FRO Throwdown: Black with a layer of tight foam. Sweet roast and coffee nose. Plummy and figgy to boot, you don’t always get that in impies, but I love it. Almost syrupy sweet but balanced by the coffee flavors toward the finish.

++++ RE-RATE 14 December 2011 ++++
750 ml bottle generously given to me by Dansting, who also was responsible (as a volunteer) for the huge amount of wax that was on this bottle. 2011 Vintage. The pour is black with a thick 1/2 inch khaki head. The head falls with thick lacing. The aroma is faint tropical fruit hops, good amount of roast, and a sweet molasses which becomes more prominent as the beer hits room temperature. The taste is sweet cane sugar molasses, then turns to the roast, which is more mild than it was in the nose, and then turns back to more sweetness in the finish, this time with some vanilla notes. Really mostly about the sweet, which covers the booze nicely, but overwhelms all of the hops, and most of the pleasant roast character. The palate is medium to heavy bodied, with a softer natural carbonation, and the lingering sweetness. My palate has changed since I first had this beer, I am certainly less interested in the sweetness many Imperial Stouts have. For history sake, I’ll keep my score from the original rating. Thanks for this one Dan. (7,4,8,4,14 - 3.7).

++++ ORIGINAL RATING 6 March 2009 ++++
750 ml bottle, red waxed and capped. 2008 Vintage, graciously picked up at Darkness day for me by my parents. Pour is jet black with beautiful cascading leading up to a thick, four inch deep tan head. Head is foamy at the top, but very lasting. Patchy lacing. Initial aroma is semi-sweet dark chocolate and straight cocoa powder. After the initial wave, nice melding of roast coffee, malt and some hops. I thought the hop was pine straight away, but turned more towards a citrus peel bitterness. Sweetness is a little syrupy, though that helps cover up the alcohol almost entirely. Nice nose. Taste is the sweet cocoa roast coffee citrus hops all kind of rolled into one. Nice solid integration of all of the flavors, and with the nose, alcohol was well hidden. A decent blast of pineapple-cherry sugary sweetness pops out in the aftertaste. There is a decent burning in the chest, however. Palate is actually a bit thinner than I would have expected, medium, a little oily and a long somewhat bitter finish - that turns sweet, almost cloyingly so towards the end. I would say the palate was my least favorite part of the beer. Overall, nice Imperial Stout. Thanks Mom and Dad! (8,5,8,3,16 - 4.0)