A bit stingy, but intense with barrel notes, oakiness, bourbon, vanilla, hints of sherry, toffee, raisins, prunes, figs and syrup. Pretty intense but tasty.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 9
Draft. Black beer with a brown head. Vanilla and bourbon aroma with chocolate. Chocolate and vanilla flavor with bourbon. Fuller bodied. Chocolate and bourbon linger with vanilla and caramel.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 8
22 oz. bottle, pours black, almost no head. Nose is complex, with intense woody barrels, gentle apple brandy, bourbon barrels, and dark sugars. Flavour is complex, with rich apple brandy barrels, gentle maple, just a touch of the bourbon, and some sticky sugars. All three barrels show their qualities really harmoniously. Wonderful as usual.
Appearance - 9 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 9
Dark brown. The aroma is very rich, lots of dark chocolate/cacao nibs, some alcohol, and it's difficult to parse the individual barrels on the nose. On the palate, there's a touch of acidity that cuts through rich sugars. The maple and apple brandy both show up, lending alcohol as well as their flavours. Big body, soft and rich at the same time. Excellent as usual, extra rich, beautiful base, the aging is phenomenal.
Appearance - 9 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 8.5
22oz (thx, Ben M. D.!) @ SF.
Aroma: heavy, moderately sweet, booze, noticeable apples.
Taste: very complex, sweet, a lot of barrel, charred oak, round.
Overall: very nice ❤️❤️❤️ Why are you shut down?! 😭
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 9
Poured from 650mL bottle. Very dark brown with very minimal beige head. Smooth bourbon and apple brandy, balanced, super feint hint of maple character. Enjoyable.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9
22oz bottle. Pours black with almost no head. Tons of boozy bourbon, roast, and brandy on the nose; a bit of iodine and dark sugars. Flavour is a rich medly of bourbon and brandy barrels; sugar profile has dark sugars and maple sugar; nutty, woody. This is rich, malty, and boozy; deep, complex. This is phenomenal.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 8.5
22 oz. bottle, pours jet black, almost no head. Nose is exquisite, with plenty of rich bourbon, gentle roast, dark sugars, and some vanillin. Flavour is remarkably complex, with an elegant bourbon barrel character, woody oak, some vanillin, moderate roast, and sticky dark sugars. As usual, exquisite barrel character, smooth as hell on the palate, not too sweet–showcasing the barrels and dark sugars on the finish. Beauty.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 9
650mL bottle. Pours black with a small tan head. Rich roasted malts, dark chocolate, and whiskey on the nose. Flavour is super rich with dark chocolate and roasted malts, gentle spiciness, dark sugars; the whiskey barrels are very well-integrated with the base beer. Boozy warmth on the finish. Mouthfeel is thick, but stilll very smooth. This is excellent.
Kraddel (15844) reviewed Spectrum of Desire from Modern Times Beer 6 months ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Solodoming big boys... It's the cause of, but also the solution to, regrets :)
Been looking forward to this one, and needed a good one. So, here we go !
Pours black, small tanned head fades fast. Scent is coffee, chocolate, vanilla. All the great things you'd hope to get in a stout. Not unique, but definately in that top-tier range few breweries ever achieve.
Taste is quite roasty, smooth and thick (I expected even thicker, but let that not be the reason to think this is not thick) . Quite bitter, but it suits, never to much. A more coffee-roasty bitterness rather than roasted malts (or hops, for that matter). Quite a nice coffee aroma. Vanilla is smooth, really woven in, not being a front player, really. ALcohol shows, but again, really really well woven into. What clearly sounds like a pastry stout, has surprisingly much aspects from those 'good old days' stout we all loved 10-15 years ago. This takes me back to Speedway Stout highlights, for instance, rather than the current super thick and ultra sweet bombs. It's nostalgic, and I love it. Obviously, this is thicker than Speedway probably was, more adjunct focussed, but in today's market of pastry? This is actually quite balanced and basebeer-minded.
Not one to particularly point out, perhaps, it's one of those '13 in a dozen' sounding imperial stouts, but given the quality, refinement, balance, and intensity this combines, this places itself amongst those very few that CAN achieve this type of quality in imperial (pastry) stout. And if you can, there's no need to hide behind a massacre of adjuncts.