7.6

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

Bottled. Dark pour. White beige head. Roasted malt and dark chocolate. Bitter chocolate taste. Some dark fruit and hops.

7

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

Bottle. Deep dark brown with a large crown of a tan head. Aroma is notes of dried fruit with hints of roasted grains and mocha. Taste is dried fruit, coffee, chocolate and dark toast.

8

RB score 3.75

7.4

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

Bottle from Bierkoning, Amsterdam. Aroma is roasted malt, caramel, chocolate, coffee, spicy Belgian yeast, molasses, touch of dark fruit and some liquorice. Flavour is above medium sweet with a decent roasty bitterness in the finish. Rather Belgian, dark malt and dried dark fruits with chocolate. Good one.

8.1

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

Tasted at November Beermalade tasting in Bratislavka. Dark brown color with small beige head. Oily viscosity. Aroma of chocolate malt, dark malt, light roasted malt, vnailla, dried figs, plums, riasins. Tast eis complex, slightly sweet with chocolate malt, roasted notes, caramel, dried figs, plums, riasins. Alcohol is well hidden.

9.1

Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8.5

Bottle at Beermalade tasting. Full body, medium carbonation. Med-high bitterness, medium sweetness. Lots of chocolate and cocoa, also lots of dried fruits, plums on top, raisins below. Quite complex malty base, with definite focus on roast though. Medium toffee, light deep coffee, light tobbacco, hint of ashy, tar. Med-light warmth, pleasant, rounded. Very tasty, balanced. Excellent. No bullshit, just great good old impy. Wow.

7.8

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

Bottle. Malty aroma and taste, roastyness, chocolate, plums, medium bitter, light sweet notes. Full body, creamy texture, malty roasty cocoa bitter sweet finish. Good.

7

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 7

Notes from October 2011 4-packer from somewhere up north(or was it Philly?). Best By 10/19/11. DFH rounded pint glass. Heavy-handed pour results in lots of sandy, dark tan-colored insulation foam on top of a black(on black) body. Sticky, archipelago-like lace. Sniff. Lots of cocoa, raisins, & soft citrus upfront. Coffee, hazelnuts, lactose, & lots of heat on the back. Roasty, charred sweetness. Ash. Earthy/minerally hops. Dry, bittergreen/rindy finish. Constantly frothy. Average body. Moderate carbonation, but pretty acidic. A bit too hot for being under 10%. A little tough.

4.8

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 3 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 4

Bottle from total wine. Of course this stuff pours big and black, its large and in charge. Aroma is volatile mild sweet terribly dark chocolate malty mess. First taste is boozy and somewhat thick. Viscous, almost mouth coating near cloying alky boost. Slight co2, just barely. Middle is becoming a little dizzying. Its starting to attack my brain cells. However, this is seeming to go down a little easier than most rude domestic impy stouts. In the finish, its just another big bad ass stout but just maybe, it could be more acceptable to a macro pale american lager lover due to its smoothness. The boozy finish and mild co2 make it quite deceptive.

7.6

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

This review was imported from my RateBeer ratings.

12 oz. bottle, 9.7% ABV, 40 IBU, Enjoy by: 20NOV2025

AROMA: Sligthtly sweet with (very) mild scents of chocolate, espresso, fig, and roasted malt. Frankly, I'm a bit disappointed in how muted the scents are.

APPEARANCE: Pours an opaque black with a medium tall, dark-tan head that dissipates slowly with excellent lacing. I wish the head were a bit taller, but otherwise, this is a nice looking beer.

TASTE: Moderately sweet with big flavors of espresso and cream, which is then followed by moderate flavors of fig and black cherry. On the finish, I get a mild bitterness that reminds me of unsweetened dark chocolate.

MOUTHFEEL: Full-bodied with a somewhat smooth and creamy texture that has just a touch of dryness at the end. Carbonation seems average.

OVERALL: For a beer that has such big flavor, I would expect something just as big for the nose. Unfortunately, it just isn't so. In fact, my only gripe with this beer is the muted aromas. Everything else is top-notch.

Note: RateBeer shows 60 IBU in the description for this beer, and the cardboard carton for the 6-pack that I bought also says 60 IBU. However, when I look at the information actually printed on each of the bottles, it says 40 IBU. I'm guessing that means that the beer has recently been reformulated and they are just packaging it in old cartons. Based on IBU ratings for other beers that I've tried I would say that 40 (or even lower) is the correct rating.