4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20Poured an almost inky-black from a 0.5L bottle into a stemless snifter. No head formed, just some bubbles that quickly dissipated and left a dark tan ring around the black abyss within. On my second glass I purposely tried to form a head (pouring high and straight), but this brew was determined to stand its ground, again leaving only the inviting darkness. We sometimes use terms like "no light can pass through it" to describe how dark a given Stout might be. In this case I took advantage of having no stem on the glass, and placed a halogen flashlight squarely against its bottom. This Stout swallowed everything that bulb could put out, so ... "no light can pass through it". Really!
The aroma was all chocolate. I expected (and hoped for) coffee, but it wasn’t there. On my first sip I felt it was too cold, and decided to let it set for several minutes. My second sip revealed an immediate, but soft sweetness, followed by a smooth transition to a moderate bitter at the end.
This is a full body Stout that’s "thick and slick" on the palate. Very soft carbonation, but not flat at all. It possesses a quiet, moderately long finish. Also, given the 11% abv I was surprised (and pleased) that the alcohol never made itself evident.
This was a very enjoyable beer. And for what it is, it’s a "Great Beer". That said, for my own liking, it wasn’t as complex as I would have liked. The sweetness was constant, and I think a hint of coffee would have been ideal. But you can put this one in my Christmas stocking any time. Job well done by the brewers at Haandbryggeriet.
4.2 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
500 ml bottle, Batch 507 (3500 bottles). Served in a DFH snifter, the beer pours dark brown/black with about an inch and a half brown head that didn’t stay around for too long. There’s a decent amount of lacing. The brew smells like roasted malt, coffee, dark chocolate and burnt/charred malt. Taste is similar to the aroma, but there’s the addition of some dark fruit and licorice. It starts off with the burnt/charred/roasty flavors being the strongest, but the dark fruit flavors come out more as the beer warms up. There’s also a lingering bittersweet finish. Mouthfeel/body is medium/full, it’s creamy and oily with good carbonation. I think this is a pretty nice brew, I don’t know why it took so long for me to try this one. $9.99 a bottle.
3 AROMA 4/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
Svart farve med lite beige skum som forsvinner raskt. Smak av kaffe og sjokolade. God sødme og bitterhet i avslutningen. Vinmonopolet.
4.1 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
Bottle from OleR, many thanks, sir. Black color with medium espresso colored head. Aroma of coffee, cocoa, dark fruits, licorice, caramel. Taste, dark roasted malt, coffee, milk chocolate, licorice, caramel, syrup, wood. Strong alcoholic, coffee bitter finish. Very tasty beer.
4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 17/20
Bottle, batch 507. Pours black as a moonless night with the darkest head I’ve ever seen and thick, oily lacing. Hefty nose of chocolate malts, blackstrap molasses, and charred oak. Rich malty taste of chocolate, some licorice, cinnamon, and a tiny, wild, woody, vinegar bite on the back end. Nice stout.
4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 16/20
Bottle. Pours pitch black with a huge foamy dark brown head. Aroma of roasted malts, chocolate and notes of licorice. Taste like aroma plus dark fruits, oak and alcohol. Lower side of fullbodied with perhaps a bit too much carbonation and an oily texture. Initially sweet but with a long smoky, bitter and slightly sour aftertaste. Tastes a lot better than it sounds though.
2.5 AROMA 4/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 4/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 10/20
Very dark, big brown hedtad. Complex aroma, dark chocolate, iron, smoke, alcohol, almonds and soy sauce. Taste of chocolate, soy sauce, more iron. Medium sweet, quite bitter, slight sour notes. Medium mouthfeel, medium carbonation. Weird, but not weird enough to make it interesting. Bit of a disappointment, faulty bottle?
3.8 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
50 cl bottle.
Originally rated on 20101120.
Pours pitch black color with a medium sized beige head. Aroma of dark roasted malts, caramel, some licorice notes, hints of coffee and dark chocolate. Flavor of dark chocolate, cocoa, roasted malts, mild caramel and licorice. Rich and complex. Very good.
4.1 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
0,5 bottle at cardinal. Black color with tanned head thats gone fast. Nose is roasted coffee, smokey, some fruit, alcohol and breakfastcoffee. Taste is chocolaty, cigarbox, dried plum and a nice alcoholpunch in the end
4.3 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
Black pour with a brown head. Taste is moderate to heavy sweet and bitter with lots of laurel-liquorice and dried red fruit. Vinous and chocolate notes are present. Cool IRS.
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
500ml bottle from Vinmonopolet. Big light brown head that fades quickly. Dark brown, almost black solid body. Aroma is sweet, with hints of wood, coffee and leather. Taste adds raisins and liquorice. The alcohol is really well hidden in this one.
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