Stout x Stout West

From the bottle. Now labelled at 4.3%. Dark brown with a thin, creamy beige crown. Aroma is full of toast and coffee. Unfortunately the bottle is a little too cold, which is probably dulling it. Taste is burnt and moderately bitter, full of toast, tobacco, coffee, charcoal, and rich dark chocolate. Body is medium. Carbonation is soft. Texture is lightly oily. Overall, I’m amazed at the robustness of the flavor given the relatively low ABV. I used to think that a really good stout needed 5 to 6%+, but I have now been taught otherwise. Nice!