Can from Bierhalle Deconinck. A hefty imperial stout, brewed by Stillwater and Casita Cerveceria (the latter being totally unknown to me) at Two Roads’ facilities in Baltimore. Thin, regular, greyish beige head, a tad darker and more brownish coloured here and there, quickly reduced to a steady ring around the glass and a few small patches in the middle, over a black beer with hazy mahogany brown edges, its true colour only visible for about one millimeter off the edge. Strong and classic ’American impy’ bouquet of caramel sauce, brownies, ’fondant’ chocolate bars, whisky, vanilla beans (though not actually used here - must be an effect of fermentation), dried plums, ’Haagse hopjes’ and quite a lot of it, rum-soaked raisins, sweet pipe tobacco, leather, candied dates, cappuccino, shoe polish, liquorice, mocha ice cream, vague hints of damp forest soil, mushrooms fried with brown sugar, black olives, toast, tea. Candied sweetness in the mouth, fig and raisin as usual, baked banana perhaps, sourish undercurrent (dried berries) but more umami coming forward, a tad soy sauce- and even gravy-like; it is still the sweetness, though, that prevails over anything else, as is so often the case with modern American style imperial stouts. Carbonation remains very soft, with a very thick, viscous, oily mouthfeel. Thick body of huge toffeeish, nutty and toasted malts, a classic combo of sweet and bitter, with more coffeeish roasted bitterness towards the end, completely lining the mouth cavity in bittersweetness; the roasted bitterness is sharpened by a firm ’sting’ of peppery, bit grapefruity, leafy hop bitterness in the finish, immediately followed by - unsurprisingly - a strong, somewhat wry but ’bearable’ and heating, bourbon-ish alcohol glow. Still the alcohol, even at 13% ABV, does not dominate too much - or rather, less than expected - and the thick, rich, velvety malt bittersweetness and spicy hop bitterness linger in the back of the mouth beautifully, with this coffee and caramel combo of ’Haagse hopjes’ all the way at the back. Classic for an American imperial stout in all respects, nothing truly different here from what countless other modern craft breweries are doing these days, but technically very correct, rich and deeply layered with the right body, mouthfeel and flavour composition - of all the right flavours one would expect from the style. Well done.

Draught@CBC2016. Black colour with a mediumsized brown head. Aroma is liquorice, toffee, mild roast and alcohol along with some ripe fruits. Flavour is raisins, plum, liquorice, some tobacco and mild roasted notes along with some toffee and alcohol along with mild nutty notes as well.

Tap at TCBW. Pours black. Aroma is sweet, roast, vanilla, coffee. Flavor is sweet and bitter, roast, coffee, booze, malt. Overall: very good.