Brown 500ml bottle, best before 11th June 2009, drank late Jan 2009. Poured into a Uk pint sleeve glass. Dark: no darker than what you are thinking, we are talking, really dark, coalface dark. The tan head sat on top doesn’t, can’t hang around for long, it drops to a thin covering and a bit of lacing even before I started to drink the brew. The aroma is dark chocolate first, then coffee, then toasted oatmeal biscuits and malt. The taste is a mix of the smells, more burnt than toasted, but still true to chocolate, coffee and oatmeal. Hops and roasted peanuts can also be added to the rich flavours found in this beer. Creamy and fullbodied, the flavours stay in the mouth. It feels well above the 4.5% it claims, the alcohol sits happily within the brew, but appears stronger in the aftertaste. A very drinkable stout.