Looks like an impy stout, with a huge, brown, thick head. Unbelievable amount of charr and roast in the aroma. Some soy, dark fruit, slight pine, and molasses. Medium mouth feel, not as thick as i expected. Low carb, and a heavy, bitter finish. This is a big robust beer, but i feel the intense roast and char really make thisone dimensional.

Bottle split at Columbus, thanks to Kenny, 31/07/19. Deep chestnut brown with a beige cap. Nose is dark malts, fruit cake, nutty, bourbon snort, brown bread, sugars. Taste comprises mellow bourbon, caramel, dried fruits,figs, brown sugar dusting, toffee, soy sauce. Full bodied, fine carbonation, semi drying close with a kiss of alcohol and a mellow barrel effect. Fun enough for this series but not a great by some stretch.

(650ml bottle from the LCBO ca 2013, their lab test sticker says 14.5%) Pours slightly murky dark cola brown with a small cream head. Notes of dark burnt caramel, toffee, light molasses, sweet bread, some chocolate, soft umami and oxidated nutty vibes from the age, spirit-soaked raisins, quite sweet through the middle of the sip before drying with toasty grains and some piney bittering hops and alcohol warmth. Medium-plus body despite hte age with fairly soft carbonation. An older bottle for sure but tough to tell whether it was at the end of its life or finally tamed into drinkability but either way it was a solid warmer.

Bottle shared in London - cheers to MadMitch! Pours deep brown with a creamy, beige head. Strong oxidation present, lots of rich dark malts, ash, burnt caramel. Full bodied, oily, with fine carbonation. Hot finish, lots more charred malts, toffee. A little scattered and knackered but novel in its way.

Bottle shared at the columbus tasting 31/07/2019. Many thanks! A clear dark brown coloured pour with a loose tan head. Aroma is sweet, soy, roast, hot alchol, woody, some jammy fruits. Flavour is composed of semi sweet, sweaty dog, salty, roast, jammy strawbeerry, vanilla, oak, hot alchol, solvent, brown sugars. Rough round the edges. Paalte is medium sweet, hot alcohol, sticky, rough.

31st July 2019
Level 6 Bottleshare. Opaque dark brown beer, decent tan head. Smooth and slightly soft palate, reasonable fine carbonation. Soft creamy dark malts. Slightly tangy and bitter coffee. Tangy dark fruits. Mild spice. Soft but rich bourbon soaked dark fruits. Spicy twangy bitter finish. Despite its age, this is a somewhat inelegant beer. Tasty but clunky. Bit of a disappointment.

Deep very dark brown coloured body with a large, oil slick on top, showing a touch of lighter brown head, but this is pretty much all about the oil on top and the opaque depth of deep dark brown body. Aroma of alcohol (surprise), honey, maple syrup, birch, rich malt, toffee, caramel, earth, yeast and a heavy dose of anise and deep spices. Full-bodied; Super deep and pungent malt character with a large alcohol presence (of course), tons of sweetness from the maple syrup and honey tastes and a deep soy sauce and meaty character at the end with bunches of flavours, some not showing a lot of typical beer flavours. Aftertaste shows quite a bit of bitterness from the malt, alcohol, spices, yeast and earthy sweetness, but some nice, yet pungent flavours and moderate complexity, despite the tons of alcohol around. Overall, a very pungent (as expected) beer, but showing some nice almost barley wine mixed with imperial stout or old ale flavours, showing a ton of sweetness, a good malt base and a rich alcohol bite that shows fairly well despite the high content and still easy-enough to drink for this beer, but perhaps that has something to do with the age! Good to try, if you can find it and hold onto it for a while, but I’m guessing either you cannot find it now at all or if you DO have it, it’s already fairly old! I sampled this twelve ounce (I could not drink any more than 355 mL!) bottle purchased from Ramsay Liqours in Ramsay, New Jersey on 22-February-2013 for an unknown amount of money, sampled at home in Washington on 22-April-2017, a full four+ years later after purchasing.

Poured from a 22 oz bottle. This is the 16% abv version. Aroma is rich and chocolate forward with some light dark caramel, toffee and burnt sugar. Light molasses and roast notes. Some light tobacco and leather notes. Light raisin and dark fruit notes. Some medium alcohol notes. Some light rye notes. Pours black with a medium sized, thick, dark mocha head that’s shows average retention as it recedes to the edges where a small film lingers. No lacing and fairly long legs. Flavor is fairly sweet and rich. Lots of chocolate but even more roast and molasses. Quite a bit of leather, ash and tobacco as well. Some light honey notes. Lots of raisin, plum, and prune. Medium alcohol notes. Medium high bitterness and a bit of astringency. Mouthfeel is medium full bodied with medium carbonation. Medium astringency and medium alcohol warmth. Overall, a decent beer. A great aroma, but the flavor is too bitter, ashy and astringent. The dark fruit helps, but it also clashes with the bitterness. Alcohol is very present, but it’s also not overpowering.