Black with a thick tan head. Stronger booze notes than I was expecting. Dark fruit, roasted malt, chocolate. Straightforward. Good.

Bottle. Pretty much black, beige head. Aroma of licorice, burnt espresso. Taste is very roasty coffee, cocoa. Nice.

24.06.2013, 0,66l bottle @ hotel room in Boston:
Small slightly fizzy mediumlasting head. Aroma is slightly sweet, dark malts, licorice, dark sugar, coffee, caramel, grass. Taste is mild and slightly roasted, dark malts, grass, dark sugar, dark fruits, coffee, cocoa, caramel. Medium bitterness, thin body. Boring!

Aroma is not so good. It ha a weird peanut butter like note to it along with a lot of dark fruit. There is also a bit of oxidation showing up as wet paper. There is some chocolate and roast, well balanced but subdued. Pours black with brown highlights on the edges. A thin dark tan he's quickly recedes to the edges. No lacing or legs. Flavor is slightly better than the aroma as the nutty note is lesser but it is still present. The dark fruit is more subdued as well and the chocolate malts show up more nicely. Light astringency and moderate bitterness. Still some signs of oxidation in the flavor. A light roast note in the finish as well as some alcohol. Medium to medium full bodied with medium carbonation. Finishes with low to medium low astringency and a bit thin in the finish. Medium low alcohol heat. Overall there is just something off with this beer. Whether oxidized or infected it has serious flaws. Definite drainpour. Tried a 22 oz bottle in early 2016. Aroma is a bit better, but it is still quite a bit nutty. Some medium light phenolic notes. Flavor is moderately sweet with some nice chocolate and lighter roast. Fairly sweet with light phenolics. Better than the previous time I tried it, but still not great. Score has been updated from the original 2.7 to reflect the new bottle. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Half pint taken at the Great British Beer Festival on Wednesday 4th Aug 2010. My only non-UK beer of the day. Gravity poured by MattW, a guy I know from Belgian trips; he also recommended it to me. £2.70 for the half, my most expensive drink of the day! Dark and deep looking brew, thin tanned head which became a collar too soon. The smells were coffee, chocolate and liquorice and in that order of strength. The taste was in tune with the aromas, chocolate first though, then the coffee and liquorice third. The body was thick and rich like a friutcake mix. A lot of the US beers didn’t travel well according to my source at the Fest, this barrel however was very good and hopefully showed off the beer in its best light. I certainly enjoyed it.

22oz bottle-pours a retaining tight foamy light brown head that laces and black color. Aroma is dark malt-roasty, some fruity hops. Tastes is dark malt/oat-roasty/cocoa, secondary fruit/spice hops.

22oz bottle. Used a snifter. Pours a black color with ½ inch tan head that recedes slowly. Nose is chocolate, dark roast malt, molasses. Just the right amount f carbonation. Good head retention. Nice presentation. Taste is lots of roasted malt, chocolate, liquorice and has a noticeable sugar sweetness. A nice stout. Russian Imperial classification?? borderline. It does go down smooth for 8.5 ABV. No Heat.
Earlier Rating: 9/29/2010 Total Score: 3.5
22 oz. Bomber bottle. Pored into a snifter. I left sit for about 10 minutes. Small lasting head that remained until finish, nice lacing. Aroma is roast, dark chocolate, a light hint of charred wood and roasted nuts. Flavor is roast, licorice, dark fruit, salty smoked meat, old wet leaves, and a little soy sauce. Palate is medium bodied, creamy on entry and a little oily to finish with a medium strength carbonation. I also get some of the alcohol up front. If you can get this on cask or draft... do it!!

Bottle (Dank an Jonas!): Pitch-black, as expected, big stable beige-brown head; moderate to solid nose: cacao, sugar plus traces of leather and toasted malt; quite sweet flavour with a delicate bitterness, medium to full bodied, relatively soft; some hoppy traces in the sweet toasty and fruity finish. Good, but would be even better without the mighty sweetness.....

(bottle, 65cl) Dark brown colour with a dense medium-sized tanned foamy head. Moderately sweet and roasted malty aroma with notes of chocolate, brown sugar, a subtle berry-fruity touch and hints of vanilla. Surprisingly sweet and moderately bitter flavour, medium to full bodied with a smooth carbonation. Slightly sugary roasted malty and subtle fruity taste with notes of chocolate, traces of leather and mocha; sweet and slightly roasty bitter finish with a lasting and slightly sugary aftertaste. Good, just a tad too sweet for my liking. 11.V.11

Pours a dark brown with ruby highlights and a decent tan head that persists throughout the glass. Smells of milk chocolate, toffee, a bit of roast. Taste starts off chocolaty melds towards a toffee tootsie roll, follows with some roast and finishes with that lingering tootsie roll. Body is medium, carbonation is medium as well, mouthfeel is sticky. Not a bad stout, but definitely not one of my favorites. That Toffee/tootsie roll flavor ruins this one for me. One and done.