Keg at the Cloudwater and friend.. Dark black.. Dry chocolate roast malts nose.. Heavy woody coffee.. Rich chocolate roast malts.. Big dry pine huge toast coffee

Draught @ Cloudwater Beer Fest, Manchester 2019. Pours black with a creamy beige head. Massive roast, chocolate, good coffee and a whisper of smoked malts. Dry and roasted bitter and slick as well as smooth. Lovely all around.

Tap into a half nonic pint glass showing pitch black with half a finger of quickly dissipating lightly tanned foam. The nose shows strong espresso, roasted coffee bean along with a nice mix of dark chocolate. The palate is fully carbonated and medium bodied. No alcohol heat with a very light lactose sweetness but practically dry. Light coffee tartness, mocha forward with dark coffee notes in between, dark chocolate bitterness on the finish with a resurgence of caramel and mocha that goes on a while.

On tap at the brewery. Aroma has a light smoke note with moderate roast and coffee character. Moderate chocolate notes and medium light vanilla. Hints of alcohol spice. Pours black with a medium sized, light mocha colors head that slowly recedes to the edges where it lingers. Flavor has a medium light sweetness with moderate chocolate notes. Moderate coffee and roast with some light smoke notes. Some light dark fruit character with plum, raisin cherry. Moderate vanilla with some light alcohol spice. Mouthfeel is medium full bodied with medium carbonation. Low astringency and low alcohol warmth. Overall, a nice stout with a good smoke and roast character that balances well with the vanilla and sweetness.

The beer is black with a medium-sized brown head. A little lacing. Nice even cap of foam. The aroma is big on fudgey chocolate with backing molasses sweetness. The roast comes in and gives the beer a mild smoky edge. Loads of vanilla. It has a definite s’more-ish quality. Toasty sugars on top of milk chocolate with a vanilla topping. Taste is fairly sweet but finishes with no cloy. Lots of vanilla. The vanilla pushes the darker malt flavors back somewhat. There’s some nice depth, but it’s a lot of sweet chocolate and vanilla. A tiny bit of grassy hops in the finish. Very fun to drink. Smooth feel matches well with the flavor. Very tasty beer. I tend to be sensitive to too much vanilla flavor, but this has no artificiality or sticky sweetness, so it works quite well. Plus, there’s a ton of chocolate, and the base beer is delicious on its own. Great work.