 FlacoAlto (2216), Tucson, Arizona, USA
May 14, 2008
<b>Bottled September 2007; Sampled May 2008</b><br />
A softly vigorous pour produces a two and a half finger thick, brown stained, tan colored head. The beer is quite black in color and is opaque even when held up directly to the light. The aroma is quite rich with concentrated notes of darkly caramelized malt, touches of teriyaki, iodine and a finish that smells of salt and light peat smoke. Hints of fruit aromatics provide notes of burnt prunes and light raisin. The smokiness really picks up after the first couple draughts of the aroma. Rich malt aromatics combine with the peat character to contribute aromas of salty toffee, savory umami malt, . This just has a hearty, quite satisfying aroma to it. In fact the aroma is just expressively intoxicating and almost exactly what I am looking for in a nightcap; rich, savory, complex and deeply satisfying.<br /><br />
Somehow this beer tastes quite a bit cooler than I was expecting; mainly I think it is not quite as rich as I was expecting, and a thinner beer always feels cooler than a thicker beer at the same temperature. The beer finishes with a deeply roasted, burnt espresso bitterness / astringency. The beer is fairly sweet and accentuates a burnt raisin fruitiness. This has a fairly light heft to it for a beer that smells this rich, though the viscosity is quite appropriate for a beer of this alcoholic strength. The beer finishes with a touch of burnt vegetal character; burnt broccoli and burnt cabbage flavors lightly intrude on the finish. As the beer warms up it picks up a bit more texture and richness in the flavor / mouthfeel, it still does not live up to the promise of the aroma though. The roast character plays a huge role towards the finish; burnt malt, sharp espresso notes, slight charcoal and the aforementioned burnt vegetal note.<br /><br />
The aroma of this beer kicks some serious ass; I could smell this forever and continuously find myself just enjoying the aroma between extended sips of this beer. The flavor, while it does not quite live up to the promise of the aroma, is still quite tasty in its own right, though it has some noticeable flaws. A tasty brew, that just might age quite nicely over the next couple years, despite no being bottle conditioned.
<br /><br />Purchased: <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp?PlaceID=698><u>Plaza Liquors, Tucson AZ</u></a><br />
astrofrk (95), Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Nov 29, 2008 Very Black. Big tan head. Aroma: Smokey chocolate malt. Flavor: Smokey chocolate malt, scotch. Sweet finish. Smooth!
JoeMcPhee (3899), Jackson Heights, New York, USA
Nov 20, 2008 Bottle shared with pilsnerpeter. Very dark brown/black beer with a thick, fine-laced tan head. Aroma is very oaky and cocoa-laden. Rich whiskyish/caramel nose, light sweetness and a bit of nice rich oakiness. The aroma is really lovely, soft and oaky. Very rich flavour of cocoa, caramel and a soft slightly smoky scotch flavour. The peaty/smoky character is really apparent retronasally. Despite all of the complexity, the beer is surprisingly drinkable. Chewy and light salty with a bit of soft briny roastiness. Not boozy at all, and just a generally delicious brew.
Snojerk321 (1124), San Diego, California, USA
Nov 19, 2008 Bottle @ Toronado. Dark brown with a smallish tan head. Aroma is deeper in sweetness and fruity notes than that of the 12yo. Still plenty of bourbon barrel. Flavor retains a nice smokey to sweet balance with more raisin and toffee. Nice malt balance.
dogfish120love (112), west hartford, Connecticut, USA
Nov 18, 2008 Appearance: Pours dark brown, appears black in glass. Head is a tannish brown
Smell: Heavy notes of chocolate, malt, burnt sugar and alcohol.
Flavor: Has a funky almost smoked flavor for a finnish, must be the barrel its aged in. Has a slightly woody/ scotch like after taste as well. Definitely different
Palate: Smooth yet funky
Not the biggest fan but not bad
Serving type: bottle
bierkoning (5078), La Tropica, Netherlands
Nov 18, 2008 Bottle from Lithy, thanks! Almost black and opague. Dark chocolate and peat in the aroma. Full bodied. Malty and peaty flavor with dark chocolate. This peat and oak hide the body of this beer. Good complexity.
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