Imperial Extra Double Stout
A. Le Coq

From the long expired bottle, it pours a stygian dark brown/black with a modest light brown head that reduces and leaves some lacing. The nose gets roasted and black malts, followed by the mouth getting the same, with notes of dark chocolate and leaving a lingering mild chocolate and malt aftertaste.

 

 

 

I can’t put my finger on some of the dark funky flavors, but it’s an intriguing beer no doubt. 9% ABV.

Bottle from 1999 with disintegrated cork.

Pours oily, opaque black with zero head. Bits of cork required a strainer. Bakers chocolate and a reduction of espresso in the nose. Full bodied with a slick, tacky, flat mouthfeel. Dark chocolate with treacle and espresso on the palate. Finishes with lingering chocolate and a hint of dark soy sauce.

This was delicious and fresh purchased at a Ukrainian Deli that carries many products from the Balkans and region. The taste is true to character if you love a good Imperial Stout! Lively and not bitter. Shop your ethnic Deli for the freshest Stouts!

The head forms a thin, light beige foam of 1/2”. After a few minutes the head has been reduced to a ring and a vail over the dark brown, almost black beer with dark cola brown highlights. Fine spots of lace are alternately deposited and washed away, on a Pretentious Glass Co. Imperial Snifter glass, as a thin viscous film rises with each sip.

The aroma opens sweet with chocolate fudge and currents. Light alcohol fumes lift modest roasted malt.

Roasted malt is much more present in the sip, with roasted cocoa beans. Bitterness is in balance with sweetness. A light berry flavor stands on its own. Mild espresso with cream follows in a long mild finish. Warmth reveals faint sourness, similar to what one expects from milk chocolate. Otherwise warming seems to have little impact.

The body is medium to light, with a slick texture. The alcohol is well above expectations, although there is no heat. The carbonation is fine and it starts dryer than it finishes.

This is a pleasant Stout, to enjoy while reading after work on an unseasonably cold Spring afternoon. The beer has no distracting elements, neither positive nor negative.

 

Poured from 500 ml bottle with a BB date 21/08/22 into the test glass.
A - Bakers chocolate color, hides everything, a beautiful cap of mocha color resides through the experience. The lacing is spectacular, ring after ring after ring. A beautiful beer
S - Dark chocolate, a bit of char, some Anise, and dark berry on the nose.
T - Dark fruits first then the dark chocolate, a bit of espresso, and dark roast malts
M - Smooth, not silky with a steady texture, finish is a bit dryer than the start. Linger feels like a comfy chair.
O - A really good and frankly affordable Imp Stout, I have had American Robust Porters that are thicker in body but this offering is strong in flavor, texture all while keeping it on the thinner side of the aisle. A lovely beer

Oily looking blackness, thin tan head with great retention, awesome lace
Smells like dark chocolate, espresso, and dried sour cherries and red plums
Espresso, 85% chocolate, a little dried fruit, some ashiness, a little burnt sugar sweetness
Thick, heavy body with appropriate carbonation
It's pretty amazing to get this much flavor in a 7% beer.

 

 

Tasted first of brown sugar and dark fruit with mildly tart raspberry standing out mixed with black coffee. Low carbonation and medium mouthfeel contribute a pleasant lingering aftertaste.

Poured from a brown 13.5 oz. bottle. Has a black color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is full of chocolate, dark fruits. Taste is dark fruits, smoke, some alcohol, very light chocolate. Feels medium/full bodied in the mouth and overall is a quality beer worth trying.

The cap is date stamped 2009., a small hit of molasses,

A - Black pour with soapy toffee colored lacing that's thin looking.

S - Dark fruit, some light char / smoke, and a little bit of oxidation aroma.

T - Chocolate, oak, light char, dark fruit, and finishes on the sweeter side. The oak is strong and the dark fruit / chocolate side of the beer tastes oxidized with some wet paper in the mix.

M - Silky smooth with no warming on the way down, the mouthfeel is the best part of this beer.

O - Had I realized this was a 2009 bottle I probably would have passed it over. Pass.

 

 

From my cellar. This batch was brewed in 2008 according to the label on the neck. The ABV for this 9.3 fl oz bottle is also 9% as opposed to the 7% listed here at the time of this writing.

It is very dark. At 1" of depth it blocks my iphone flashlight entirely. No head.
Very smooth flavor. It's old, so maybe some of the stronger elements have faded. No indication on the bottle as to when it should have been consumed.
Smooth mouthfeel. Barely any carbonation but not so little that it feels like drinking a syrup.
I'm not great with putting the nose into words. Rye bread?