22 ounce bottle into tulip glass, best before 5/14/2015. Pours fairly crystal clear deep reddish copper color with a 2 finger dense light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings down the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big caramel, toast, toffee, biscuit, brown sugar, brown bread, nuttiness, herbal, grass, and herbal/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great complexity and balance of big dark/bready malt and light-moderate earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of big caramel, toast, toffee, biscuit, brown sugar, brown bread, nuttiness, herbal, grass, light pepper, and herbal/toasted earthiness. Light earthy herbal bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of caramel, toast, toffee, biscuit, brown sugar, brown bread, nuttiness, and herbal/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Damn nice robustness, complexity, and balance of big dark/bready malts and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; with a good malt/bitterness balance and zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Medium carbonation and fairly full bodied; with a very smooth, creamy, and slightly slick/bready mouthfeel that is great. Very clean on lager flavors with minimal yeast esters noticeable. Alcohol is very well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is an excellent imperial oktoberfest style. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of big dark/bready malts and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; and very smooth to sip on for the big ABV. A very enjoyable offering.

Enjoyed on tap at Paddy Longs in Chicago, IL just before eating a burger with bacon, and feeling fat. This is a quintessential dessert beer, heavy emphasis on chocolate and lactose with a frothy consistency, very much shake like. Pretty good one, will hopefully have again.