4.4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 18/20
2008 750 ml bottle with black and maroon wax on the cap. Pours a thick pitch black motor oil with a thick light brown head. Lots of lacing. Aroma of malts, molasses, tangy hops and a bit of citrus. Taste of rich malts, molasses, tangy hops and piny citrus. Similar taste to Dark Lord.
4.8 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 10/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 19/20
I’ve had a helluva time trying/wanting to rate this one... After comparing it to my other favs and taste preferences, here goes: Bottle, 2009 vintage. The first thing I noticed was the incredible amount of hoppiness in the nose. Roasty too. A rather simple aroma, but delightful. Nearly black pour with two fingers of creamy brown head. Sticky lacing is already from me moving the glass around. Wow! What a mouthful. Creamy, thick, and full of flavor. Nothing really stands out except the hops. Everything else blends together so well. Roast, chocolate, and espresso. With this perfect amount of hops it is just throwing me for a loop... I love Dark Lord and this is right on par with it. Was it worth the 10 hour drive and 5 hours waiting in line? Damn right it was. A beautiful beer that in my opinion is damn near perfect.
3.3 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
bottle. aromas of chocolate, raisins/figs, and caramel. black with a thin patchy head and great lacing. flavor is sweet and slightly acidic with lots of mineral character, a sort of soapy/grainy/chemical flavor that lingers. i don’t believe the hype. on the thin side and generally boring.
4.5 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 18/20
UPDATED: OCT 12, 2011 yes! can’t believe i finally get to try this, so unexpected too! .. lots of chocolate and dark evil fruits notes .. . creme brulee aftertastes .. . very smooth . .whats a bon-er? .. dark chocolate, light crystallized rum, and other crazy complex flavours... .. Brians wife Sarah had a great line about this beer at Zwanze day "Darkness!?! i’ll pay you in blowjobs" .. wow.. i wish i had a case!
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20
I found this to be fairly disappointing. 2008 bottle that I’ve been hanging on to and was very excited to open during the first brewday of the 2010 year. However, I found it to be too sweet to really enjoy. Tasted like something I would put in my coffee but not something that I wanted to drink by itself. Oh well.
3.4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20
UPDATED: JAN 8, 2010 Appearance: Pours jet black with a think, dense foamy tan head.
Aroma: Dark fruits such dates, figs, plums and raisins, toffee, dark roasted malts,herbal hops.
Taste: Milk chocolate, raisins, dark chocolate covered cherries, burnt roast, coffee, vanilla or caramel, herbal hps. Finishes with fruitiness and a bitter burnt malt note.
Mouthfeel: Thick and syrupy.
Overall: I don’t quite know what to make of this monster. I need to find something to pair it with to truly complement this beer. After only a small glass of this, I am already warmed up.
3.8 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Dark brown with a medium sized deep beige head. Sweet aroma with roasted malt and hints of dark chocolate. Sweet flavour with burned malt, dark chocolate and coffee notes. Finished sweet. Had expected a bit more really.
4.1 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
Big thanks to Dansting for this one! 22oz bottle served in a snifter. Poured a deep brown with a finger of tan head. Big piney hop aroma with some chocolate malt. Hits you right off with a blast of resiny hops. On the lighter side of full bodied. Not a lot of roasted barley, more on the black patent side. Fairly dry with a drying finish of hops and dark malt. Pretty drinkable for the ABV. It would be interesting to see how this ages.
More like a black DIPA (did I just make a new style?) than a RIS, but who really cares about conforming to style. This is a very interesting beer and fun to drink on a purely hedonistic level.
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