7/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6
Bomber. Deep brown body with a light brown head. Smoky aroma with notes of roast, caramel, wood, chocolate. The flavor is moderately sweet and lightly bitter. It finishes lightly to moderately sweet and lightly to moderately bitter. Medium body, velvety texture and moderate carbonation. Char and burnt wood taste in the finish with a hint of orange and cherry. Smoke, chocolate and roast tastes turn to sherry as the alcohol and oxidation hit the back of the tongue. A lot going on in this beer, but not all are pleasing. Thanks wnoble.
Tried
on 11 Oct 2011
at 17:45
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Can @ home, courtesy of bnielsen13. Thanks Brad! Clear, golden appearance with a fluffy, cream colored head. Grassy hoppy, slightly spicy, pale malty, straw aroma. Crisp yet sweet, pale malty, hay, straw, bready, grassy hoppy flavor. Incredibly smooth easy drinking session beer. I’d love to have a maß of this beer!
Tried
from Can
on 10 Oct 2011
at 23:26
8.3/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 7
Can courtesy of GT2, thanks! Dark chestnut color, medium off white head that settles quickly. Aroma of grapefruit, grass. Taste starts with lots of malt, then has pine, grass, citrus. Nice.
Tried
from Can
on 01 Oct 2011
at 16:57
8.8/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9
750 ml bottle into snifter, bottled on 9/25/2019. Pours dense pitch black color with a 1-2 finger dense and rocky tan head with amazing retention, that reduces to a large cap that lasts. Thick foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Amazing appearance. Aromas of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, raisin, prune, cherry, fig, date, apricot, orange, grapefruit, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, pine, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of licorice, smoke, charcoal, leather, tobacco, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Mild increasing booze as it warms, but not overwhelming. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/black/roast/bready malts, citrus/earthy hops, and fruity yeast notes; with big strength. Taste of huge dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, raisin, prune, cherry, fig, date, apricot, orange, grapefruit, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, pine, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of licorice, smoke, charcoal, leather, tobacco, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery, roast, charred bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, raisin, prune, cherry, fig, date, apricot, orange, grapefruit, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, pine, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, dark bread/crust, licorice, smoke, charcoal, leather, tobacco, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Amazing complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/black/roast/bready malts, citrus/earthy hops, and fruity yeast flavors; with an awesome hop/char bitter/sweet balance; and no minimal acrid/astringent flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and fairly full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/velvety/bready, and fairly sticky/chalky/resinous/rindy balanced mouthfeel that is great. Mild increasing warmth of 12% after the finish. Overall this is an amazing Russian imperial stout. All around amazing complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/black/roast/bready malts, citrus/earthy hops, and fruity yeast flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the huge ABV with the modestly bitter/charred/resinous/drying finish. Nicely soft, and not overly bitter/charred. Definitely needs a bit of age for the freshness. Perfectly balanced between super rich dark/black/roasted malts, citrus/earthy hops, and fruity yeast. Mild residual sweetness with lingering hop/char bitter dryness. A highly enjoyable offering, and amazing spot on style example as expected. Reminds me of Old Raspy a lot on the fresh hop intensity.
Tried
from Bottle
on 24 Sep 2011
at 17:48
8/10
Tried
on 19 Sep 2011
at 18:39
2/10
Tried
on 17 Sep 2011
at 19:45
7.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
750 ml bottle shared by Dansting, Dan has been holding on to it for a little while to share with me, I highly appreciate it. Its about 3.5 years old. Its rare to come across a beer with cranberry that isn’t a cheap as wheat. Pours black with no head. Aroma has a weird fruitiness, apparently cranberries but I wouldn’t have guessed. Its a very strong, fumy, and bitter smelling stout. Flavor is bitter on the black patent malts I would say. Flavor just comes off as a strong stout and there is an non-distinct berriness, I would not call it cranberry. I wonder how they crushed the cranberries, may have made a big difference.
Tried
from Bottle
on 17 Sep 2011
at 13:53
7.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Shared by Matt, thank you very much. The beer is really strong smelling. Its fumy and sweet, has some light soy sauce. It is very sweet and has lots of coffee. Its a bit astringent. I can handle the light soy sauce and light astringency in the grandiosity of the beer. Its full stuff and yet drinkable with just a few small (doable) flaws.
Tried
from Can
on 17 Sep 2011
at 13:11
7/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Can thanks to Josh! Pours a clear orange amber with a white head that dissipates slowly to the edges and laces slightly. Aroma has a nice light pine and grassy hop note backed by a bit of light grain. Flavor has a bit more pine but it is mellowed by a grass note and is backed by just a bit of sweet grains.
Tried
from Can
on 27 Aug 2011
at 20:22
7.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
750 ml bottle shared by Dansting. Pour is a darker brown with a thin light tan head. Aroma is roasted smoked malt with a nice clean fruit cranberry shining through. After the darker malts and tart cranberry clear a bit, the wood starts to shine through a bit with oakiness. The taste is the nose, with a nice balance between the dark roasted malt and the tart cranberry fruit. As it warms, the cranberry really comes to the front, which is pretty amazing given the age on this beer. Palate is medium to full bodied, active carbonation and the finish dries out with barrel woodiness. Interesting beer, glad I got a chance to try this one - thanks a bunch Dan!
Tried
from Bottle
on 23 Aug 2011
at 11:44