6.8

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Cask (tapped about 20 hours prior) pint at Redbones on 06/06/06. Not exactly bright, but far from muddy, the dull brown liquid, tinted with coal and a touch of ruby, shows medium-low to low clarity. A small, but well-retained dirt colored head sits atop, remaining at cover and providing moderate lacing. A huge blast of chocolate covered roasted coffee beans rise up and seem like a cloud sitting in your face. A touch of candied plum and definite black malt ashiness are also apparent. The black malt seems to dull things, barely allowing the round, simple plum and port-like notes in to the edges. Strong, almost sour-like molasses almost seems smoky. Hops are no where to be found, nor is the alcohol. Strong roast, alternating between barley and black malt (seems like black malt ashiness, with bits of charcoal) provide most of the flavor, while light chocolate and dried dates provide some chewiness. Not really sure what to make of the yeast, seems rather dull, not fruity at all, with very little ester/phenol production. With warming, the roast seems to take hold and alleviate some of the acrid black malt, but the nuttiness builds up on the palate, and some wateriness seems to undercut the usefulness of roast. Still, the flavors are quite strong and clean, with ample chewy mouthfeel. Very low carbonation, no alcohol noted.