 yngwie (3762), Kristiansand, Norway
Nov 9, 2005 Updated: Sep 13, 2007
Bottled at Uptown. Huge dense, head. Never seen a head that brown. The beer is just black. No color to be spotted at all. Mild, chocolatey, coffeeish, roasted aroma with hints of cigar. The flavor has some honey-cake in it too. Full bodied with a long bitter aftertaste, that gets a little astringent at the very end. Rating: 7-5-8-4-17-4.1 (051103)<br /><br />Rerate: Still pours black, with a big, dense, brown head. Still leaves nice lacings. Something has happened to the aroma though. It still has chocolate and coffee, it has roasted malt, but it’s much more intense than I remember it from earlier samples. And the hop-aromas are just lovely. I mean really lovely. Heavy on the pine and resin, yet fruity, much more evident than I can remember from any of the other bottles I’ve had. Just wonderful, I could sit with my nose deep in the glass for ages, and sure I did. The cigar smoke mentioned in my first rating of it are undetectable, but it has a vanilla note in the far back. This time tasted at 12 degrees centigrade, maybe it has opened up much more, at least it is a completely different experience than at the first rating. The flavor plays almost the same tune as the aroma, but the chocolate is a bit subdued, and the coffee more pronounced. It is still thick and chewy in the mouth, I didn’t have to taste it to understand that, it was evident when pouring. The lovely hop is surely present in the flavor as well, giving it a heavy bitterness that balances all of it’s dark sides, and there’s still room for fruityness. The finish is almost as lovely as anything else. The coffee and chocolate disappeares a bit fast, but the roast and bitterness stays with you for a long time. The dangerous part of this beer, as with all beers from Nøgne Ø, is that the alcohol is damn well hidden. If this is how the beer tastes like at the moment, I’m definately in for some more bottles. (070913)
can8ianben (670), Pasadena, California, USA
Nov 30, 2008 Aroma of burnt toast and coffee grinds. Appearance is jet black with a dark brown head which was thin, but substantial. Flavor was toffee, burnt toast again, loads of roasty malt, and some charcoal. This one pleases the palate. Very smooth and drinkable for such a full bodied beer. I split the oversized bottle with a friend and was sad at how quickly the end of the glass arrived. Little hop bitterness in the finish, overall just a smooth and full bodied beverage. Way to go Norway!
bermod (100), Lappeenranta, Finland
Nov 29, 2008 Delicious strong aroma of roasted and burnt malts, coffee, dark chocolate, salty licorice and hops. Strong, syrupy sweet and roasty flavor with coffee, licorice, hint of tar and in the dry finish there are burnt malts, dark chocolate and strong bitterness. Nice hoppy aftertaste. Palate is smooth and warming. Very nice : )
amishcaravan (225), Winona, Minnesota, USA
Nov 29, 2008 first of all this is one of the smoothest imperial stouts I have ever had. very nice taste and scent. I would love to drink this again.
IlanMan (632), Winona, Minnesota, USA
Nov 28, 2008 Bottle: Pour is engine oil dark and thick. Very dark creamy tan head. Aroma is chocolate, sweet malt, roasted and burnt aromas, dark fruit, and alcohol. Very creamy and smooth on the palate. Very roasted chocolate flavors with some oats and roasted barley. Damn well blended brew with awesome flavors. Would love to try again.
RIXbeer (102), USA
Nov 28, 2008 Pours a pitch black with a nice finger and a half head right into my oversized snifter. The whole bottle empties into the glass leaving a good inch to the top of the glass. The mocha colored head slowly fades sticking to the edges it has touched. The aroma start with this creamy milkiness that fill the nostrils at first whiff. Upon the second whiff the large chocolate and cocoa come pouring out like a kid filling his glass of milk with Hershey’s chocolate syrup. This one is however more along the lines of a slightly bitter chocolate and a dry sweetness from the cocoa. There’s some good espresso notes hidden in the hop aroma as well. Smooth as silk with a creaminess and thickness of 1% milk. There’s a nice bitterness hidden behind a huge wall of chocolate. The cocoa seem buried there as well as its’ hints linger on in the after taste. The espresso notes in the aroma have become a major player in the flavor. It seems so major that it has left the hops behind. But not too far as this one still remains quiet balanced. This beer feels velvety smooth on the palate. It is just plain old tastey and that makes it feel good. Just the right amount of carbonation for this big mother of a stout. And it is ridiculously smooth for such a big stout. 1 bottle poured into an over sized snifter or split between 2 in regular snifters. Either way this one is a sipper. Good luck, it’s tough not to gulp this one. All around an amazing beer.
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