9.8

Appearance - 9 | Aroma - 9.5 | Flavor - 10 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 10

One of the top stouts from one of the top stout specialists in the world, invariably featuring in lists of the world's best beers along with a couple of other stouts from the same brewery - I have been looking forward to tasting this one for years now, never quite had the chance, but obtained a bomber of the 2021 vintage through a private collector and my fiftieth birthday today seemed like the best occasion I could think of to open it. Open, deep mocha-coloured (brown), tiny-bubbled, dense ring of foam over a jet black beer - with perhaps one millimeter or less of a mahogany tinge around the edge. Intense, mesmerising bouquet of all the good things one can find in a top notch U.S. style "impy": clear whisky upfront, embedded in blankets of chocolate ganache, soufflé au chocolat, thick fudge, black peppercorns, latté macchiato, cold Irish coffee, bayleaf, vanilla-exuding oak wood (strong), hints of cinnamon rolls, chocolate chili, cognac, artisan mocha ice cream, vague fond brun, reduced port sauce, pear syrup, fig liqueur, nougat, touch amaro. Utterly dense, concentrated onset, lots of 'praline'-like sweetness, pear syrup, yellow raisin, fig compote - with a waferthin sourish edge but sourish as in blackberry jam and not more; a brief moment of fond-like umami is present too, but all these flavours are rolled up into one ball of deliciousness from the start. Soft carbonation adds to a very dense, oily, velvety mouthfeel - very thick as one can expect from the genre, but also exceptionally smooth, maintaining relatively high drinkability (again: for the genre). Thick layers of toffee, chocolate ganache, pure milk chocolate, coffee liqueur and even caramel tart build up, with these candied dark fruit flavours continuing - also carrying onwards this sourish blackberry-like touch which subtly breaks the sweetness a bit. Tannins remain fairly soft while the vanillin aspect of the oak is very strong retronasally, along with all these other aromatic impressions of bayleaf, mocha and very vague (but in this case actually ornamental) liquorice, while a spicy hop dosage sits underneath, adding foundation. Roasted bitterness, as in coffee, remains subordinate to toffee-chocolate-caramel sweetness, but it too lurks in the depths of this wonderful beer - until the whisky sets in, slowly but steadily, heating the back of the throat without scorching it. Whisky, toffee, chocolate and vanilla flavours last forever after swallowing and remain supported by peppery hops. The perfect winter warmer Iowa style, stylistically quite old school to contemporary American standards in fact (even though, having originated 'only' in 2012, it is by no means a pioneer in the style), executed to perfection; not just the rich tapestry of flavours impresses, the perfect mouthfeel does so too, just as is the case in its even more coveted brother Kentucky Brunch: every time I have a Toppling Goliath treat like this, the sheer velvetiness and smoothness baffles me. This is an assassin of a beer indeed, but one with velvet gloves - and fine dining manners. I could not have wished for a more satisfying beer on not just a snowy winter night, but my fiftieth birthday as well: this is beer drinking at its most refined, classy and glamorous. Rightfully regarded as a masterpiece - perhaps even a tad more convincing in fullness and velvetiness than Mornin' Delight, but also just a tad less entirely perfect than the divine Kentucky Brunch (booziness being just a smidge more apparent here), so have a score right in the middle of what I rated these two other Toppling Goliath legends.

9.3

Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 9.5 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 9

Один из лучших стаутов что я пил. Нереальная глубина шоколада, ванили и бочки. Истинное блаженство от мира стаутов. Единственое, что последнии версии слишком уж тяжелые по телу.

8.5

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

18.10.2025: Taster from 0,66l(?) bottle after Wild Festival Groningen Session 2. Tastes lightly sweet, oak, bourbon, vanilla, nuts, very oily mouthfeel, very good balance though 8.5

Rerate 08.11.2025: from tap at Billies Craft Beer Fest. Tastes soy sauce, bourbon, wood, oak, spices.8.2

9.5

Ciemnobrunatne praktycznie czarne nieprzezroczyste piwo z całkiem solidną pianą. Aromat deserowych czekoladek z suszonymi owocami polanymi whisky. W smaku czekoladki, wisnie z whisky, wanilia i kokos. Słodkie ale przełamane nutami palonymi. Dobrze zbalansowane. Rocznik 2023 - żółty lak

7.6

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

2016 Purple wax bomber, drunk 6/10/17.
Dark, inky, ebony of undetermined clarity, seemingly opaque. Dark tan head atop is initially large and shows moderate retention.
Nose is thick with rich fudge peppered by dark fruits and a liqueur-like character reminiscent of rum-vanilla-chocolate. There’s a good bit of ash and/or char-like "dryness" on the end to blunt some of this "sweet" fudge character and thankfully no sharp alcohol ever hits on the finish; probably a product of its year in the bottle. Nicely aromatic, as one would expect, and though I wouldn’t go nearly as far as to call this a "British-style Imperial Stout" as many apparently do, it does have a good helping of dark fruits that the newer American versions are sorely lacking. Liqueur-like vanilla, German chocolate cake and rich char linger long on the finish.
Rich and quite sweet in the mouth, unsurprisingly. It’s "thick" though thankfully not syrupy or cloying. Still, there’s a ton of base malt here, mixing with the dark malt to provide quite a bit of fudge character. Good amount of dark fruit, adding prunes, raisins, plums, etc...that help add complexity and gentle acidity in concert with the moderate roast and char character. Carbonation is low but engaging while alcohol is held to just a bourbon-rum-vanilla-like character that is quite enjoyable. Strong ash and light vinousness do indeed dry out the finish somewhat, though the beer is still very much on the sweet side. As is usually the case with these "iconic" monster American Imperials, I’d prefer it be considerably more dry, but it’s still pretty well-done/not messy for its size.

8.3

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 8

Bottle shared with and courtesy of Kermis. Big thanks. Poured black in colour with little life. The aroma is big roasty, molasses, warm alcohol. The flavour is strong sweet, with a smooth, rich, roasty, liquorice, chocolate, boozy alcohol bitter palate and a lingering liquorice bitter finish and an oily mouthfeel. Full bodied with soft carbonation.

8

Dark sweet roasted malty with hits of roasted peanut and lots of roasted malt, full bodied, dark malty lingering finish. Gorgeous.

4.5

Not my thing