fruity esters, medium hops and bitterness with a dry finish. Full body, medium warmth and carbonation.
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20 Palme (1437) - Bergen, NORWAY - APR 15, 2012
0.33l bottle from myBrewerytap. This one pours a near black - or should we just call it black? Yeah, let’s do that. It’s a black one with a enormous and everlasting creamy chocolate head. Looks quite nice. Not extreme-smoky in the aroma, but more subtle-smoky. Still the smoke is definitely present! Tones of both chocolate and leather as well. Milk chocolate actually. When tasting it, the smoky ashy tones really makes it’s way in the flavor. It’s almost like a stingy-cigar, quite warming with lots of licorice. Quite interesting and tasty with a soft, silky almost cloying texture. Not because it’s to sweet, but it just got a bit much in the end. Actually struggled towards the finish with this one. Reminds me a bit of my experience with Mikkeller - Black Hole - just with lots and lots of that stingy cigar. 27.01.2012
3.8 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20 FunkyBrewster (1385) - Chicago, Illinois, USA - APR 10, 2012
Bottle thanks to 17thfloor. Pours black with a small frothy tan head. Aroma is smoky and chocolate burnt, with notes of meat and cherry pie. Flavor hads much the same, rich roasty character and some burnt malt, meaty and plenty of chocolate, note of espresso. Medium to medium full body and a crisp carbonation. Pretty nice beer.
3.9 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20 17thfloor (2301) - Chicago, Illinois, USA - APR 10, 2012
Pours milky and fizzy. Might have a bit of a brett infection, that actually really goes well with the great smoked meat aroma and flavor, fairly tart, cherry pie, deep meat flavors and chocolate. Very nicely done. Would love another.
3.5 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20 BBB63 (5039) - La Porte, Indiana, USA - APR 6, 2012
11.2 oz and served in my Ommegang tulip: Pours nearly opaque with a huge fluffy tan head which left okay lacework upon the glassware. The aroma has a intense aroma of peated malt, herbal and grassy hops, some chocolate, coffee, woody, earthy, leathery and prune esters. The taste displays a robust smoky quality and some classic iodine peat notes along with a twangy dark fruit presence. Honestly I was afraid this would be overbearing right from the get go but the smoked malts do allow for some of the richer sweet malts to make a appearance as well as some hop bitterness. It is upon the long finish that you do get knocked about the head by the smoky peat tones. The mouth feel is a tad oily and surprising thin for the genre, ashy as expected and a tad metallic as well. Really, I like this beer for the first part of the glass but find drinking more than 6 ounces a bit of an effort as it starts to become one note and palate fatiguing, reduced the overall score to a lack of drinkability.
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