Wild Thing Imperial Stout

Bottle 33 cl. Courtesy of bluebetty. Pours pitch black with a light brown head. Hard roast malt aroma almost tarry. Very solid body, pours almost thick and syrupy, tarry and lightly roasty with a ton of hard roast malt. Some malt bitterness. This is heavy duty shit, a real impressive "classic" and untreated Imperial Stout. 150311

Bottle with a counter-signaling label. Black with a small dark tan head that lasts. Smells of cocoa, coffee, uncultivated berries and yes, the dark rum mentioned in the description. Oily texture. No alcohol hotness, but you wouldn’t be surprised by 10%. Quite nicely balanced: lots of sweetness with chocolate, dark toffee and some berries; roasted malt flavours that aren’t too aggressive; and clear hop bitterness that stops the sweetness from dominating but just avoids being dissonant. Dry, somewhat astringent finish has some oranges, pine and salt. Bitterness lingers a while. I suppose this will improve a bit as the hops tone down a little, but I don’t know how long that will take. As it is now, it’s very good. [3.9] [4/ 2011] Bottle, bought with the last. Black, small dark tan head that lasts all the way. Brooding aroma has roasted malt, dark berries, licorice, orange rind, dark rum, coffee. Silky verging on syrupy. Sweet caramel and berries, roasted flavours, vanilla, a little citrus and grass, only slightly salty. Still quite hoppy and with a bit of astringency - it’ll last a while but has improved to my tastes a little. No smudged edges here - all the flavours are just harmonics of a big straightforward stout. [3.9] [5/2012] Another 2010 bottle. Black with a 1 cm dark tan head that fades to a bit less than a coat but doesn’t disappear. Aroma of dark roasted malt, licorice, orange peel, rum, berries, licorice. Smooth, luscious oily mouthfeel. Sweet with dark rum, some berries, tar, bitter oranges, coffee, cocoa. Less hop aromatics, but plenty of bitterness. Quite salty and astringent at the tingly end, noticed aniseed there this time too. Smells slightly better, looks slightly worse. Score came out the same. [3.9][9/12] 2011 bottle. Tried one a few days after the last 2010 rating and thought it was settling down quicker than previous versions - it’s pretty brash fresh. This one suggests the same. No sign that it’s going down hill, just that everything’s nicely integrated. No tricks, no adornments, nothing to hide behind. Super stuff. [4.0]There was something funny about the 2012, but this 2013 one is back in town. Again, seems less brash young than previously, but it may well be that’s my palate adjusting. Lovely dark berries. A coat of tan head fades to the rim after a while. Salty, bitter, astringent finish.