Imperial Brown Ale

Bottled 330ml. -from Vrutak Zagreb. Almost black coloured, medium sized brownish head, mild caramel/chocolate nose. Light roasted malt, caramel, notes of herbal hops and weak chocolate with rather dry sweet finish. Nothing more nothing less than ok...Expected more.

0.33 l bottle at Craft Room, Opatovina, Zagreb. Nice big proper glass. Dark brown to black with a small off-white head. Light spicy, roasty, something herbal, dry. Light spicy and dry. Medium body, medium carbonation, dry roasty finish. Bit light, bit odd use of hops.

Tap (Craft Room). Visited the place for Christmas Eve, so decided to retry the Imperial Brown, freshly put on the tap... and wow, this was almost a new beer! Almost black brown body with a tan head. Nice, dry soft caramel aroma, light roastiness. The taste goes along similar lines, good balance between caramel-like and roasty maltiness, even balanced by a well integrated herbal hoppiness. Much, much better than earlier on in the bottle. Right now, I’ll give it a medium rating, but if things "even out", I’ll drop the initial rating. 7/4/7/3.5/14 Bottle (thanks Riba!). An imperial brown ale made by the guy who made a top 10 brown ale along similar lines. Now if that isn’t something that will raise your expectations... Misty brown body wtih a small, lasting tan head. Aroma... alcohol, dark malts, caramel and more alcohol. Light taste, vague chocolate-flavored cereal, somewhat empty, light bitterish taste, however flat and watery, light dog food. My first real disappointment from these guys. I had hoped for a very good beer, and got... eh. 5/4/6/3/11