Mad Brewer Black Storm

Brewed by The Brew Keeper / Mad Brewer
Style: Imperial Stout
North Ridgeville, Ohio USA

12 ounce bottle, says 11.5% ABV on the label. Served in a snifter, the beer pours black with a half inch brown head what went away quickly. There’s also a decent amount of lacing left on the glass. Aroma is roasted malt, bittersweet chocolate, coffee and some licorice. Taste is pretty much the same as the aroma. There’s also some dark fruit and charred malt noticable too. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it’s slick and coating, and also has moderate carbonation. Drinkability is very good, it’s smooth and goes down easy. Also, the high ABV isn’t noticable in the aroma or taste at all. Overall I think this is a good enough brew.

Bottle from my want’s list thanks to St. Fun. Fun indeed! Thick, syrupy pour with a huge, creamy dark brown head. Completely, inky black body. Aroma of chocolate, earth, bananas, calvados/apple brandy, toffee. Taste is a bit odd, cocoa powder, cola, smoke, apple brandy (up front), burnt brown sugar. A lot going on, but not all of it is nice nor harmonious. Syrupy mouthfeel, alcohol is well hidden though. Odd beer.

12 oz. bottle. Pours midnight black, as thick as mud, with a dark mocha, thin head. Aroma of butterscotch, chocolate, caramelized butter, with a slight earthy undertone. Insanely thick and buttery mouthfeel. Very light carb. Very sweet rich molasses flavor with a great bitter chocolate finish. Good pairing with some nice 80% cacao. Overall, not too complex flavor, but ABV is hidden very well and this is quite drinkable.

12oz bottle, labeled 11.5% ABV, courtesy of ogglethorp, poured into a tulip. This is a really gorgeous looking beer. It’s pitch black, like an oil slick, with absolutely no light passing through. There’s a huge mocha head that shows good retention and leaves thick sheets of lacing down the side. The aroma is fairly distant and is mostly dark roasted malts with lots of bitter chocolate and hints of licorice. The taste is interesting for an impy stout. It’s got the big roasted malt backbone with some coffee and chocolate thrown in. But the taste seems very watered down and the licorice is still in there as well. The mouthfeel is medium to full bodied and very thick with decent carbonation. It’s dry and roasty in the finish. This beer certainly looks the part of a world-class stout but the taste doesn’t quite live up to the look. It’s a bit watery and the taste it does have is fairly one dimensional - roasted black malts.

12 oz bottle. Pours black and oily giving up a brief brown haze. Nose is grape, licorice, alcohol and coffee. Silky, almost full body with a tingle. Some stickiness around the lips. Taste is chocolate, plum preserves, blueberry and espresso. Finishes with bitter grass and peanut. Strange one.

22 oz. bottle - thanks riversideak!! thick, dark black with slight tan head; nose in on the mild side with roasted malt, molasses and spice; sharp flavor at first sip; syrupy, brown sugar, some coffee; initial harshness fades to a sweet, chocolate and dry finish

12 oz bottle that I bought for $1.69 at Palmers in Clintonville, OH. Pours a very thick dark black and has one of the tannest heads I’ve seen. The smell is very dark, lots of dark chocolate, coffee, and fruit. The taste is incredibly thick and rich, lots of chocolate, roasted coffee, sweet malt, and faint dark fruit. Extremely easy to drink, as there is very little alcohol presence. Very smooth and creamy body, vanilla cream mouthfeel, and deep rich chocolate, coffe bittersweetnes. AWESOME beer.

Black beer with a tan head that leaves some lacing. Raisins and chocolate hit the nose, but the aroma seems faint to me. Dark fruit flavors, I can’t quite pick it out, not plums or figs, but close. Chocolate and a hint of coffee. Warms nicely.