Black with a medium beige head. Lighter body than expected. Whiskey, chocolate, dark malts, molasses, wood, coffee grounds. Dry finish. I was a bit taken aback at first but this really grew on me. Not an overly heavy nor intense beer but one that carries all the expected notes in a more “approachable” manner, though not mid. Very nice beer.

Bottle from Total Wine: pours black with a beige head. Aroma is vanilla, chocolate, roasty malts. Taste is dry, vanilla, whisky, some dark chocolate. Fine.

On tap at Mikkeller at Morebeer. Pours black with a beige head. Roasted malts, smokey whiskey, and a bit of espresso on the nose. Flavour has tons of smoky whiskey barrels, toasted malts, espresso. A bit rough, but still quite good.

Bottle at BiervanEijk, Frederiksoord. Strong coffee aroma with cocoa, soft whiskey, light liquorice, chocolate. Fairly bitter with a moderate sweetness. Above medium body. Good stuff.

Imperial stout from Ireland aged in Irish whiskey barrels, thanks Craftmember for sharing. Tiny-bubbled and open, yellowish beige, thin head on a jet black beer. Aroma of bitter black chocolate, dry caramel, salmiak, whiskey indeed, bayleaf, beef stock cubes, burnt wood, some light vanillin from the oak, coffee grounds, roasted walnuts, hints of pan-fried forest mushrooms, black pepper and leather. Quite heavy on the umami side in the mouth, with beef stock, gravy and black olive aspects, paired with a restrained sweetness of dried fruits (fig) and moderately carbonated; full, oily mouthfeel, deep bitter black-chocolatey malts, with layers of toasted bread, walnut and a lot of roasted coffee-like bitterness overwhelming the already subdued sweetness – this is oldskool imperial stout all the way. Herbal hops further accentuate the end bitterness, as does a warming glow of otherwise soft Irish whiskey – yet some nutty sweetness keeps balancing everything well. Bit too boozy and umami-forward for me personally perhaps, but nonetheless a long-stretched, robust, roasty, rich old-fashioned imperial stout that put many overly sweet pastry stouts of our present day to shame.

5-17-24, HCB

Roast and light whiskey. Well balanced and understated. Even slightly watery on texture. Some coffee. Black pour with OK soap bubbles. Bitter finish with booze and some sweetness. Tap at Churchkey.