7.8

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Imperial stout from one of those countless new microbreweries in France, this one from the Dijon region; can from Geers. Quite thick, yellowish beige, creamy, membrane-lacing, slowly opening and eventually dissolving head, pitch black robe. Aroma of roasted chicory, dry caramel, pipe tobacco, charred toast, dark cocoa, liquorice, dried blueberries, hints of black tea, lavender, salmiak, calvados, walnut paste, cornflakes, old raisins, cloves, 'drop', black pepper. Dense onset, sweet but not anywhere near sugary, just a basic dried dark fruit sweetness with a faint touch of 'drop'- and porcini-like umami; some dried fig notes and even something vaguely salty. Medium carb, full oily body, further smoothened by the oatmeal. Dark malts fill the mouth, ranging from a subtle note of black chocolate over much more outspoken dry caramel and roasted chicory to cold black coffee and pronounced salmiak - altogether bittersweet, but the sweetness remains subdued and roasted bitterness, along with this salmiak- or liquorice-like element, have the upper hand here. Ends with peppery hop bitter notes, something thinly ashy and gin-like, warming alcohol, which warms and even turns a tad astringent and hot, but not to the point where it bothers me too much. Hopelessly old-fashioned 'impy', like an American style RIS of twenty years ago - but this to me is a plus rather than a flaw. This Destination Sagittarius does the combo of oatmeal stout and imperial stout with French panache but also with restraint, avoiding the cloying sugary sweetness of too many present-day strong stouts; this takes me back to much earlier tasting days and I will grant an extra point for that.