 SilkTork (3881), Rochester, Kent, England
May 22, 2003
Thanks to Linc for this bottle. Intensity without integration is my feeling on this one. I always feel a bit uncomfortable drinking a beer that nearly everyone has rated above 4, and that I find should be rated a bit lower. It could be that this beer needs some time to settle down and allow everything to mellow out, but at the moment it's a confused rush of alcohol, tangy carbonation and bitter bitter hops. Colour is nice - chocolate with scarlet depth. Aroma is powerful - chocolate, alcohol fumes and damp, rotting hay. Mouthfeel is syrupy and tangy with the carbonation until that dies down, then it just becomes syrupy. Flavour is chocolate again, and some lactic stout, then roasted barley, then the dry bitterness. The mouth is left with an unpleasant bitter mucus. I then dug out a bottle of Sam Smith's Imperial Stout and compared the two. The Sam Smith's didn't impress me as much as it has done on previous occasions - so maybe it's my mood?
s01gs (5), Göteborg, Sweden
does not count  Sep 5, 2008 Nice light brown head. Brown sugar is the dominant bouqet. Flavour is as expected: Coffee, chocolate, sligthly bitter with a noticable alcohol taste that spoils the beer experience to some extent More interesting than good.
lithy (149), Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Sep 5, 2008 Pitch black pour with a healthy smooth finger of milk chocolate head. Roasty chocolate aroma with some alcohol present. Smooth roastiness transitions effortlessly into hop and chocolate bitterness with a lingering roasted finish.
mirjukka (379), LOHJA, Finland
Sep 5, 2008 bottle 355ml 7,5e at Gallow’s Bird Espoo
murky black tiny beige head. Tickling strong aroma of roasted malts chocolate coffee full-body. Hops kick pleasantly in roastefd aftertaste
mjs (520), Helsinki, Finland
Sep 3, 2008 (Bottle) Black. Tan medium sized head. Coffee and rostedness in nose. Full bodied and dryish palate with little carbonation. Coffee, roasted malts, liquorice and bitterness in taste. Long coffee flavoured aftertaste. Very good imperial stout.
Jonte (374), Gothenburg, Sweden
Aug 31, 2008 Black color with a nice brown head. Aroma: Highly roasted malt, licorice, dark chocolate, coffee, hops, alcohol, and some light notes of dark fruit.
Flavor: Heavily roasted/burned and bitter with notes of espresso,salmiak, tar, dark chocolate and alcohol. Some sweetness but mostly on the roasted and bitter side. Dry finish. Probably even better after storing for a while.
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