3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20Solid black, light ring of foam after it’s been sitting in my taster for a while. Strong espresso smell, if you like that kind of thing. Full of coffee bitterness, but a balancing sweet malt and smooth texture. It’s still a lot like drinking black coffee, but with a touch of alcohol to it.
4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Mug Club draft on tap at the brewpub (Lombard, IL). Had to stop in when I saw Tim add all these new beers. Pours a rich luscious blackish hue, firm haze, deeper dark body but not opaque as glowing brown and lighter ruby hit the edges and bottom. A cakey light brown head atop stays as a firm layer, laces ok overall. Aromas are rich coffee, roast and Sumatran blend. Roasty coffee, cream, and java rich flavors. Touches of cocoa, toffee, and toast. Biscuits, more earthy and mellow sweet coffee, rich ground roast, vanilla, touches of lactose milk sugars give that bent, with mellow milk chocolate and touches of cacao. Rich heavenly nose. Initial is medium bodied, perhaps a touch heavier with heavenly coffee grounds, cold coffee with creamy sweet lactose to help take the edge off. Roast, toast, toffee. Vanilla, cream, and cocoa elements. Oatmeal sweetness, biscuits, and lactose sugars. Rich flavors envelope the palate as a sweetened cold iced coffee beverage, flavorful yet still pretty drinkable, no element becoming cloying but firm and lovely. Really nice sweet stout with a huge coffee edge, still quite drinkable, as the coffee takes attention away from too much sweetness. Firm roast, mellow sweetness, rich iced coffee elements. Great job, Davin. Winner of a stout at 5.1 ABV that brings the flavor and is a winner for coffee lovers.
3.9 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
On tap at RB Yorktown and sampler served with a black/brown hue that showed some ruby highlighting at the base, frothy, tan head foam, and very clingy ribbons, streaks, & spots of lacing. The nose was ultra roasty, with a fresh ground scent, and some pleasant silkiness. The flavor followed similarly, adding low hop bitterness, dryness, soft carbonation, light creaminess, all in a medium body. A rich, cold cup of fresh-brewed coffee! Or in my case, a demitasse amount at dinner time. Very drinkable at 5.1%.
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