4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20Poured from a bomber into an English pint. Dark brown, almost black pour with a thick, creamy mocha colored head. Aroma has some caramel and chocolate sweetness, and a lot of ashy roasted notes. There also seems to be some fruit, almost cherry in the background, but I think the head is filtering a lot of it out. Flavor is really dominated by those roasted malts, with a little sweetness coming through as well, and some heat from the alcohol on the finish combined with some nice bittering from the hops. There also seems to be an almost oaky/vanilla element that blends into the roast. Mouthfeel is suprisingly thin, but the boldness of the flavors and heat from the alcohol let you know there is much more to it, and the finish is about as long and dry as they come. Overall this is a really nice imperial stout, but the roastiness just seems too dominant and masks a lot of the complexity. I’d be really interested to try this aged.
4.2 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 17/20
Bottle. Pours a near black color with a rather thick pillowy brown head on it. Nose is extremely roasty with some dark coffee elements to it and just a hint at sourness. Taste is quite dark and roasty as well, with a slight bit of bitterness to it. Very interesting and intense.
3.9 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Appearance: Black color with a big beige head. Nice lacing.
Aroma: Mild chocolate, coffee, roasted malt and some spicy notes.
Palate: Thick oily body. Slightly sweet and a mild bitterness. Soft carbonation. Dry texture.
Taste: Roasted malt, coffee, chocolate and some spices. Complex heavy stuff..
Overall impression: Tasty and powerful impy.
Personal stats: Bottle from Systembolaget in Uddevalla, Sweden.
4.4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 18/20
So smooth! Dark, black liquid. Three fingers high brown head. Vanilla, licorice, dark chocolate, soy sauce, wood, pine, ash and dried fruit. Love it!
3.3 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
Bottle on 10/29/12. Aroma is malty, roasted and alcoholic, mild spice. Flavor has bitter tones, fades into roasted malts, caramel and coffee. Fairly rich, mild spice. Mildy astringent finish. The alcohol gives it a warms finish but is fairly well masked. Good winter warmer ale, not a great imperial stout.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 13/20
Big, gutsy imperial stout. What more can you really say?? This beer has loads of flavour and is quite well balanced despite it’s massive OG.
4.1 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Ön mörk öl i min smak.............................................. via Beer Buddy for iPhone
3.3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Huge dark brown head. Opaque black body. Earthy chocolatey
spicy aroma with licorice and cardamom notes. Dry-sweet spicy
burnt licorice taste with chocolate pudding notes. Full-bodied.
Sharpish, hot mouthfeel. Dry chocolatey spicy earthy aftertaste
with licorice and alcohol notes. Some mint and bread, too, in
the background. Mineraly burnt traces, too. It’s quite
interesting, but also a bit sharp and domineering without really
offering that much for all the alcohol and hop bite. I will admit
that it does have considerable complexity. (0.65l bottle, from
... I’m not sure where from.)
4.2 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
22 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled on 8/27/2012. Pours dense pitch black color with a 2 finger dense and fluffy tan head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Nice dense foamy lacing clings on the glass. Aromas of big dark chocolate, roasted malt, caramel, toast, brown sugar, char, candi sugar, raisin, light coffee, and earthy hop spiciness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of dark malt notes with moderate hop balance. Taste of big dark chocolate, roasted malt, pine, char, caramel, toast, brown sugar, coffee, and roasted earthiness. Fair amount of roasted pine bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of dark chocolate, roasted malt, caramel, char, toast, brown sugar, coffee, pine, and earthy spiciness on the finish for a while. Very nice balance and complexity of roasted flavors, dark malt sweetness, and piney/spicy hops; with no cloying flavors after the finish. Medium-high carbonation and full bodied; with a creamy, slick, and lightly prickly mouthfeel that is very nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a slight warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is a very excellent Russian imperial stout. All around nice complexity and balance of roasted/dark malt flavors with moderate piney/spicy hop balance; and very smooth to sip on. A very enjoyable offering.
4.1 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 17/20
Bottle. Dark brown pour with a mocha head. Dark roasted malt aromas. Al kinds of bitter roasted malts, caramel, licorice, and baker’s chocolate. Smooth with a good body and very nice mouthfeel. A very nice imperial stout.
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20
Bottle. Black. Nose has licorice, soy sauce, and some chocolate roasty tones. Body is thick, full. Soy sauce, salty licorice. There’s also something I initially though were hops, but might be a spice of some kind.. a bit nutmeggy, vegetal. Intensive flavour, well done and all, but doesn’t really stand out, and I’m pretty sure I’ll forget this one after a week or two.
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