On draught at the brewpub, 4/16/05. Dark black with some cola-brown tinges on the edge. Greyish-brown head recedes to cover rather quickly. Aroma of lightly burnt malt, hints of tobacco and anise. Cola, coffee, chocolate are all present in good measure here, though the intensity of the aroma could be a bit stronger. They serve the beer very cold here. Flavor starts with soft vanilla beans mixed with milk chocolate covered raisins, very easygoing, pleasant roastiness, not overly drying or bitter. Finishes with a good deal of coffee flavor, ilghtly oily, but again not too bitter as to bore the drinker. Good malt body, which is medium and just a slight touch of thinning as it warms. Low carbonation, fairly low fruitiness for the style, but as the bartender told me, it was kind of a dry stout/foreign stout hybrid (and the distinctions can get pretty blurry between the two styles). Very flavorful, I will reiterate, and I was very impressed to find this so well-made already.