7.6

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Bottled 330ml. -from Pivoteka Zagreb. Pitch black coloured, medium sized brown head, chocolate and light alcohol in the nose. Roasted malt, chocolate, cocoa, wood and mild licorice without noticable alcohol. Roasty finish. Decent brew.

6.9

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

Bottled 330ml (Beer Merchants)
Opaque colour, small beige head. Roasted, cocoa, caramel, coffee in the nose. Full-bodied. Toasted, inky, coffeish flavour. Somewhat alcohol and quite rough. Tolerable but there are so many better imperial stouts nowadays around.

6.4

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

Bottled @ Miezis un kompānija, Riga Poured almost black in color, thin off white head. Aroma is molasses, dark chocolate, dark fruits mostly. Felt ashy, full bodied with dark fruits and dark chocolate. malty, heavy brew.

8.4

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 7.5

Tap. Black color, coffee foam. Aroma: dried fruit and whiskey, prunes, port wine, molasses. Taste: sweet, wine, prunes and whiskey, powerful, smooth, good imperial stout.

8

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

Keg at De Hems, Soho. Black pour with a tan head. Aromas of dark roast coffee, molasses, light smoke, some dark fruit. Flavours of liquorice, coffee, dark chocolate, butterscotch. Long alcohol burn. Creamy, sweet finish.

7.4

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

Draught @ Landgang brewery, Hamburg. Pours black with a small brown head. Aroma of roasted malt, caramel, coffee, dark chocolate, little dried fruit. Flavor of roasted malt, caramel, chocolate, heavy english licorice, wood, alcohol. Medium body, average carbonation, sweet and light bitter finish with warming alcohol. 090219

7.2

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

Bottled January 2017, drunk January 2019.
Dark black with some deeper mahogany brown hues in the light, good clarity and a small, grey-tinged, tan head that fades steadily to a ring.
Initial aromas are not promising; bad even. Just smells oxidized, much more than it should for two years, and possibly even infected on account of the intense plummy fruitiness. But as I let it breath, it gets better and the oxidation seems to fade, while the intense fruitiness seems to be just due to a ton of roasted barley or the brown malts they speak of. It's a massive amount of plum-prune-raisin-vinousness with good bitterness/acidity and no hop character or fudgey/American-style maltiness/sugariness. No alcohol or flaw. Very intensely English-styled.
In the mouth it's more of the same; tons of roasted barley imparting heavy prune-plum-grape. Light baker's chocolate and just hints of caramel through the middle with a medium body for the style, not thin, but very highly attenuated. Cocoa powder/baker's chocolate is rather heavy, but the carbonation is still here and quite strong which helps disperse some of this cocoa-prune heaviness. Low alcohol, no flaw. I appreciate the English variety of RIS, given how close to extinct the style is, but this one might be taking it a bit far.

5

This really doesn't hide the alcohol at all. Not at all well balanced. Shame because I like this brewery a lot.

7

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

330ml bottle. Pours jet black with a large head. Aroma is oily roast and tar, some dark chocolate. Taste is oily liquorice to start. Liquorice, blackcurrant and roast finish.