Rock Bottom Denver Black Bull Imperial Stout

Brewed by Rock Bottom Denver
Style: Imperial Stout
Denver, Colorado USA

On tap at Rock Bottom Denver 2007 vintage poured an opaque black with a small lasting brown head. Aromas of dark chocolate, roasted malt, light coffee and light vanilla. Palate was light to medium bodied and smooth. Flavors of dark chocolate, roasted malt, light coffee and light vanilla with a smooth roasty finish.

Draft at the brewery. Opaque impy looking with a 1/8 inch dense beige head. Nose-biscuits, malty, light maple syrup, clean hops. Taste-low to medium sweetness, unsweet raisin and fig, dry toast, light mace and nutmeg, light pepper, goods use of spice, sweetness not too upfront, light bark, light dark fruit phenols, honey, finishes with a thick mouthfeel like honey. Very well done.

tap at the brewpub. inky with a thick brown head. strong chocolate nose with a raisin and alcohol hint. licorice and coffee notes mixed with the chocolate flavor. alcohol is noticeable, but is sweet enough not to finish dry. some marshmallow and caramel notes with just the right buttery toffee. a nice one to have after watching the cubs kick the rockies ass. 5 7 7 4 14 rerate. 1-29-07 forgot i had rated this so i took notes again. a lot of caramel, some coffee w/cream taste. very smooth. i could drink a lot of this. a good way to start the afternoon on a cold day. black with a lasting lacing brown head. didn’t get much in the nose. just a bit of generic sweetness. but they don’t have to smell good to taste good. chocolate comes up as it warms. berry finish with a grapeskin note. 4 4 7 4 16 rerate again: deep very dark brown with a non lasting but lacing head. smells like nickels, cocoa, ratman, and iced tea. dry, yep, dry cocoa nibs, and red wine, and cherry finish. roasted tomato throughout this that really takes away here, but the chocolate is alright 4 6 4 2 12

Draft: Penetrable black. Snugly packed rich-khaki foam. Dull, yeasty aroma with spicy alcohol, prunes, licorice, roasted barley, and a touch of chocolate. Tacky and very oily. Full bodied. Initially quite rich, soft and supple, but the overt presence of yeast soon muffles the richness. Pronounced nougat fluffs up the body and lends some sweetness, as silky notes of barley softly emerge. Very little richness and seemingly devoid of any black malt astringency or harsh roast to deepen the fruitiness or allay the taffy-like yeast. Molasses-soaked chocolate cake is vaguely perceptible, but any complementary espresso or char notes fail to make an impact. Rather wet and bland in the finish, as the malts, or lack thereof, never fully blossom, which leaves room for a lingering afterimage of silky barley, prunes, tacky yeast and a faint metallic zing. Pretty ordinary example and it certainly is not very Imperialish. Far too sweet (also lacks depth, malt richness, and the attenuation is poor) overall, and the nose is yeasty and slightly worty.

Black oily body, with a very small brown head. Roasty coffee nose, with a somewhat light to medium body, and becomes increasingly harder to drink as it warms as it just becomes to sticky on the palate. Bitterness transcends through all the other flavors, leaving the chocolate and the fruitiness in the back seat of flavor.

Chocolate and liquorice notes to the toasted malt aroma. Opaque black body with low tan head that recedes to ring. Bittersweet coffee blends with chocolate and roasty flavours with moderate bitterness chased by a lasting sweetness. Medium body feels somewhat thin with pointy, aggressive carbonation and strong alcohol warming. Sampled on tap at Rock Bottom Denver with Olivier_MTL and Rastacouere.

Draught @ the brewery. Black color, with a small brown head. Mildly aromatic, with prominent malt aromatics, which hints of black currants, cocoa and chocolate and very low aroma hops, which is usually great, unless the malt aroma is dull, as in this case. Nice rich body. Flavor is very fruity for an imperial stout, malt accented, with hints of chocolate and roast and a mildly citrusy hop finish.

Couleur noire très foncée. Arômes de chocolat, de café, de mélasse et de houblon à la fraîcheur rappelant la menthe. Une multitude de saveurs des malts rôtis sont enveloppées de chocolat et de vanille et s’expriment dans un parcours libre et sans obstacle. Faible amertume en finale, texture sirupeuse, corps d’épaisseur pleine, carbonatation douce et active. En fût, Rock Bottom, Denver.