Southern Tier Jah-va

[Bottle, thanks Guerde] Pours dark brown with a decent tan head that fades to just a ring quite quickly. Aroma is sweet malt, barley, alcohol that stings the nose, some roasted malt and coffee. The taste is quite sweet up front and big on barley, chocolate, coffee, and alcohol. Fairly thick mouthfeel and quite a long finish of barley and chocolate. A unique imperial that is well done, but a little too sweet for me to go higher with the score.

(bottle) Pours black with a tan head. When cold the aroma is very subtle with some light hops, and just a small amount of roasted malt(barley). Upon warming the aroma becomes fruity with some cherry and just a bit of banana and vanilla, along with alcohol. It really smells like the Big Eddy RIS. The coffee doesn’t really show up until the beer gets rather warm, and even then it’s not that strong of a smell. The taste is really sweet with a lot of dark fruit, chocolate, and a really nice finish of roasted malt and coffee that rounds out to a mild bitterness. The chocolate becomes even stronger when the beer is warmer. The alcohol shows up right after the dark fruit and chocolate tastes, but it’s never intrusive. Mouthfeel is full, chewy, and quite smooth.

Bottle: pours dark black, with a frothy tan head, aroma of coffee (obviously) but not as strong of an aroma as I was expecting, some dark chocolate and toasted malt aroma as well, taste of coffee, chocolate and malt, thick mouthfeel, slight dry finish and very smooth. Damn good!

Pours a black color with huge frothy tan head. Aroma is hugely hoppy with lots of citrus and floral hops. Hmm, not much coffee in the aroma, just an intense hoppiness. Taste is light coffee, milk chocolate, light caramel, and alcohol. For 12% this beer is pretty smooth and the alcohol is pretty well hidden. The coffee only shows up in the swallow but it doesn’t matter, the beer still holds is own despite lacking the coffee punch I expected.

Pours a pitch black with a huge puffy mocha head. Looks absolutely beautiful. Aroma is largely hoppy, with a hint or roasted malts. Nice mouthfeel. Taste finishes hoppy with some chocolate and coffee notes. Expected a bit more coffee taste but still a very well-balanced impy.

Bottle: Thanks to cmr1517 for the share. Pitch black with some halo-esqe notes of a head. Massive mocha espresso nose, black malt and some mild hops are present. Rich, creamy mouth feel. Dry, vietnamese coffe taste, some cream, dark chocolate and oak are present along with some tobacco notes. This is easily one of the best stouts I’ve ever had, and ST’s finest.

bottle. pours opaque black with a thinnish tan head that sticks around a bit, and leaves hints of lacing here and there. i don’t like coffee, but this stuff smells amazing. big coffee kick, but without that acidic edge that turns me off the stuff, plus a good deal of chocolate and roasted malts that don’t let the stout character get away. there’s also definitely a note of some piny floral hops beneath all that malt. the coffee is somewhat subdued in the taste (not a bad thing), with the roasted malts shining more, as well as bits of chocolate, some dark fruity esters, and again a note of piny floral hops. there’s also a hint of that 12% at the end of the taste. light bitter on the finish, with a hint of sugary sweetness backing it up, and tons of warming. there’s a lingering coffee-like aftertaste, but it’s not like i just drank some coffee; it’s much more pleasant, like the smell of coffee brewing. thick, silky, and oily in the mouth, quite full-bodied, and the right amount of carbonation to tickle but not stand out. frankly, i’m amazed that this is 12%. it goes slowly, and is quite warm, but there’s very little hint of that in the taste. especially considering i don’t drink coffee, i found this immensely enjoyable. complex and roasty, and all the right flavors in a coffee stout.

Bottle, thanks to pantanap for this bonus! I enjoyed this one with some Intense Dark Ghirardelli Midnight Reverie chocolate that went very well with the aspects of the beer. Dank! Pours still and deep black with maroon edges. Fine brown swirls with no head. Really robust coffee bean aroma with notes of wet soil, charred wood, dark chocolate mixed into oatmeal, and licorice liqueur. Flavors follow up the major coffee base with sweet molasses and caramelized sugars. Finishes waaay bitter, which I like! 125 IBU’s, wow! Thick and oily mouth-feel that coats the palate nicely. Coffee was almost over the top, but still a standout and unique brew.