Handbottle from Sliffy!!!! Thank you so much Dan! Drunk on 8/16/07
Holy shit, let me just say that I didn’t exactly drink this as soon as I got it. I probably held on to it for a good month, before drinking it, simply because I never made time to drink it. I was a bit worried as to the condition it would be in, but I had kept it cellared at a very constant, cool temperature, and apparently, whoever handbottled this did one hell of a job too. You could hardly convince me that this wasn’t a bottle conditioned, fresh bottle. Massive, cascading, pillowy tan head tops a deathly black body, with medium clarity. Retention and lacing are both stellar.
Moderately aggressive roast bitters the nose, as the hops hit as well, fortunately being less powerful than the roast and having an interesting fruity quality in addition to the expected resin/grapefruit acidity. Seemingly very well built, with streaks of anise and vanilla running through the roast, and collecting in a pool of sweet choco-caramel malt sugars that are splashed with espresso liqueur-like notes. Definitely some yeast dryness, and even a good measure of vinous prune notes make their way out, on the finish, and with warming. What really sparks my interest, is the power that the aroma is able to convey, without any unnecessary sweetness. Vanilla-chocolate-cream notes are all perfectly set against the roast, which is further augmented by some tastefully done (minimal) charred dryness. Smells like a really nice bottle of expedition, to be quite honest. Alcohol is well-concealed, aroma strength is medium to medium-high, with no flaws perceptible.
Chocolate and coffee-roast dominate the first sip, as a healthy bitterness from the roasted malts immediately brings dryness. Hops pack quite a punch, with dry, resinous pine and flavorful, but very bitter, orange and grapefruit notes. For whatever reason, the citrus/pine notes don’t seem at odds with the chocolate. Actually, the reason is probably that the beer is well-attenuated and not dominated by coffee through and through. I find the really sweet Imperials to be the ones that clash with the heavily citric hops, as the intense, gooey chocolate, just dosent seem well-matched to juicy, bitter citrus notes, IMO, at least. Very well-structured malts show tons of heft and chewiness of the top-notch imperials. This is just a shade under the body of some of the best bottles of expedition I’ve had. With warming, some chocolate fudge-like sweetness emerges on the finish, somewhat simplifying things, as the roast intensity dies down a bit as well. Some peanut-brittle-like oxidation is notable, not sure if that’s from hand-bottling it or not. It, in addition to some yeast dryness/blandness, slightly mutes some of the quality, and the hops are a bit more acidic/biting than I really think they need to be, but other than that, the satisfying, but well-attenuated body and tight, low carbonation serve up quite a treat. Alcohol adds light warmth, but is otherwise well-concealed.

(Hand bottle 35,5 cl) Courtesy of Bierkönig. Pours a completely opaque, pitch black with a dense, thick and creamy cappuchinoish head - impressive hand bottling done by cquiroga here. Very chocolatey nose. Initially this is rich and full-bodied yet with an odd lightness to it. Comes fairly complex with very burned malts, chocolate and coffee notes combined with a degree of acidity probably deriving from the malt. There’s an underlying sweetness balanced by some malt astringency. Indeed a well brewed and balanced Imperial Stout. 150607

7 Oz Corona bottle from a growler, a surprise from Ross today! A HUGE Thanks! Nose of dark chocolate, light coffee, and a tiny hop note; Opaque as HELL black with virtually no brown highlights on the edges; flavor of bitter chocolate, a little coffee from the thick body with a small bit of bitterness and an insignificant of alcohol in the finish! Excellent!