Spectral Evidence
Mystic Brewery in Chelsea, Massachusetts, United States 🇺🇸
Stout - Imperial Regular Out of Production|
Score
7.50
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CoastGuardVet (9444) reviewed Spectral Evidence from Mystic Brewery 2 months ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Reviewed from notes.
Bottle to snifter.
Appearance: black in the glass with a finger's worth of eggshell white foamy head which dissipated nicely to leave some light lace
Aroma: dark coffee bitterness and roastiness, caramel tones, black licorice, dark chocolate and some earthy tones
Flavor: bitter and roasty with a little bit of licorice spice, super subtle sweetness but far underneath; finishes roasty with the bitter coffee tones and some of the licorice
Texture: medium bodied; good sipper, some smoothness but also a fair amount of dryness
Overall: I'd say a very nicely done RIS I'd return to.
Leighton (35102) reviewed Spectral Evidence from Mystic Brewery 7 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Bottle shared at Rogers during G&MD's wedding weekend. Picked up at the brewery. Several years old. Pours oily black-brown with a foamy tan head. Quite good, with lots of ash, brownies, alcohol, burnt brown bread, scorched earth. Full bodied with fine carbonation. Moderately oily and chewy. Hot finish, more bitter ashy roast, bittersweet baking cocoa. Solid gear.
Chalumeaux (5240) reviewed Spectral Evidence from Mystic Brewery 9 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Taster at the source dark brown black with a mocha head. Aromas of roasted malt chocolate dark fruit and tobacco. Taste is smooth mild ash fig chocolate vanilla cocoa. Nice.
deyholla (22839) reviewed Spectral Evidence from Mystic Brewery 9 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Bottle. Pours black with a grayish brown head that dissipates to the edges. Aroma has strong roasted malts with a light smokiness and a decent amount of dark grains. Flavor has a combination of roasted malts and earthy smoke with some dark grains backing.
CLW (17000) reviewed Spectral Evidence from Mystic Brewery 10 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
375 ml bottle purchased at Mystic about two weeks ago. No Batch number or bottle dating. Thin tan head that produces a ring on a pitch black liquid. Aroma is dark chocolate, yeast and mild roast.
Flavor has a multi-grain base with a light peppery yeast. Light caramel, vanilla and cocoa. Fairly strong amount of molasses with a texture that drys the palate. Carbonation is soft and smooth that produces a velvet like mouthfeel, dry and smooth. Body is as it should be, full and thick. Another nicely crafted beer from Mystic.
Ferris (26026) reviewed Spectral Evidence from Mystic Brewery 10 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Bottle - Chocolate and dark fruit with nice cocoa. Jet brown with a light brown head. Sweet chocolate and a bit of booze with a long finish. Hot but nice.
mcberko (47797) reviewed Spectral Evidence from Mystic Brewery 10 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
750mL bottle, pours black with a small tan head. Aroma reveals notes of licorice upfront, followed by roasted malt and cocoa. Flavour is less licorice dominated but still has it, with some roast further back. A bit confused but it works well enough. Solid.
Buckeyeboy (18931) reviewed Spectral Evidence from Mystic Brewery 10 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
750ml bottle pours out dark brown almost black topped with a small tan head. Nose is roast malts chocolate coffee some smoke and spice. Taste is more of the sweetness roast malts chocolate coffee and plenty sweetness.
Clarkvv (16760) reviewed Spectral Evidence from Mystic Brewery 10 years ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Batch #2 750mL bottle (I think this was bottled some time in Spring 2015 but I’m not sure), drunk 10/23/15.
Fantastic pour, as Mystic is apt to be. Huge ashy-tan head tops a deep, dark ebony body with indeterminable clarity (seems like the beer is bright enough, based on the head, retention and flavor/texture).
Butterscotch, maple, tar, subtly smokey phenols and big notes of prunes, vanilla, plums and caramel. Alcohol very well-concealed, with nothing strange going on with the "Native Yeast". This is a blend of their native yeast culture and other, straightforward, commercial yeasts, which has obviously worked out light years better than their native yeast-only beers. Here we get a bit of acidity and rustic character from the native yeast, but yet it dosent run rampant, eating up every bit of sugar and leaving the beer hugely phenolic and astringent.
Wow. After how disappointed I was with Conviction, this is really encouraging. Perfect attenuation, leaving the beer on the dry side but with a chewy, lightly sticky texture that still provides plentiful maltiness. Phenomenal amount of complexity ranging from toffee and vanilla to cellar-like mustiness, wine-like acidity and very subtle smokiness. Fantastically tight carbonation creates a very drinkable, creamy mouthfeel, while nothing here is over or underdone. The almost salty buttercream-meets-caramel with a touch of maple and dry roast really seals the deal, while more dry, leathery, even rustic phenols linger on the finish. When Mystic nails it, they really nail it, that’s for sure. Hopefully I can find some more of this and get it out to some people in trades. This really is a top notch Imperial, which I certainly don’t say lightly.
superspak (10160) reviewed Spectral Evidence from Mystic Brewery 10 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9
750 ml bottle into snifter; Batch #1, bottled in Fall 2014. Pours nearly pitch black color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense tan head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, toffee, toast, dark bread, molasses, raisin, plum, fig, date, light licorice, herbal, floral, light smoke/char, and yeast/roasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great complexity and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, and moderate fruity yeast/earthy hop notes; with good strength. Taste of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, toffee, toast, dark bread, molasses, raisin, plum, fig, date, light licorice, light smoke/char, herbal, floral, and yeast/roasted earthiness. Fair amount of herbal/roasted bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, toffee, toast, dark bread, molasses, raisin, plum, light smoke/char, and yeast/roasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt and moderate fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; with a great roasted bitterness/sweetness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Light carbonation and fairly full bodied; with a very smooth, creamy, moderately silky, and lightly slick/sticky/chalky mouthfeel that is great. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a light warmth lingering after the finish. Overall this is an incredible Russian imperial stout style. All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt and moderate fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; and very smooth to sip on for the huge ABV. A highly enjoyable offering.