Pours close to black, no head to speak of, even with relatively hard pouring; quite ok for the style, but really not even an hint. Quite good intensity in a simple, straightforward aroma (fades pretty quickly though): vivid dark chocolate notes, lighter coffee grains, hints of leather and oak. The issues start in the taste. Taste notes are much less intense if compared with the aroma, with some variations: much less vivid chocolate, leather more prominent, perhaps a licorice hint. Feels like it lacks a solid malty base. But most of all some significant flaws: a metallic, slightly blood-like feel (more prominent in finish/aftertaste), booziness too strong even for the abv. As for sweet/bitter balance, it's ok: good dose of sweetness, relatively low on bitterness for the style but balanced enough by alcohol attenuation, though as mentioned ruined by the metallic finish. Pretty dense in body as obvious, practically no carbonation, but somehow fails at both feeling dense/full or silky, with booziness enveloping the mouth. Overall feeling is worse than the sum of it's parts. Well: Deproef usually makes ok beer, so i gave it a try. A sadly failed attempt at getting decent value on a non outrageously priced barrel aged stout.

Bottle, 375 ml courtesy of Miro B, shared with him ,Max and Zec brothers. Black, no head. Chocolate, roasted, grappa, alcohol, sweetish, tad tart. Low carbonation. Elements not well combined. Too boozy.

20/10/2012 Ma che siete venuti a fà (375ml bottle). Nera, densa, impenetrabile, schiuma color cappuccino, leggera e poco persistente. Aroma intenso, etilico, note di vaniglia, caffé, tostato, cioccolato, liquirizia. In bocca è aggressiva, l’alcol si sente parecchio e brucia in gola, prevalentemente dolce, cioccolatosa, liquorosa, un po’ corta. Corpo medio-pieno, consistenza oleosa. Andrebbe rifinita un po’.