Pastryarchy: Brambleberry
Ram Restaurant & Brewery

22 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled in 12/2017. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a small dense tan head with good retention, that reduces to a minimal spotty lace cap that lingers. Light spotty lacing clings on the glass, with a light amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big lightly tart/tangy blackberry, raspberry, blueberry, fruit skin/seed, milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, nuts, toasted biscuit, and dark/brown bread/crust; with lighter notes of licorice, raisin, prune, cherry, fig, date, vanilla, smoke, char, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of brambleberries, dark/roast/bready malts, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop notes; with big strength. Taste of huge lightly tart/tangy blackberry, raspberry, blueberry, fruit skin/seed, milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, nuts, toasted biscuit, and dark/brown bread/crust; with lighter notes of licorice, raisin, prune, cherry, fig, date, smoke, char, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Mild herbal, grassy, peppery, roast, char bitterness; and fruit tang/tartness on the finish. Lingering notes of tart/tangy berries, fruit skin/seed, milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, nuts, toasted biscuit, dark/brown bread/crust, licorice, dark fruit, vanilla, smoke, char, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of brambleberries, dark/roast/bready malts, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; with a great roast/hop bitter/sweet, and tart/tangy fruit balance; with no cloying, acrid, astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness and tart/tangy fruit. Light-medium carbonation and full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/velvety/bready, and lightly slick/sticky/chalky/acidic/tangy/tannic mouthfeel that is great. Mild increasing warmth of 11.7% after the finish. Overall this is an awesome fruited imperial stout. All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of brambleberries, dark/roast/bready malts, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV, with the mildly bitter/tart/tangy/drying finish; great silky/soft feel. Awesome balance of jammy berries and rich malts; with mild earthy hops, and restrained fruity yeast. Not overly sweet/heavy from lingering dryness. A really enjoyable offering, and impressive style example. Not overwhelming on any aspect.