jb (1034), Rochester, New York, USA
| 4.2 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 9/10 | 4/5 | 7/10 | 5/5 | 17/20 | Jan 4, 2008 Very very black. But you knew that. Small tan head, glad it is present. Raspberries, chocolate, brown sugar in the nose. Palate is lush, oily, tiny bit of a burn from the alcohol, very thick, and leaves a thick coating on the palate. Taste is chocolaty (cocoa), burnt maltiness in the back, but the mouthfeel overwhelms the flavor. Very impressive and enjoyable. after4ever (2711), Brier, Washington, USA
| 4.1 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 5/5 | 8/10 | 5/5 | 15/20 | Jan 3, 2008 Updated: Mar 3, 2008750. Thanks, GoldTwins! Black. Enormous thick moussy surging burnt orange tannish head. God, what a beautiful pour. This is why Guiness sics its marketing department on surger plates and nitro widgets and "It’s alive!" slogans and whatnot. This looks beautiful--settles to a thin layer of film over an obsidian body, with sedimentary layers of woolly foam down the sides of the glass. Clearly there was barley malt involved in the brewing of this beer.
Sweet tangy candy bar nose--chocolate, roast, prunes, gently floral sweet oat notes, and molasses. Delectable.
Nice thick body, kinda sticky, kinda velvety. Nice. Not overpoweringly demanding of sippage, but not a wussy impy, either. All that aromatic business comes back around for the mid-palate: chocolate, roast, prunes, floral/oat, and molasses. Long sticky pruney/molasses finish. Great stuff. Hits my sweet tooth right where it lives.
Coming back to another bottle a bit later, this beer smells really boozy, and drinks that way a bit as well. This probably needs some time downstairs before it’s really completely drinkable. bitbucket (2030), Kirkland, Washington, USA
| 4.1 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 3/5 | 18/20 | Jan 3, 2008 Bottle, courtesy JB175. Pours blackish brown that admits a bit of light around the edges, topped by an orange-brown head. A bit of alcohol in the aroma, but the main event is the chocolate, toffee, raisins, molasses. Chewy full body, moderate carbonation. Taste of chocolate, molasses, coffee, licorice. Mildly bitter finish. barleyPops (1079), Quad-Cities, Illinois, USA
| 4.1 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 5/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 16/20 | Jan 1, 2008 bombers from Styles and Weepster, thank you! pours as thick and rich as a beer can get. aroma is mostly chocolate but with some coffee too. flavor is just the opposite with delicious roast coffee notes along with some bittersweet chocolate, dark ripened fruit and a touch of bitterness on the tail end. one of the better stouts I’ve had in a while. wetherel (1591), Encinitas, California, USA
| 4.1 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 3/5 | 9/10 | 4/5 | 17/20 | Dec 31, 2007 22oz bottle from nolankowal. Thanks John! Tasted at Logan’s house with Logan and deftim13. Malty and oaty aroma. Like smelling a bowl full of oatmeal. very nice. Alcohol is noticable, but not overpowering. A little bit of chocolate. StoutCat (81), Rockville, Maryland, USA
| 4.4 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 5/5 | 8/10 | 5/5 | 19/20 | Dec 30, 2007 Pours completely black, fine tan head on the glass perimeter. Dark chocolate and a slight roast character in the aroma, with only a very slight alcohol burn. Thick bodied, sweet roasty taste, with a great balance of bitter and sweet flavors. KieferUGA (461), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| 4.1 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 17/20 | Dec 30, 2007 Bottle courtesy of alexanderj (doesn’t remember if golubj paid for it or not), shared with kleyland and alexanderj at the GA-CA-VA-NY-MA pre-NYE Extravaganza. Pours a dark brown with a light tan head. Warming alcohol is very present in the aroma next to the roasted malts. The flavor is a treat of coffee, chocolate, and some wooden notes of an oak barrel. Unlike with the aroma, the alcohol is extremely well hidden. A touch of bitterness rounds this one out at the end. Very nice way to finish the pre-NYE Extravaganza. OldGrowth (1408), North Carolina, USA
| 3.9 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 16/20 | Dec 30, 2007 Bottle from Julio’s. Good aroma, sweet. Milky, soy sauce, baking chocolate, prune/raisin. Brownish black color, small head that faded quickly, minor lacing. Got a good head when I dumped the last of the bottle in it. I had pored it kind of slow the first time. Bitter sweet flavor. Like aroma, Oat is big, Little smokey and licourice. Thick body, creamy mouthfeel, bitter smokey finish. A good one to sip, was abit hot. Would be interesting to sit on one fro a few months to see if that mellowed, but I probably won’t find out as I don’t have another...
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