Sample at the Memorial Day Deck Beers tasting on 05/27/2013: Deep brownish-black pour with a medium tan head that recedes gradually. Small patches of lacing. Aroma of roasted malt, chocolate and hops. Medium to full body with flavors of chocolate malt, coffee and subtle hops. The finish is roasty with a coffee aftertaste. Above average overall.

Pitch black body with a two centimetre tall lighter brown head - viscous as hell with a few bubbles noticeable. Aroma of pungent roasted malt, a bit of peat, earth, milk and bunches upon bunches of prunes, raisins and pit fruits. Full-bodied; Deep roasty flavour with a lot of malt, some milk, a hint of earth and a decent amount of peat and other smoked notes, along with soy sauce noticeable. Aftertaste shows hints of sweetness, but mostly a bittering malty flavour that persists and permeates some lactic and medicinal flavours afterwards. Overall, not a horrible imperial stout, but not showing enough complexity and enough sweet and classy notes to make this great. Still, nice to try, along with most other longshot series beers. I sampled this twelve ounce bottle purchased from Total Wine in McLean, Virginia on 01-August-2012 for US$8.99/six pack sampled at home in Upstate New York on 28-December-2012.

Bottle. Body is a deep and thick looking dark brown and supports a dense and beautiful dark tan head. Aromas are thick with chocolate and bananas, a little creaminess and a hint of dark fruit (prunes?). Flavor is very nice, but there is a bit of a sherry/prune/iron note from oxidation or something that is a slight flaw in my book... Almost like blood. Beyond that, this is a nice enough Imperial Stout. Chocolate and bananas are the main draw, mouthfeel is thick enough and slightly creamy and finish is sweet with some of that dark fruit presence down the homestretch. ABV is impossible for me to detect, not even a slight warming.

Big Top Beverage Mart, Roslyn variety case: Pours a black colour with a straight brown head. Aroma is mostly chocolate with a lower bit of roast, there also be some coffee, and my mother claims she can smell chicory. Taste somewhat sweet. Leaves a long aftertaste that is reminiscent of gooey chocolate. Not bad, but this wasn’t really my favourite beer.

12 oz bottle. Pours midnight black with a small dissipating tan head that collapses into a collar. Aroma is roasty and full of licorice, coffee, caramel. Taste is sweet and a little tart. Mouthfeel is oily, carbonation soft. Seems pretty tasty to me.

12 oz bottle. Pours black with a brown head. Dark fruits and molasses in the aroma, cocoa and apple. Flavor has molasses, cocoa, and dark fruit. Hint of coffee, with a roasty finish. Fairly light palate for an imperial stout, though.

12oz bottle. Opaque black with a creamy, glass lacing beige head. Roast and chocolate malt forward, this is way more enjoyable than the other Sam Adams Imperial Stout. Big, but not overbearing, and while it might not quite nail the style, it is a nice, enjoyable beverage. Has a cocoa nib thing going on. Good, but not quite a World Class offering.