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(Served in a snifter)
A- This beer pours a jet black inky body with a thin broken film of bubbly tan.
S- There is a soft creamy roasted black chocolate malt aroma with some dark toffee notes coming through as it opens.
T- The chocolate malt blends with some full dark roasted black malt finish. Some tootsie roll flavors underneath turn more into dark chocolate milk and some dark roasted coffee bean taste come through in in the finish. There is no real bitterness in the finish just a mellow black malt flavor lingers after a slightly sweet finish.
M- The medium mouthfeel has no real alcohol heat noticed.
O- Nice full chocolate malt flavor with more dark roasted black malt character for support with no bitterness and very smooth and creamy.

Served In: Pint Glass

first crack at this beer. smoky, chocolatey, roasty. a little thinner than, say, 1050 but not thin by any means. very smooth. understated almost.

best of the Dark Horse beers i've had so far. tough to slot properly amongst the other Imp Stouts as this is my favorite style but i would definitely drink again without hesitation.

Served In: Goblet

Big props to my buddy Michael (SPLITGRIN) for this one as an extra on our most recent trade. This is one beer that wasn’t in my wants but should have been; 100 wants is just not enough.

Incredibly dark beer, it pours the color of dark chocolate syrup with almost an inch of foam that quickly recedes.

Heavily roasted on the nose with dark roasted coffee, bitter chocolate, a bit of vanilla, roasted barley, chocolate malt, and an underlying earthy aroma. There are also hints of milk, roasted hazelnut, and some dark fruits and dark cherry in the background. Toasted and burnt bread is also in the mix but even with all the heavily roasted and burnt aromas there is a bit of sweetness that keeps this one from being one-dimensional in a way. Past the roasted aroma is a sweet milk or crème, and brown sugar that balance everything quite nicely.

Roasted barley, coffee, and baker’s chocolate initially. After that I can taste the toasted and burnt bread followed by more roasted malts and a hoppy bitterness in the finish. Dark fruits like raisins and dried prunes hide near the finish and aftertaste, behind the huge roasted profile. Way in the back, during the long aftertaste, one can taste the black cherry and dark berries. Quite a bit of smoke and some charcoal in the taste too. The alcohol is pretty well hidden for the most part, I can however detect a bit of it in my breath. Near the end I taste some ash and cigarette smoke, not too pleasant.

The carbonation seems a bit aggressive but the beer is meaty and heavy on the palate…just how I like my stouts. A bit of ageing would benefit this one, hopefully cutting down on the bitterness in the finish and smoothing the carbonation.

Dry finish and aftertaste.

Served In: Bottle

A - Not much of a head on this. What is there is dark cocoa colored. Now it's just a ring around the glass and a few bubbles floating in the middle. Body is inky black and completely opaque.

S - Deep, dark chocolate jumps right out. Nice roastiness. Light espresso. Touch of smokiness.

T - Starts off a bit sweet with some light hops riding along. Chocolate comes through with both bittersweet baker's chocolate and a bit of dark chocolate. Coffee comes in, bringing with it some bitterness that seems to be similar to what you would get from a cup of joe. Aftertaste of that coffee bitterness.

M - Medium to full bodied. For how inky this one poured, it didn't seem as full bodied as it could have been.

Overall - Pretty good imperial stout. Not upper eschelon or worth searching high or low for, but certainly don't turn it down if you have a chance to try it.

Price: $2.50 Served In: Snifter