7.3/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
Bottle at home ... deep black thin tan lacing ... soft whiskey... light coffee roast... definite whisky front ... soft chocolate ... light roast ... little thin ... nice... soft whisky linger
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Feb 2012
at 13:13
7.9/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Shared bottle at local tasting, thanks to gunnar. " A stout beer aged in a 28 year old Speyside cask." ABV is 7.7%. Pitch black colour, large brown head. Roasty and vinous aroma, hints of brettanomyces, moderate notes of Scotch whisky and leather. The flavour is roasty and oaky, hints of brettanomyces with a slight acidity in the finish.
Tried
from Bottle
on 15 Feb 2012
at 11:04
7.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle from Alesela 030212
Orangey red...hazy..off white frothy head...reasonable lacing
Aroma - Spicy hops..light grassy hops..nutty...sweet malt background..very malty aroma...fruity background
Taste - Grassy hops..nutty...citrus hops in the background..some caramel malts...odd but interesting flavour...I like it..then I don’t...then I do...
Finish - Complex bitter hops....grassy bitter nut citrus finish...cleans well
Overall - It’s a well made beer with an unusual strong hoppy flavour. To be honest I’m not mad keen on this but I would have it again...there is a lot of interesting flavours in there
Orangey red...hazy..off white frothy head...reasonable lacing
Aroma - Spicy hops..light grassy hops..nutty...sweet malt background..very malty aroma...fruity background
Taste - Grassy hops..nutty...citrus hops in the background..some caramel malts...odd but interesting flavour...I like it..then I don’t...then I do...
Finish - Complex bitter hops....grassy bitter nut citrus finish...cleans well
Overall - It’s a well made beer with an unusual strong hoppy flavour. To be honest I’m not mad keen on this but I would have it again...there is a lot of interesting flavours in there
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 Feb 2012
at 14:23
7/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Small brown head. Clear deep red body. Deep cough drops and blue cheese aroma with cow barn and smoke notes. Dry-sweetish and faintly acidic burnt caramel and minerals taste with wooden tobacco and smoke notes. Fullish body. Mild mouthfeel. Dry mineraly burnt caramel aftertaste with smoky butter notes. Really different and interesting. (0.5l bottle from BeerMerchants.)
Tried
from Bottle
on 29 Jan 2012
at 08:29
6.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 4
Overall 6.5
Bottle from Alesela
Black with no light through......massive massive frothy tan head...very good lacing....carbonation far too high
Aroma - roasted malts...rich dark malts...some coffee....bit of roasted nuttiness....spicy hops in the background
Taste - rich roasted notes...fruity - dark fruits...sweet malts...molasses...some spicy hops in there...plain bittter chocolate...dark treacle...very rich flavour for the abv and complex. However, the palate lets this down a bit.
Palate - Very high carbonation initally which is not suitable for a stout - when this settled down (after quite a while!) to a soft carb the texture is rather thick, gloopy and very sticky. Finish of dusty bitter chocolate...woody....dark fruits and some spices.
Overall - The aroma and flavour is complex but the messy palate lets it down - far too carbonated initially then too gloopy and sticky afterwards....some great aspects and some flawed ones - interesting brew - might be worth trying on cask
Black with no light through......massive massive frothy tan head...very good lacing....carbonation far too high
Aroma - roasted malts...rich dark malts...some coffee....bit of roasted nuttiness....spicy hops in the background
Taste - rich roasted notes...fruity - dark fruits...sweet malts...molasses...some spicy hops in there...plain bittter chocolate...dark treacle...very rich flavour for the abv and complex. However, the palate lets this down a bit.
Palate - Very high carbonation initally which is not suitable for a stout - when this settled down (after quite a while!) to a soft carb the texture is rather thick, gloopy and very sticky. Finish of dusty bitter chocolate...woody....dark fruits and some spices.
Overall - The aroma and flavour is complex but the messy palate lets it down - far too carbonated initially then too gloopy and sticky afterwards....some great aspects and some flawed ones - interesting brew - might be worth trying on cask
Tried
from Bottle
on 25 Jan 2012
at 08:51
3.6/10
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Appearance 2
Aroma 5
Flavor 4
Texture 4
Overall 2.5
330ml bottle. Oily black with absolutely no head. Slightly alcoholic dark fruit aroma, some vanilla with good will. Disappointing. What comes now? I’m afraid. Sweet guck, no carbonation. Sweet coffee in the end cannot reconcile me. That’s a complete flop.
