bottle sample at Darklord Day - Pours black with a tan, fading head. There’s a good coffee and roast malt aroma. the coffee really comes through in the flavor too and it’s fairly well balanced though on the sweet side. The body is medium to full. This one was quite lacking in complexity though and overall seemed a tad unimpressive for the style. It’s very good, but not great.

A rather unique imperial in that it has a rather fruity, berry-like flavor, making it seem more like a stout-like version of some other style (which I can’t place as of yet) - fig and plum make appearances, too - the alcohol is a little too present, and the body is a bit too thin - coffee and overly-sweet cream flavors that throw the balance off a bit - a little lopsided, but still a decent imperial.

A pitch black beer with a thin brown head. The aroma is sweet and dominated by roasted malts. The flavor is very sweet with notes of roasted malt and caramel. Nice one.

Bottled Very dark brown, good expresso head. Hoppy and chocolaty nose. Roasted malty, hoppy, cold coffee in the finish. Medium-bodied and heavy enogh despite of being "only" 5.8%. Balanced porter.

Draught pint at the brewery on 4/8/06 with SuIIy
Mahogany-butterscotch brown with some deep garnet notes, darker than the picture to the left. Not as much head either, with just a flimsy, off-white head that provides spotty lacing but is poorly retained. Plenty of bubbles in the mostly clear liquid.
Smells like a bock. Authentic lager yeast crispness, with plenty of munich grainy-sourness. Perhaps a brief interlude of plums/raisins and a hint of overly dry black chocolate, but mostly just toffee-caramel, sourdough and yeast biproducts. Strength was rather low as well. Does not invigorate or satisfy so much as it just say, yes, I was made correctly, albeit underwhelmingly so. Or maybe I just want too much from a bock. Anyways, the alcohol is completely unapparent in the aroma.
Flavor was rather simple. Bocky yeastiness, light vinous tones, and a strong, waxing nuttiness of German hops that pepper the sides of the palate lightly with spiciness as the moderate carbonation moves the liquid along qutie efficiently. But it’s too much of an in and out effect, with not much left to ponder, maltwise. Certainly the malt there is very well-extracted, with plenty of dry toffee and sourdough from the munich malt, and even some oily raspberries from the interplay of yeast and toasted malts. Not as burly a texture as I would think it could have for 7.5 percent, though at that abv, I think they should just shoot for a doppelbock. Rather thinned out as it warms and the carbonation loosens. No alcohol apparency in flavor, though.

Draught pint at the brewpub with SuIIy on 4/8/06
Deep raspberry-khaki colored beer, with plentiful bubbles rising in the mostly clear liquid and a dull cardboard colored head that is mostly well-retained. Not much lacing on this one, however.
The nose is dull at first, smells mainly of British biscuit-like malts, some minor breadiness and unpasteurized yeast doughiness. Warming allows some reserved fruitiness to pop out, raspberries, moist strawberries and just a tinge of chocolate sweetness. Aroma is certainly subtle and only moderate strength overall. Hop notes are spicy, mixing well with the fruity yeast and enlivening the doughy/biscuity, rather dry malts.
The flavor is not nearly as dry as the nose suggests, actually beginning rather creamy-sweet, with simple pale malt sugars in good force, mixing with a drying toasted bread note that is subsumed by leafy, very flavorful hops that are neither overly bitter, nor overly conservative. Somewhat damp and mossy, with light flowery notes as well. The hops might be the most interesting part of the beer and really last in to the finish, with a light butter-toffee sweetness and then a fairly quick end due to the snappy carbonation and doughy yeast. In transition, via hops and fruity yeast esters, the beer really shines, but the malts are a bit too awkward and heavy at the front and at the end, as much as the hops attempt to stop them. Drinkable, though, with the malt adding a pleasing creamy texture to offset the moderate to heavy carbonation. No alcohol apparency.

Draught pint at the brewpub on 4/8/06 with SuIIy
Extremely bright, deep golden-hay yellow, very heavy cloudiness. Lots of pils malt, and wheat. Head is medium to large and snow white, with moderate retention and fair lacing.
The nose gives off a dry lemon scent that is quickly followed up by softer wheat and honey notes. Spicy coriander strikes back, with light bitterness almost, and a light soapy character is noted on the end. Light and fluffy nose is fairly complex, but a little heavy on the coriander, leading to a bit too much dryness and overshadowing of the malt. But it’s only a marginal problem, as the beer is well-malted. As it warms, citrus zest gives an invigorating tartness that plays well wtih the honey. Fresh yeast doughiness is notable as well.
The flavor is quite spicy as well, with tons of dry coriander, nipping at the palate. Medium-large bubbles explode all over the mouth releasing honey-sweet malts, soft wheat notes and giving way to flowery, herbal notes of lemongrass and coriander. Strong, supportive mouthfeel shows a good deal of residual sweetness, but not too much. Bananas are very tame, and though the coriander is a bit too zippy, leading to too much dominance on the end, the beer is still refreshing.

Pours like oil with a nice brownish head. Aroma is burnt and weaker than expected. Flavor is robust and outstanding... heavy chocolate and dark malt flavors mix with dome dark fruit (prune) and a bit of molasses... all of this has a nice thickness to it and a slightly sweet sticky character. Very impressive.