8

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

TCBW2024. Black colour with a mediumsized beigeish brown head. Aroma is chocolate, some lactose, mild coffee with a bit cocoa as well as some slight hints of alcohol sweetness. Flavour is quite similar to the aroma, but also has a nutty and slightly dried fruity edge to it.

7.6

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

Bottle from Beerwulf. Aroma is dark malt with coffee, cocoa, chocolate, roast, caramel, touch of (salty) liquorice. Flavour is medium sweet with a moderate roasty bitterness. Body is medium to full. Solid Stout, I get plenty of coffee in particular.

7

Kohvi, šokolaad, röst, suhkur, lagrits ja asjad. Magusa poole liialt kaldu ja veits nurgeline minu jaoks, aga muidu miks mitte. Vbla eidsimine aitaks antud juhul.

7

Sweet, roast, chocolate, vanilla, cognac, woody

8.3

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

Imperial stout flavoured with coffee and chocolate, by rising star (in France at least) La Débauche, located in the scenic city of Angoulême in the southwestern part of the country. Longneck bottle with stylish Art Nouveau-like label, from Dranken Geers. Thick and foamy, mocha-beige, creamy and pillowy, dense head naturally thinning and eventually opening on an ink black beer with hazy chestnut brown edges - only visible for a few millimeters off the edge under bright light. Strong and far-reaching aroma of espresso and cold cappuccino, mocha ice cream, coffee liqueur (Tia Maria), molasses, melting black chocolate bars, ketjap, fig compote, wet leather, cognac, hazelnut paste, haemoglobin, hints of walnut pie, bayleaf, heavily sauced pipe tobacco, blackberry coulis, freshly ground nutmeg, treacle and a faint solventy note of shoe polish when warming up. Sweet onset (raisin, ripe pear) with sourish undertone (elderberry) and very vague umami effects (teriyaki), dense and thick, but made lively by quite active, yet very fine-bubbled effervescence; very thick and oily mouthfeel, certainly thick enough for a modern imperial stout but not overly viscous. Layers of toffeeish, hazelnutty and deeply chocolatey malts ensue, cleverly maintaining this 'refreshing' blackberry-like sourish-fruity aspect and remaining predominantly sweet for quite a while, until the finish comes in sight and more coffee-like roastiness is added, shifting the overall flavour from sweet to mildly bittersweet; the roasted malts add a late, deep, charred bitterness which remains clearly subordinate to the toffeeish and nutty sweetness, but the added coffee provides an aromatic spicy bitter note, which helps to counter the sweetness, while hops - though noticeable - bitter only subtly. In short: sweet as it may be in its general flavour make-up, there is enough - multi-faceted - bitterness to keep things balanced, interesting and colourful; needless to say, a warming, cognac-like alcohol glow has the last word here, but in a very charming, well-positioned way. Bittersweetness of dark chocolate, coffee and very dark fruitiness linger along with this glow. Intense and 'big', as an imperial stout is intended to be, but in a very elegant, I would almost say 'French', distinguished way: this is a top notch example of its style, with the added ingredients never overpowering the sheer quality of the actual beer. Classy, with every one of its many flavour aspects in perfect harmony with one another: this is yet another French craft beer that truly amazes me with beauty and craftmanship. An iron fist in a velvet glove, this is, in my opinion, a truly great postmodern strong stout, showcasing all the features a beer in this style should have, and more. Sincerely impressed - I really need to find that bourbon barrel aged version now!

8.2

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

Bottle 0.33l from our archive, five years aged. Lightly cloudy, dark red to black colored. AROMA- cocoa nibs, coffee, roasted malts, dark chocolate, a bit earthy, pleasant alcohol. FLAVOR- slightly sweet, lightly bitter, cocoa, chocolate, caramel, hints of coffee, pleasant alcohol, pralines. Fuller to full bodied. Great.

7.9

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8.5

23/VII/22 - 33cl bottle from Geers (Oostakker), shared @ Ardenne Holiday, BB: 3/I/24 (2022-917)

Clear dark brown to black beer, big creamy beige head, stable, adhesive, leaving a nice lacing in the glass. Aroma: good roast, very yeasty, quite some banana, chocolate touch, caramel. MF: soft carbon, medium to full body. Taste: coffee, pretty sweet start, malty, sugary, lots of caramel, yeast, more caramel. Aftertaste: alcohol, roasted, bit sweet, more alcohol, caramel, sugary, ripe banana, coffee, dark chocolate, very nice!

7.8

Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Shared at BBT 31/01/2022. Slightly warming, but overall ABV hidden well. Lots of chocolate, roast, nice balance of bitter and sweet dark malts. Very tasty, very good.

7.6

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

Bottle at BBT #2/2022. Malty aroma and taste, chocolate, coffee, roastyness, light sweet, medium bitter. Full body, malty chocolate bitter finish. Ok.

7.8

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

BBT 02 /2022. Dark brown color with beige head. Coffee, chocolate, cocoa, nuts in aroma. Taste, coffee, cocoa, chocolate, nuts. Tasty.