330ml bottle. Pours black with a fizzy brown foam head that quickly dissipates away. Nose of roast malt, molasses, chocolate & coffee, dried fruits, raisins. Taste is sweet malty, roasted, chocolate, coffee, dark fruits, nutty, marzipan, with liquorice and earthy bitterness. Smooth mouthfeel, full to medium bodied, soft carbonation, dry bitter nutty finish. Very drinkable.

Bottle, courtesy of SinH4, 2015 vintage, BB 21/05/2020. A pitch black and highly viscous draught. Intense ripe dark fruit, some coffee and chocolate. Heavy, yet not overwhelming, fine smooth carbonation, a bit boozy. Almost like eating a cake, sweet and sticky. Good balance though. A very nice beer.

Miltei sysimusta, vaikuttavan näköinen olut kohtalaisella, ruskealla espressomaisella vaahdolla, joka jättää myös hieman pitsiä jälkeensä. Tuoksussa makeahkoa maltaisuutta, paahteisuutta, lakritsia ja hieman kahvia. Maku aloittaa vyörytyksen kermaisella karamellisuudella, sen jälkeen kuvaan tulee mukaan espressomaista kahvia, paahteisuutta ja lakritsisuutta. Loppupuolella suutuntuma kuivuu ja mukaan tulee varsin vahvaa katkeruutta ja mausteisuutta. Keskitäyteläinen/täyteläinen suutuntuma sopivalla hiilihappoisuudella. Vaikka kaikkea on paljon, on maun hieno siirtymä makeasta alusta kuivaan mausteiseen loppuun toimiva ja kokonaisuus kuitenkin varsin pehmeän juotava.

Svart med fingerhøyt lys brunt kaffeskum. Lukter lakris, kakao, espresso, mørk sjokolade alt jeg forventer av en imp stout. Noe vingummi solbær, gidder ikke drikke opp denne, bare sitte å lukte. Fyldig. Søt, svisker, tørket frukt, salt lakris kaffe. Søt start, med bittersalt avsluttning.

Tak, czy butla, czy lane, czy zimne, czy letnie - jest mega. Slodkie akurat, pelne, intensywne, waniliowe, szlachetnie alko, klasa

From Jul 2008


This pours from 11.2oz bottle a pitch black with a 3 finger and growing head of foam.excuse me while I knock down the foam some....Hmmm, that tan foam sure is tasty. ;^) Awesome head retention here and the lacing is very good.

The smell is loaded with dark fruit, caramel, and did somebody mention grapes?? You darn tootin there is a grape aroma here. wow.

The taste is pretty darned sweet with a good caramel presence and some figs, some plum, gee wiz grapes, some dark chocolate, slight coffee note, but...I just can't get over that grape. Who'd have thunk that it would work so well in beer?? Anyhow, I digress.

Wonderfully full bodied and silky smooth, light in carbonation, it finishes with a nice dash of chocolate and I'm going to say milk chocolate because it's on the sweet side. Still, as sweet as it is, it's very drinkable because it's not cloying at all. And the alcohol, which is quite substantial, has no presence in either the smell or the taste. It only shows up some time after the swallow. Very unusual example of the style and one that I favour a lot.

Bottom line: Yeah, it's a superhyped brew and I couldn't resist seeking some out(Belgian Shop) and I *did* pay a few bucks to have 6 bottles delivered but, if I didn't like it as much as I did, I would say so and follow up with "never again" In this case, I think what I got for my money is a very special brew and I'm glad for it.