500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Brewed 15.2.2007, BB date 15.2.2009. ABV is 7.5%. Black beer, huge chocolate brown coloured head. Lovely aroma of coffee, chocolate and roasted malts / roasted barley. Also notes of woodwork, tobacco and tar. The flavour abounds with coffee (maybe too much?), the finish is very bitter (both from the coffee that has been added to the beer, the roasted barley and the hops). The mouthfeel is still relatively smooth. With all the dominant coffee and bitterness, this is not a stout of the "easy drinking" kind, but a beer to savour and sip slowly, be it for breakfast or any time of the day or night.

2018-12-02, bottle, plastic cork, 5-2-6-2-10=25
bb 18/03/14, bottled 4 years earlier, 9 years old
Flat, oxidized, moderately sweet, nutty. Way too old.

2013-08-07, bottle, plastic cork, 7-3-9-4-17=40
bb 02/07/2012, bottled 4 years earlier, 5 years old
Cloudy brown color, no head just a few bubbles. The aroma is nice but mild, caramel, malt, light fudge, light rubber, light sweaty hops. Full bodied, lean, sweet without being cloying, caramel flavor with correct bitterness; there is not much hop character, therefore it starts being similar to a British Barley Wine (O'Hanlon's Thomas Hardy's Ale…); vanilla fudge; the final is a bit nutty.
Very good.

2013-03-23, bottle, plastic cork, 7-3-7-2-13=32
bb 18/03/2014, bottled 4 years earlier, 3 years old
The color is muddy brown, strange, with no carbonation, and basically no head, just some big bubbles. Aroma of malt, caramel, some dust, alcohol, light tobacco. The mouthfeel, without carbonation, is quite oily; some malt and caramel flavor, still semi-sweet but not as it used to be, with punching alcohol presence, and a dusty feeling; the bitterness is quite strong but not excessive.
Didn't age with grace.

2009-05-11, draught at Plan B, Copenhagen, 9-5-9-5-18=46
Cloudy brown color. Still a very powerful yet balanced Barley Wine, round, mature, with a good share of fruity American hops, extremely sweet and bitter, can drink on and on…

2008-10-17, draught at Ølbaren, 9-5-10-5-18=47
Red mahogany color. Huge creamy head. Wonderful hoppy aroma, with delicate fruits, malty. Extremely sweet, syrupy, strong caramel flavor, powerful, with the necessary strong bitterness; getting nutty at the end. Very well hiding the alcohol. One of my favorites.

2008-09-30, bottle, 9-5-9-5-18=46
Beautiful hazy amber color, huge head, reducing to a short cap but persistent. Very nice malty aroma, perfumy, positively soapy, creamy, hoppy. Good body, full malt and caramel flavor, not sticky but very sweet, and perfectly complemented by the good hopping; almost fruity. Where were we? Better than I remembered. It has been bottled 3 months ago, so the improvement is not due to the maturation. Excellent.

2008-02-14, corked bottle, plastic cork, 37.5 cl, bottled 2007-08-14, 7-4-7-4-14=36
Pours a chestnut color, with a medium creamy head. Even the plastic cork smells of noble hops; the aroma highlights immediately malt, caramel, some vanilla. It has a good caramel flavor, that is sweeter in the front and darker at the end; powerful hopping, but difficult to distinguish Cascade or Centennial); at the end it's well bitter, mainly with burnt sugar and hops, not much malt or sweetness left. Many elements (reduced sweetness, medium body strength, fiery warming perception) make me believe that this beer should have stopped earlier its fermentation. A good beer, but I enjoyed more the Big Bad.

Bottle, 75cl corked. Poured a black body, with no light shining through at all. The head was lasting, big, dense and had a tan color. Chocolate, American hops, spices, roasted and burnt notes and cocoa made the lovely aroma. The flavor had a good dash of coffee, a little sour note, some alcohol and hoppy bitterness. Full body. Some sourness appeared in the finish too, but not more than it was a welcomed addition to the experience. It was roasted and hoppy too. This time I shared the bottle with good friends. The other bottle I will have to enjoy by myselves... Truly a beer to my taste. (071228)