Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

Tap at Malto, Riccione, Italy. Pours blonde, fairly transparent, with fine white foam. Aroma is cereal and citrus, a little fruity. Body is average, with marked carbonation. Taste is medium bitter. Final is average.

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

@ Hops Torino

Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

Lattina. Il gusto al naso rimanda a caffè e cocco. L'intensità olfattiva è normale, permanendo in maniera sufficiente. Il mantello birroso superiore color marrone castagno resiste poco. La grandezza delle bollicine è a grana fine. Il colore è nero come la pece. Il corpo è pien. Il dolce è medio in buona armonia con l'amaro medio. La forza gustativa è elevata e la persistenza è sufficiente. Le sensazioni boccali finali risultano di birra beverina. Il retrogusto è di decente intensità. Sulla lingua arrivano sentori di miele, caffè, cocco, vaniglia liquirizia, frutta secca, rum, Bourbon, agrumi e legnoso.

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8

Bottle. Hoppy and malty aroma and taste, citrus fruit, medium bitter. Medium to full body, fizzy carbonation, hoppy and malty bitter finish. Ok.

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

Bottle at Glamour Hoppe, Catania. As my other ratings here I didn't make notes but this was an easy going low abv Stout that had a reasonbale creaminess to it. Enjoyed it.

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

Keg at Glamour Hoppe, Catania. Was not in any way funky but was a nice ale - good to taste Hops for one.

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Triple-mashed, cocoa-flavoured strong stout celebrating – in the case of my bottle – the 11th anniversary of Brewfist, a craft brewery south of Milan and active since 2010; apparently the same beer as their 10th anniversary release. Opening, yellowish beige, tiny-bubbled, thin and eventually dissolving ring of foam over a jet black beer. Aroma of liquorice (quite pronounced), bitter black chocolate enhanced by actual dark cocoa, porcini, green coffee beans, coffee grounds, Polish dried prunes, soy sauce, pipe tobacco, calvados, salmiak, roasted hazelnuts. Dryish onset, dried prunes and old raisins but restrained in sweetness and clean, some soy sauce-like umami effects, medium carbonated with full, oily mouthfeel without becoming too thick and syrupy, maintaining relatively high drinkability for this kind of beer. Layers of roasted hazelnut, black chocolate, liquorice and eventually black coffee fill the mouth cavity, with the unsugared chocolate bitterness dominating; vigorous leafy hops add further end bitterness, with salmiak, bayleaf and coffee flavours lingering about, highlighted by a dash of whisky-like, but altogether very well-positioned alcohol. Even though a powerful and bold imperial stout, it still shows a typical Italian flair and elegance and maintains a slender, ‘drinkable’ character without losing complexity; feels very old school, but that is one aspect I truly love in stout, especially in these days of fudge-like, slurry, overly sweet and syrupy pastry stouts… Well done and worthy of this trusted brewery’s eleventh (and tenth) birthday.

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

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

330 ml bottle. Pours black with short tan head. Aromas of black coffee, alcohol, chalk, ash, and roasted malts. Flavors of oak, bourbon, ash, black coffee, and roasted malts. Very dry. Doesn't have the typical bourbon barrel sweetness but still vey good.

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

11th Anniversary edition. 330 ml bottle. Pours black with a short foamy tan head. Aromas of sweetened black coffee, powdery black chocolate, a little vanilla, and lots of roasted malts. Flavors follow same with emphasis on dark coffee and roasted malts but a little sugar pops up near the end. Very good.