Bottle. Almost black. Coffee, roast and chocolate in the aroma. Malty sweet, roasty flavor with ash, coffee and chocolate. Slightly salted. Moderate carbonation. Well balanced, tasty and aromatic.

Superhoppy, doet denken aan hop zij met ons. Trek dit vrij goed.

Bottle from Glasbanken 2029-08-04 Göteborg AR: amaretto almond liqueur, dark chocolate AP: dark brown, no head F: amaretto almond liqueur, dark chocolate, orange, warming feeling

16 ounce crowler into snifter, filled on 7/11/2019. Pours dense pitch black color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and rocky tan head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a large cap that lasts. Thick foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, vanilla, cream, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of licorice, raisin, prune, cherry, fig, date, smoke, charcoal, leather, tobacco, wood, herbal, grass, peppercorn, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/black/roast/bready malts, vanilla, and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast notes; with big strength. Taste of huge dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, vanilla, cream, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of licorice, raisin, prune, cherry, fig, date, smoke, charcoal, leather, tobacco, wood, herbal, grass, peppercorn, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Light herbal, grassy, peppery, roast, charred bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, vanilla, cream, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, dark bread/crust, light licorice/dark fruit, smoke, charcoal, leather, tobacco, wood, herbal, grass, peppercorn, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Amazing complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/black/roast/bready malts, vanilla, and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; with a fantastic hop/char bitter/sweet balance; and no cloying, acrid, astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering hop/char bitterness. Light-medium carbonation and full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/velvety/bready, and fairly sticky/chalky mouthfeel that is fantastic. Minimal warming alcohol for 11%. Overall this is an amazing flavored Russian imperial stout! All around incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/black/roast/bready malts, vanilla, and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on with the mellowly bitter/charred/drying finish. Fantastically soft feel for the style, not overly bitter/charred. Super rich malt complexity, with nice vanilla presence; balancing earthy hops, and restrained fruity yeast. Light residual sweetness with lingering dryness. A highly enjoyable offering as expected. Not as much vanilla as expected, but the base beer is still amazing for the style. Love the base beer the most with 1+ years age, but this still hits the spot perfectly.

12 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled on 10/17/2013. Pours hazy deep ruby red/orange/copper color with a minimal spotty lace cap with poor retention, that reduces to a minimal ring of lace. Minimal spotty lacing on the glass, with some light streaming carbonation. Aromas of huge red grapefruit, orange, peach, plum, pear, apricot, mango, melon, raisin, fig, date, red apple, citrus peel/zest, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, toasted biscuit, and brown bread/dough; with lighter notes of peppercorn, pine, roasted nuts, coconut, molasses, leather, tobacco, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of citrus hops, fruity yeast, bourbon barrel, and dark/bready malt notes; with big strength. Taste of huge red grapefruit, orange, peach, plum, pear, apricot, mango, melon, raisin, fig, date, red apple, citrus peel/zest, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, toasted biscuit, and brown bread/dough; with lighter notes of peppercorn, pine, roasted nuts, coconut, molasses, leather, tobacco, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Light pine, citrus peel/zest, herbal, floral, grass, spicy bitterness; and bourbon/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of grapefruit, orange, peach, pear, apricot, mango, melon, dark fruit, red apple, citrus peel/zest, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, toasted biscuit, brown bread/dough, light pepper/pine, nuts, coconut, molasses, leather, tobacco, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus hops, fruity yeast, bourbon barrel, and dark/bready malt flavors; with a solid malt/bitterness, and bourbon/oak spiciness balance; with no cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitter/spiciness. Light carbonation and full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/velvety/bready, and lightly slick/sticky/tannic mouthfeel that is fantastic. Mild increasing warmth of 14%, with minimal lingering barrel booze after the finish. Overall this is a fantastic barrel aged American barleywine. All around fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus hops, fruity yeast, bourbon barrel, and dark/bready malt flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the huge ABV, with the mildly bitter/tannic/drying finish; fantastic soft feel for the style. Feels like Centennial/Cascade hops. Fantastic balance of juicy hops, fruity yeast, bourbon barrel presence/integration, and rich malt complexity; with light dank/earthy hop presence/balance. Not overly sweet/heavy from lingering drying. A highly enjoyable offering, and outstanding spot on style example. Aged amazingly for almost 6 years.

09/07/2019 - draught glass shared with a colleague @Brewdog Brussels. Black colour, medium dark brown pearly head. Nose is roast, mocha, chocolate, bit caramel. Taste is roasted malts, coffee grounds, tad ashy, dark chocolate, caramel, ... Oh god, I really can't imagine how a non-flavoured or barrel ages stout can still be better. RAM, BAM, THANK YOU MAM!