Wake Up Dead

Put away through the summer after getting this 12 oz bottle in Vegas at a Total Wine over March Madness. Chilly outside, time is right. In it goes into my New Belgium tulip, ideal for imperial stouts. A body blacker than Hades and a touch of a tan head, no real surprise. A sniff follows, Goodness, is that swell or what. Chocolate, berries, alfalfa, dark earth, trust me on this. But it is the taste I am here for, here we go. Charcoal, burnt oak, semi-sweet chocolate, slick leather in taste and feel. No alcohol overbearance I can. Decent but far from being top of my list for imperial stouts.

From recently unearthed notes from August 2016. Bottle from the Utobeer Market Stall, Borough. Black pour with a wispy beige head. Nose of liquorice toffee, black treacle, prunes, blackcurrants, figs, dark chocolate. Flavours of liquorice, dark chocolate, dark roast coffee. Long alcohol burn. Sweet boozy finish.

Going on record here as saying I'm not a fan of nitro imperial stouts. The tinier bubbles and finer, smoother texture accentuates the elements I generally dislike about RISs, making them overly sweet and highlighting the elevated ABV. Wake Up Dead Nitro is no different; the slick carbonation brings out much sweeter chocolate and dark fruit notes, while making sure you feel every last digit of the 10.2%. Some notes of anise and roasted malt creep around the periphery, but mostly this pint's about syrupy chocolate and a liqueur finish, neither of which I want in my beer. Good aroma, though, mocha and a hint of liquor heat. Looks nice as well--most nitro stouts do--with a unyielding cap of beige foam and sticky lacing. But the texture's too thin for such a big beer, and the sweetness kills it. Would love to try the original bottled version.

Flaske 330ml fra Vinmonopolet Tromsø - Langnes. Svart. Middels høyt skum med litt farge. Teppelacing. Lett sjokoladearoma. Silkemyk munnfølelse. Smaken sjokolade, lakris & litt frukt. Bli alkoholisk tørr etter hvert.

Nitro version bottle pour into shaker pint glass from Redstone Liquors, Stoneham. Appearance is virtually opaque (slight red seen with light source directly behind), mild cascading nitro sparkle, 1/2-finger width light brown creamy head with good retention and minimal soapy lacing. Aroma is rich roasted malt, light coffee and dark chocolate. Taste is dark fruits, roasted malt, with one in the four pack with fairly strong alcohol (like rubbing alcohol), though this mellowed as it warmed and was not present in the others. Palate is medium-to-full bodied with silky smooth texture, soft carbonation and finish as taste. Overall, nice appearance and aroma and while the notable alcohol taste in the one was offputting, I'll give it a pass.

12oz bottle pours out black topped with a tan head. Nose is pit fruit roast malts some chocolate sweetness and black licorice. Taste is more of the roast malts chocolate pit fruit.

From Jun 2006

Poured from 12oz bottle(bottled 08/10/05) a very dark brown with a smallish head of foam that dissipated slowly leaving just a fine layer.

The smell is very sweet. I note a chocolate milky nose with caramel tones.

The taste has strong notes of caramel and chocolate with plenty of roasted malt and.... a noticeable alcohol presence which, imho, brings down the drinkability factor quite a bit but still...it's a brew that's worth trying because it might hit your palate just right.

Bottom line: A strong RIS that has big sweet and roasted flavours but doesn't hide the alcohol all that well. Try it and see what *you* think.

Edit:

Bottle, best by April 2nd 2024, not a nitro.

Pours a pitch black with a fine layer of tannish foam. Lacing is not lacking.

Smells of black licorice, dark chocolate, coffee, wee bit of alcohol.

Lovely marriage of the aromas in the taste. Black licorice and dark chocolate seem to dominate but the coffee isn't far behind. Little bit of fruit going on which I reckon is raisins. Alcohol is there but not intrusive.

Body is close if not full, carbonation is on the gentle side.

I only picked up a single as part of a mixed 6pack. This is worthy of more than 1 bottle.