Simply put, this is dark chocolate delicious. Nice full mouthfeel, light carbonation tickles the tongue, head fades fast with a mix of mostly pillow and some rock to start. Nose chocolate, but very light. Full body. Taste-wise this is an uncomplicated beverage: dark chocolate, full deep body hidden by dark chocolate: not much else.
The aroma: chocolate, pretty much nothing else. Very black and a bit murky, probably from chocolate. No light shined through the quaff. Head tan that was small and faded fast: my guess either a tension to the surface problem, or more likely the glass it was poured into. This was sampled along with many others, so ran out before could check with a bigger/different glass. Sometimes small glasses are not friendly to decent head.
95 on Beer Advocate. Nothing noted on ratebeer.com.
According to their website…
Around 50,000 barrels of beer annually. The hand crafted ales are now available in more than half of the United States, as well as parts of Australia, Denmark, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, Ontario, British Columbia, and the United Kingdom.
Founders Phineas DeMink and Allen “Skip†Yahn started the brewery with the vision of reviving the practice of small batch brewing to a region rich in brewing tradition. Very thick in a pleasant way.
ABOUT THE BEER
STYLE: Imperial Stout brewed with Chocolate
BREWED SINCE: 2007
ABV: 10.0%
FERMENTATION: Ale yeast, two varieties of hops, four types of malts, bittersweet Belgian chocolate
COLOR: Opaque, very dark brown
EFFERVESCENCE: Lightly carbonated
NOSE: Chocolate, sweet caramel notes, hints of vanilla
FLAVOR: Chocolate, dark cherries, lightly woody and bittersweet
BITTERNESS: Medium
BODY: Creamy, heavier bodied
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 48°F
GLASS: Tulip glass, snifter, oversized wine glass
AVAILABILITY: November release / 22oz / 1/6 keg
CELLARING: 35-40°F
The deepness, and the darkness, of this brew is incredible. While simple, I don’t find that a problem: more a positive. 10%? You’d never know. No hops noticed.