Tried
from Bottle
on 24 Jan 2012
at 17:59
6.5/10
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Appearance 4
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 4
Overall 7
Bottle from Alesela
Dark chestnut brown...light bubbles around rim of glass...dissipates very quickly to totally flat
Aroma - dark sweet fruits...vinous...some sherry notes...dark sugars...no hops....hint of chocolate
Taste - rich dark fruits...vinous...sherry....more chocolate..hint of spice.....again no hops...alcohol quite noticeable....very sweet malts....not that complex
Palate - no carbonation...flat as a pancake....medium body...very smooth....mouth coating. Finish - as main flavour.....warming alcohol
Overall - It was just too flat.... absolutely no carbonation.... pleasant rich flavour and aroma...expected a bit more complexity at this abv...will improve a bit with aging.....perhaps the other years are better
Dark chestnut brown...light bubbles around rim of glass...dissipates very quickly to totally flat
Aroma - dark sweet fruits...vinous...some sherry notes...dark sugars...no hops....hint of chocolate
Taste - rich dark fruits...vinous...sherry....more chocolate..hint of spice.....again no hops...alcohol quite noticeable....very sweet malts....not that complex
Palate - no carbonation...flat as a pancake....medium body...very smooth....mouth coating. Finish - as main flavour.....warming alcohol
Overall - It was just too flat.... absolutely no carbonation.... pleasant rich flavour and aroma...expected a bit more complexity at this abv...will improve a bit with aging.....perhaps the other years are better
Tried
from Bottle
on 21 Jan 2012
at 17:02
8.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 10
bottle at home ... deep black ... thin tan head ... huge meaty cofffee roast malt nose ...dark malts ... big chocolate ... sweet malts ... juicy roast ... big big sweet chocolate ... definite cocoa ... rich smooth sweet and complex.. blind tasting top place ... dark black ... heavy coffee roast ... ligth charcoal nose ... big dark roast ... heavy sweet malts ... soft vanilla .. big coffee ... 4.4bottle at home ...drunk 06/02/2012 deep black .. thin tan lacing ... deep dark coffee ... light bitter roast malt nose ... dark malt roast ... soft vanilla ... deep deep malt roast ... mellow coffee... this truely is a stunning beer.Bottle at home Batch 1 drunk 09/2012.. deep black ... small thin tan head ... huge huge rich deep coffee ... really mostly coffee with tiny charcoal nose ... mellow roast ... ligth sweetness ... huge coffee ... soft and mellow ... quite a lot of vanilla and then more coffee ... soft pine finish ... seems a little more sweet than i remember but nice 4.2Batch 1, drunk 07/13 ... deep black ... thin tan head ... big coffee and vanilla roast ... deep dark roast nose ... soft mellow body ... rich malts .. heavy meaty malts ... big coffee ... dark malts ... lightest charcoal ... soft vanilla ... long soft coffee roast ... rich smooth and wonderfull 4.4
bathc one Drunk dec 2013.. dep black ..thin tan head ... soft deep roast massive sweet roast .. soft vanilla .. sweet chewy .. wonderful stick at 4.4 ... this is beautiful bottle at homee batch bbf 2014 (batch 1?) deep black ... thin tan lacing ... soft chocolate ... big vanilla ... soft coffee malts ... dark sweet malrs ... massive malts ... big sweet cocfee and chocolate ... dark sweet vanilla ...
4.2
Bottle at home feb 2015... Bbf 2018...Dark black... Thin tan lacing... Massive coffee chocolate vanilla roast malts nose... Dark chocolate.. Dark coffee... Soft silky body.. Dark malts... Dark roast... Soft chocolate roast... Light vanilla... Rich soft smooth... 4.4
bottle bbf oct 2014 drunk November 2015... Dark black thin tan lacing dark chocolate.. Dark roast.. Light woody malts nose... Big roast big coffee... Kore cold coffee this time.. Dark sweet malts roast.. Dark chocolate... Big woody.. Light meaty malts.. Still great but this batch is on its way down 4.1
bottle at home drunk Dec 30 2025 ... dark black ..no head ..dark dry chocolate Roast malts nose ...dry chocolate Roast malts ..rich heavy dry pine chocolate roast malts 8.0
bathc one Drunk dec 2013.. dep black ..thin tan head ... soft deep roast massive sweet roast .. soft vanilla .. sweet chewy .. wonderful stick at 4.4 ... this is beautiful bottle at homee batch bbf 2014 (batch 1?) deep black ... thin tan lacing ... soft chocolate ... big vanilla ... soft coffee malts ... dark sweet malrs ... massive malts ... big sweet cocfee and chocolate ... dark sweet vanilla ...
4.2
Bottle at home feb 2015... Bbf 2018...Dark black... Thin tan lacing... Massive coffee chocolate vanilla roast malts nose... Dark chocolate.. Dark coffee... Soft silky body.. Dark malts... Dark roast... Soft chocolate roast... Light vanilla... Rich soft smooth... 4.4
bottle bbf oct 2014 drunk November 2015... Dark black thin tan lacing dark chocolate.. Dark roast.. Light woody malts nose... Big roast big coffee... Kore cold coffee this time.. Dark sweet malts roast.. Dark chocolate... Big woody.. Light meaty malts.. Still great but this batch is on its way down 4.1
bottle at home drunk Dec 30 2025 ... dark black ..no head ..dark dry chocolate Roast malts nose ...dry chocolate Roast malts ..rich heavy dry pine chocolate roast malts 8.0
Tried
from Bottle
on 12 Jan 2012
at 12:12
7.3/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 4
Overall 8
Bottle at home ... murky (ahhh i mistake not letting this settle) brown black ...soft toffee roast ...light pine malt ... way over fizzy ... dark malts ... little licorice ... some pine ... not enough of that flavour that defines black IPA for me im afraid ... little soapy ... little too bitter in linger for me 3.1 keg at cloisters ... deep brown black ... thin tan head ... soft sweet malts ... light pine hop ... little over fizzy ... dry roast malts ... sweet pine roast ... nicer than bottle 3.6
Tried
from Bottle
on 10 Jan 2012
at 12:13
6.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
500ml bottle [#214 of 468]. Opaque black with huge lasting brown head. Aroma is dark malt, chocolate with fading blueberry notes, no longer noticeable after "decantation", and otherwise be replaced by whiskey notes. Taste is assimilable in the beginning, then a somewhat sparkling and sour taste comes in, making the finish a bit displeasing. Dry, sour, almost wine-like, in any case more Porter- than Stout-like in my opinion.
Tried
from Bottle
on 06 Jan 2012
at 17:12