Deep black with deep brown head, dissipating. Chocolate and fruity aroma, with prunes, and good floral hops. Sweet chocolate and good bitterness, with vanilla and roasted coffee. Rich bodied. May 2005.

Bottle from Eyedrinkale, shared in good company, 10/8/2005. Pours a nice deep, dark chocolate brown-black. Unfiltered and all, with a prominent, but fully dissipating light tan head, creamy and providing for much lacing. Aroma has oats, milk chocolate, faint dark fruits (plums, prunes sort of thing) and a strong helping of coffee with milk and sugar. A very even, lovely aroma, with little hoppiness and a mild, easygoing roasted barley. Yeast is fairly apparent, giving a dry, musty, old sort of feel, but is actually mostly covered up by the sweet chocolate. It really gives it a nice, raw, natural feel to it, highlighting how honestly brewed this stuff is.
Flavor is a strong mix of chocolate and coffee. In the background I heard rumblings of "this stop is every bit as good or better than Peche Mortel". Well, even though Eyedrinkale was wrong ;) it is a nice, drinkable coffeeish stout. More approachable than Peche. But it also dosent have coffee added, so you shouldnt compare the two. What it does have is a lovely balance of chocolate sweetness, mild roastiness and a wonderful, unfiltered, mouthfeel. I don’t want to say grainy, or gritty, because that would unfairly discount the fact that this stuff is smooth, silky and fluid. But it’s got substance, you can put your teeth in it. And speaking of substance, did anyone else catch how mellowed out, but unoxidized it is?? Radioactive carbon-dating places this beer at a early 2004 brewing. So it could be lightly oxidized, loose and watery, but it certainly is not. Don’t confuse drinkable, mellow and fluid with watery and thin. Granted, for an imperial stout it does have only a medium body, but the flavors are well-executed, just as in the Raven porter. Tempted to give it a five for appearance, as Martin’s glass retained the head well. Anyways, appearance isnt that big of a deal. This stuff is a knockout. A real philosopher’s stout. But I always say that about McKenzie’s stuff.