Imperial stout with raisins and rum-soaked vanilla beans, bottle at Bar Beenhouwer in Ghent. Thin, open, yellowish beige rind on a black beer with mahogany edges. Aroma of hot black chocolate sauce, liquorish, caramel sauce, Ersatz chocolate, rum indeed, molasses, sweet pipe tobacco, bayleaf, raisinbread touch but no explicit raisin and vanilla remains subdued as well. Sweet onset, bit sticky even, fig and date notes, very light umami hint somewhere, soft carb; thick, oily, viscous body, very toffeeish, Ersatz-chocolate-like and nougat-like middle, soft, sticky and sweet, but with an upsurge of roasted, coffeeish bitterness in the end; the sweet chocolate sauce-like effect lingers along with more bitter, molasses- and coffee-like impressions, all heated by considerable, peppery, rum-like alcohol, but the vanilla effect I was looking forward to, remains a bit too subdued for me. Typical modern, sweet and boozy, flavoured imperial stout – decent enough (even if the vanilla should have been more clear), but I often look back to the roasted bitterness and relative straightforwardness (no other flavourings added) of the strong stouts of yesterday with a certain nostalgia when I come across these…

Bottle. Almost black. Loads of dark chocolate in the aroma. Malty sweet flavor with chocolate and apple syrup/ Full bodied, fat malty. No carbon wharsoever. Roasty finish. Not bad, could be much better.

Liquorice

Tap at Beergeek Bar. Huge thanks Ana J.! Pitch black, tan head. Huge, heavy grapes and raisins in the aroma. Rum barrel? Makes sense. Very smooth, lean but elegant raisiny/rummy taste, ashy and roasty touches too. Very much a nice RIS, not utterly fantastic, but holds its own.