Serpent's Stout
(has 8 batches)

Backlog

At Craft Beer Madness by Antwerp’s Gollem, a classic in Lost Abbey’s range, glad I got a chance to taste this one. Medium thick, opening and slowly receding, pale brownish-tinged beige head on a jet black beer with hazy burgundy edge. Aroma of hot chocolate sauce, bourbon, lots of vanilla-ish wet oak wood, soy sauce, cappuccino, Worcestershire sauce, dry bark, espresso beans, hazelnut oil, black olives, wet leather. Sweetish onset with sourish note, light soy sauce-like umami edge, intense with notes of figs and olives, softish carb, thick and oily mouthfeel. Hazelnutty, toasty malt bittersweetness the way it should be in an American style imperial stout, leading to a black, beautiful ‘chocolateyness’ with roasted coffeeish accent, before being drenched in a fair dosage of sweetish, heating, boozy bourbon blending with the malts, a firm hoppy undertone and drying, expressively oaky wood tannins, long and complex. Every bit as good as I expected, Lost Abbey rarely disappoints. A classic in its specific segment.

Big bottle shared with a game of scythe. Pours black with some nice head around the edge of the glass. Aroma is very roasty with a complex array of aromas. Big smooth body. Flavours are very roasty, lots of dark malts and maybe a hint of smoke too. A hint of Brett? Beautiful malt complexity. Quite bitter with hints of chocolate and a lot of coffee. Finish is roasty and bitter. Lovely.

Less cinnamon than last year, more coffee roasted and dark chocolate flavors.

Glass, 4-ounce, bottle during the Mondial de la bière, savoured on June 14 2017; eye: dark brown, opaque, ring of dark brown head, light lacing; nose: roasted malt, coffee, alcohol, fig, menthol, burnt malt, light molasses, light anises, ink, anise; mouth: roasted malt, coffee, alcohol, fig, menthol, burnt malt, light molasses, light anise, ink, anise, bittering hops, alcohol warmth, really dry finale in bittering hops with presence of coffee, full body, average carbonation, really bitter, mildly sweet, harsh texture; overall: really good

FRANÇAIS
Verre, 4 onces, bouteille, durant le Mondial de la bière, savourée le 14 juin 2017; œil : brun foncé, opaque, anneau de mousse brun foncé, légère dentelle; nez : malt torréfié, café, alcool, figue, menthol, malt brûlé, léger mélasse, léger anis, encre, anis; bouche : malt torréfié, café, alcool, figue, menthol, malt brûlé, léger mélasse, léger anis, encre, anis, houblon amérisant, chaleur d’alcool, finale très sèche en houblon amérisant avec présence de café, corsée, carbonatation moyenne, très amère, moyennement sucrée, texture râpeuse; en résumé : bien bon

From Apr 2008

I got this from South Bay D&L. Thanks Joey!

This one pours from 750ml caged and corked bottle just a notch up from pitch black and a big 3 finger billowy head of tannish foam...err..I hope it doesn't overflow. Nope. My mouth prevented that from happening. lol Very nice tasting foam.

The smell is lighter than I expected but I'm getting some dark fruit, milk chocolate, and some coffee.

The real first sip and the dark fruit is pretty darned amazing; plum & raisin are there and aren't shy at all. Next comes the chocolate and the coffee and they work very well with the fruit indeed. The alcohol is so well hidden it's scary. Just some warming long after the swallow. Even so, I'm definitely going to stretch this session out to the max. 1 because of the abv, 2 because it's so damn delicious!

Awesome head retention here and some nice sticky tan lacing all over my glass. It borders on a really full mouthfeel and the carbonation is light but right.The finish has a slight bitterness that I feel is both from notes of dark chocolate and a touch of citrus hops. Wow. This is a really smooth drinking, packed with flavour Imperial Stout and I'm so glad I sought it out. One of the very best that I've tried, for sure.

Bottle from Cotteridge Wines. Deep Mahogany colour with a tan head. Deep roasted malty and liquorice aroma. Taste sweet and bitter finish. Full rich body.