santos999 (318), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA May 1, 2008 Beautiful black body with a creamy, frothy brown head. Smells incredibly oaky, with strong bourbon, chocolate, espresso, musty, and vanilla notes. Strong dark fruits on the tongue, followed by bourbon, oak, roastiness, espresso, and cocoa, finishing long, sweet, smooth and creamy, with an ever present burning sensation in the chest. The palate on this is fantastic - full, creamy, and smooth as hell. This is really great barrel aged stout, that is not too heavy on the oak. The oak plays with the port type flavors of the aged stout instead of overpowering them. A great example of the style.
Skyview (4007), Papoose Jct., Minnesota, USA Nov 8, 2009 Sampled from 12-oz bottle shared by deliriumfest. Pours an opaque near black colored brew with a thin tan head that quickly dissipates to a film top. Aroma of toasted dark malt, a little soy, black licorice, coffee and vanilla. Taste is full bodied, smooth and thick, with flavors of toasted dark malt, coffee, bittersweet chocolate, and a touch of vanilla. Finish is semi-sweet with some chocolate/vanilla aftertaste and then a soy finish with alcohol warmth. Impressive Imp Stout. DeadGirl (192), West Palm Beach, Florida, USA Nov 7, 2009 Pours dark and opaque from the 12oz. bottle: Nose is sweet, malty licorice and alcoholic. Flavors are more on the caramel, vanilla, oak, nutty side. Solid. Drinkability: Light bodied for a stout, yet maintains a multi-dimensional presence. Rebuy: Yes. #192 on 07112009, DG. oteyj (716), Canterbury, New Hampshire, USA Oct 19, 2009 Tar pour with a half finger beige head. Upon opening, I was literally blasted with oak. It felt like I was at a sawmill. Other aromas that come through: roast, booze, 100% cocoa chocolate, coffee, smoke and vanilla. Flavor is loaded with bourbon and vanilla- I’m a sucker for this combo. Very sweet- toffee and caramel sneak in with copious roast and some creamy cocoa nib. Slight warming booze quality near the finish. I’ve heard this was over oaked from a friend- I think they’re dead wrong. Coffee mocha sneaks in as well to create a well rounded gamut of flavors. Palate is thick, silky, alcoholic (despite the relatively low abv for the style) and somewhat dry. I was very impressed- I think this is under rated. craftycarl21 (513), South Hero, Vermont, USA Oct 19, 2009 Pitch black pour, thin consistency, small, bubbly beige head. Aroma is heavy with oak, vanilla, chocolate, roast, espresso, along with more subtle bits of cream, booze, and smoke. Flavor is quite sweet, with lots of vanilla, milk chocolate, and caramel. Some bourbon and alcohol comes out closer to the finish, and a bit of roast and coffee cuts through the sweetness at parts as well. Palate is a bit thin for my liking, but not terrible. The oaking in this beer is heavily pronounced, and while not my favorite in terms of imperial stouts, I can’t truly fault it; the flavor is still quite solid. Certainly better than I expected from a brewery that I consider generally underwhelming. Solid impy. beerandIT (177), Richmond, Virginia, USA Oct 15, 2009 Pouring a very dark almost pitch black color. I had this one from a bottle. On the nose I get chocolate, coffee, toffee, along with some subtle caramel notes there as well. On the palate I get chocolate, along with coffee and toffee again. Hints of bourbon linger around as well. This one has been aged for a year and I would not recommend aging it much longer. Definitely want to drink it now if you have any that are this old. Changed (162), Ithaca, New York, USA Oct 10, 2009 12 oz bottle. Pours motor oil black with tan head. Aroma of coffee, roasted malt, and chocolate. Taste shows the oak and vanilla. Great balance, great smoothness. This beer goes down silky smooth at 8.2%. A little pricey at $3.50 a bottle, but I feel less upset after I’ve tried this bad boy- a top Imperial Stout. jrmac (210), USA Oct 5, 2009 Pour is black with massive brown foam. Nose is chocolate, malt, and coffee. On the palate you certainly can taste the oak and vanilla flavor along with coffee and chocolate. Exceptional. DeputyAndy (60), New Jersey, USA Oct 3, 2009 Pours a pitch black with a mocha head. Very nice chocolatey aroma with some coffee hints. Very smooth stout, not too hard to drink, with a nice palate and overall chocolatey flavor. Coffee and malts are still present but the prevailing sweet flavor with little bitterness gives this stout a great deal of drinkability.
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