American style imperial stout by this Californian craft brewery, bomber shared with Goedele. Pale mocha-beige, mousy, very regular, slowly opening and dissipating head on a black beer with a hazy mahogany edge of about a quarter of an inch deep. Aroma of burnt toast, toasted walnuts, cold Irish coffee, hint of balsamic vinegar, black chocolate, whisky, dried figs, caramel, soy sauce, dry beef stock cubes. Sweetish onset, dried figs, old raisins, hint of black olive and soy sauce, softish carb, soft oily body, coating the mouth cavity with smooth roasted-nutty, black-chocolatey and eventually quite pronounced roasted coffee-bitter maltiness, yet feeling somehow a bit on the thinnish side for this style (and ABV); ends with ongoing roasty bitterness, enhanced by spicy hoppiness and whisky-like alcohol, yet without too many further ornaments; the bitter black coffee effect lingers for a long time. Very decent, but notably old school too, as I’m tasting an American stout of one or two decades ago; strangely the global ‘sweetening’ of the style and the use of desserty adjuncts has not reached this beer yet. I, for one, do not mind what some would probably regard as an outdated character: after all these sweet (and overly sweet) imperial stouts I keep encountering today, it feels really good to come across an old-fashionedly roasted one like this ‘Ale Epêteios’ – heck, it almost made me nostalgic.

65 cl bottle @ home
Aroma has quite intensive cocoa tones and very dark chocolate. Flavour has floury cocoa, very dark chocolate and grapefruity hoppiness. Finishes with some hop burn. The hoppiness does not quite fit in here; feels a bit harsh.

650ml bottle. Dry, roasty and burnt malty with some cocoa, coffee and chocolate notes. Quite dry and powdery with some harsh bitterness.

Bottle from the dregs run. Cheers Craig! Pours black with a thick tan head. Aromas of chocolate and coffee, light leather. Taste has a hint of prune juice, bitter coffee, light chocolate. Thin finish.

bottle at home ... dark black .. small tan head .. dry chocolate roast malt nose .. dusty chocolate .. light milky sour .. dark dry chocoalte roast .. really bitter roast .. long dry chocolate malts. ..

Bottle at Craigs. Pours black, nose is milk chocolate, roasty, taste is sugary, roasted, bitter, creamy.

Bottle at tasting. Black pour. Aroma of licorice, booze, coffee and cream. Taste has lots of licorice, chocolate, cream and booze. Too much licorice for me.