Merry fucking Christmas! Wow this is good.

Dark black bod med foamy tan head. Ginger toffee caramel roast arma. Ginger, toffee caramel flav. Med full bod mod crb. 9/5/9/5/17 4.5 --- Beer merged from original tick of Gingerbread Stout on 24 Nov 2018 at 20:15

750 ml bottle into snifter, no bottle dating. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy dark khaki head with great retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big milk chocolate, cocoa, coffee, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove, vanilla, caramel, cream, honey, brown sugar, molasses, toasted oats, biscuit, and dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of raisin, plum, herbal, pepper, and roast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malts and spice notes; with big strength. Taste of big milk chocolate, cocoa, coffee, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove, vanilla, caramel, cream, honey, brown sugar, molasses, toasted oats, biscuit, and dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of raisin, plum, herbal, pepper, and roast/toasted earthiness. Light roast/char and herbal/peppery spice bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk chocolate, cocoa, coffee, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove, vanilla, caramel, cream, honey, brown sugar, molasses, toasted oats, biscuit, dark/brown bread, herbal, pepper, and roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts and flavors; with an awesome roasted bitter/sweet and peppery spice balance; with zero acrid/astringent flavors after the finish. Light dryness from bitter/spiciness, lightly increasing through the glass. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky, and lightly sticky/chalky balanced mouthfeel that is awesome. Minimal warming alcohol for 9.2%; with a touch if increasing ginger heat through the glass. Overall this is a fantastic spiced imperial stout! All around outstanding complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts and spice flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV. Pretty much perfectly balanced between stout and spice flavors. Not super roasty/charred for a stout; but adequate to still feel like a stout, and let the spices have a nice showcase. A highly enjoyable offering.