unclemattie (1646), Georgia, USA May 22, 2008 22oz bottle. Pours aa deep dark black. Aroma of cherries, vanilla, coconut, and hints of bourbon. Flavor of whiskey, vanilla, chocolate. A very complex profile to this beer. What an amazing bottle. hopdog (4649), Lansdale, Pennsylvania, USA Feb 1, 2008 Big thanks to TomDecapolis for sharing this 22oz bottle. Poured a dark black (it just doesn’t get darker than this) with an averaged sized brown head. Aromas of dark fruits, oak, wood, vanilla, brown sugar, molasses, smoke, and chocolate. Tastes of dark fruits, oak, coffee, chocolate, vanilla, and roasty. Full and creamy body. Damn this was good. Crosling (1660), Loveland, Colorado, USA Aug 30, 2008 Red tinged black colored beer with a full tan head. Really nice aromas, with deep dark fruits, brandy and roasted malt and chocolate notes. Delightfully crafted malt character, with notes of peanut butter, chocolate, espresso roast and dark fruits. Incredible 30-second + finish lasts and lasts. Amazing ale. TomDecapolis (2481), Skippack, Pennsylvania, USA Jan 31, 2008 Pours a deep motoroil black with a medium creamy/bubbly deep tan head. Aroma of oak, cherries, vanilla, molasses, chocolate, sweet and malty. Flavor of chocolate, cocoa, vanilla, light oak, roasted malt, light smoke, nuts, molasses, dry and roasty. Great creamy body. Not sure I get too much of the Belgian yeast in this one...but it’s quite a nice Imp Stout! TAR (2008), Boulder Co., Colorado, USA Oct 4, 2008 Fierce-looking impenetrable black. Gentle pour raises a large tight-bubbled cinnamon head which clings as it slowly settles. Roasted barley prevails over intriguing nougat, lactose, baker’s chocolate, and shoe polish aromas. Touch of vanilla, brown sugar, and chocolate taffy. Velvety carbonation. Bottle conditioned. Crackling black-malt-derived phenols and stiff edges of roast clasp the palate while a sharp snap of earthy, java-soaked malt nestles deeply into the palate. Quite oily and soft in body, with heavy emphasis on the vividly defined licorice-tinged roasted barley. Thick, dense core is milky and tacky, yet far from fatiguing in its high concentration of weighty richness due to the remarkably clean, complex, and soundly structured malt frame. Attenuation is also spot-on. Delicate bite of char and caramelized brown sugar seamlessly mesh with a rich, fudge-laden yet tarry and smoky charge of earthy dark malt and chalky blackness. Truckload of vibrant, meaty java fuses with the lactose which imparts a base layer of slipperiness. Layered malts are further highlighted by a polished raisin and dried-plum twang. Finishes cleanly and snugly bitter with vanillin oak, as gorgeously integrated notes of relentless, palate pummeling malt collide with artfully composed dark fruity esters. The malt structure and range of depth here are superb, and there are all sorts of flavorsome malt complexities, among other things, going on. Word from the brewer is this was aged in oak casks (Jack Daniel’s). Never would have guessed it as the oak, which perhaps imparts some vanilla as well as some clean tannic bitterness, is in perfect harmony with every other component rather than being the mail focal point. Hats off to Midnight Sun for creating yet another awe-inspiring brew!
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