pantanap (1336), Chicago, Illinois, USA
| 3.7 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 4/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 15/20 | Feb 27, 2008 bottle had in the parking lot before MBG Winter festival....poured close to black if not black with a thin tan head. a more aggressive pour resulted in a bigger head....nose made up of rich choolate, brown sugar, and molasses. no apparent coffee or roast in the nose surprisingly.....flavors or rich chocolate, dark fruit, molasses, and sugar. extremely boozy but i didn’t expect the alcohol to be too hidden at 16%.....was a little underwhelmed by this. hopefully some age will help this one out. masonjer (563), Holt, Michigan, USA
| 3.9 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 4/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 17/20 | Feb 25, 2008 Thanks to Pantanap for letting me try this! Pours thick and oily into the glass. Says it is made with coffee, but I get none of that on the nose. Lots of molasses and brown sugar. Taste is much the same. Still no coffee. Thick and cloying. Big rich molasses. Sticks to the glass. Also, I pick up quite a bit of booze. Too much booze. I think this would have been fine at 12%. Overall, rich and intriguing, but not worth the price tag and a little unbalanced. puzzl (2601), New York, New York, USA
| 3.3 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 4/5 | 7/10 | 3/5 | 12/20 | Feb 24, 2008 Rating #1350. Holy balls, Batman, serious booze warning. Flavor is an absolute kick to the face of mega-malt syrup. Am I drinking wort here? A totally monster. Kind of gross... not too crazy about this.
What is interesting is that, towards the end of the bottle, when no one wanted to drink it any more, I decided to do a little blending. Mike had brought out a 4 year old Lindemans Cassis, which was overwhelmingly fruity, I thought the two might go well together. I started with 1 to 1, but it still tasted like pure Lindemans. Now 2:1, 3:1 Dark Horizon to Lindemans and there was still no stout. It ended up some 5 or 6:1 before they became at all balanced. This monster 16% stout was dominated by the paltry syrup brew. Ah well. ScoWRee (276), Phila, Pennsylvania, USA
| 3.4 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 3/5 | 7/10 | 3/5 | 13/20 | Feb 24, 2008 Pours almost black with a thin tan head that quickly is gone. Aroma of coffee.
A roasty touch. Taste has a hint dark fruit, coffee,a little alcoholy......the flavor lingers on the palate for a while. The alcohol is a little much and not well hid. Bottle #02863 bikesandbeers (468), Los Angeles, California, USA
| 4.2 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 9/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 17/20 | Feb 23, 2008 sampled at the San Diego Strong Ale Festival Nov 2008, an event shared with what seemed liked hundreds of ratebeerians and enjoyed mostly through a straw, since my face was a bloody mess of scabs and stitches. this came from the RB table full of bottles. Super dark without much head on my small pour. great coffee, dark fruit and alchol aroma. The flavor was slightly sweet with great chocolate and coffee notes, but just a little bit to much alcohol in my opinion. A strange complaint for being at a strong ale fest I know. but if they could get the same complexity and take it back down to 10% i think this beer would be a 4.6. theisti (1654), Leawood, Kansas, USA
| 4 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 16/20 | Feb 21, 2008 500 ml. bottle shared by and with Gregis. Bottle #01714. Pour is all black with a 1/2 inch deep tan head that fades almost immediately. Aroma begins faint, though as it warmed revealed some red wine, roasting coffee, and cooking/roasting meat. Also some alcohol heat present in the nose. Taste is very winey (Merlot / Cabernet), also a bunch of raisin fruity-malt. Big heat in the finish. Palate is medium, very flat and slick. Big wine flavors are present throughout. Very interesting effort, truly nothing like anything I have had before. Thanks for sharing this one Greg! awaisanen (1279), Irvine, California, USA
| 3.8 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 3/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 15/20 | Feb 19, 2008 From a 500mL Bottle. Dark black, opaque, oily pour with a syrupy texture and a thin ring of wispy tan head. Intoxicating aroma of prunes, figs, espresso, and chocolate liquor creating a dripping alcoholic nose. Notes of molasses, smoke, and rummy raisins. Thick, rich, and heavy bouquet with a gently alcohol warming the nostrils. Full bodied, lightly carbonated mouthfeel with a moderately syrupy texture. Lots of sweet dark chocolate syrup up front on the palate with edges of charred brown sugar. A rich tobacco-like, toasted biscuit, smokey malt flavor develops mid-palate, along with more raisin and plum. Develops a bourbony-caramel hotness toward the finish as the alcohols warm; I’m finding them to be a bit hot for my liking. Definitely a solid "high gravity" imperial stout, but the drinkability and overall enjoyment of the beer still suffers from the over-indulgence and booziness, even when treated as a slow-sipping treat. leaparsons (4710), Leicester, Leicestershire, England
| 4.1 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 17/20 | Feb 19, 2008 Bottle. Very dark brown with a small beige head. Aromas are caramel and earthy coffee malts. Some burnt notes with green pine. Some whisky malt character. Flavours are caramel and spices with smoky notes and rich coffee. Lots of warming alcohol. Smooth on the palate. Powerful without being overpowering.
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