Another style I haven't tried yet. Wow- sweet aroma- strong licorice, smoke, and soy notes hit my surprised nostrils upon opening this bottle. Otherwise pours like any other stout, with a very dark brown body and thin light tan head. Flavor is interesting and reminds me strongly of A. le Coq Imperial Stout with its dry, salty character. Lots of wood and soy, a touch of licorice and dry chocolate. I taste a touch of dry fruit underneath the salt, and perhaps some nuttiness too. Very complex. The body is oily and finishes with a dusty, slightly bitter aftertaste. I have to agree with consensus here- this is a fine beer.

2003 Bottle. Dark black, oily and viscous and quite opaque. The head on this thing dosent go away. It just seems to be glued on to the top. It’s creamy, sticky and medium tan/beige. Aroma is initially strong of fruit esters, mainly banana with something like oats and sweet chocolate coming on quickly. Light hops mix in and it gets more roasty. The flavor is equally impressive. Lots of sweet sugary malt, mostly chocolate but has a nice english toasted malt appeal, somewhat reminiscent of Sam Smith’s Imperial Stout. Flavor of sweet, chocolatey malt continues to stay strong. Mouthfeel is silky with a slight touch of grit that is pleasing. Tastes of soft black fruit faintly. Finishes lightly bitter, somewhat drier and has a good flavor of hazlenut on the aftertaste. Quite sweet and a bit too much alcohol apparency to give it a perfect on the palate, but it still has a wonderful texture. 8/5/9/4/17
Rerate Bottle at Bukowski’s Tavern, Boston. After preaching to my friend how great this beer was, and that he should definitely try it, it was quite disappointing when we actually did get it. Not bad, of course, but much less full and flavorful than I recall. Some smoke and ash seems to work against the whole experience, creating some lightly astringent notes on the end with a strange sourness, that I can’t attribute to yeast (otherwise I would like it). 7/5/7/3/15

Dark, dark ruby color. Excellent light brown head. Coffee and chocolate aroma with hints of tar. Silky smooth mouth-feel. Espresso-dry flavor with lots of roasted malt.

The six pack of this I bought was in such bad shape, that it looked like it FLOATED here from Sri Lanka. But anyway......this has a deep, dark, black appearance and an aroma filled with dates, raisins, brown sugar and coffee. This is silky-smooth and chewy. It tastes like licorice, coffee, chocolate and currants. There is a lot of roastiness, bording on a smokey flavor. This leaves a tingly, enjoyable, alcoholic feeling on the tongue. A very pleasant surprise.