Abstrakt AB:04
BrewDog

 

 

375 mL bottle poured into a snifter.

Appearance - Inky black. No head. Not much of anything.

Smell - Dark chocolate and fudge. Peppers and coffee.

Taste - Coffee right up front. Sharp pepper flavor. Fudgy. Dark fruits. A hint of oxidation.

Mouthfeel - Thick with low carbonation. Not so boozy.

Overall - Good, but not great. I really enjoy the coffee flavor, though.

 

 

big thanks to rudzud for sharing this one.

Pours motor oil thick sludge, dark as Satan's jism, legs like a giant millipede, stains the glass, so black it pulls light from the room.

Nose is crazy chocolate, super dark molasses chocolate and a bit of burnt char and wooden dust shelf, little soy sauce, hint if hot pepper in the background.

Taste is big thick rich malts, syrupy, little soy sauce like, just a hint of hot pepper great but no flavor, melted bakers choc, bitter choc, light char and little dusty shelf, quite syrupy and fairly sweet with just a bit of booze. Finish is syrupy thick and rich mouth coating and light booze and choc, just a bit of pepper heat.

Mouth is thick rich syrupy, no carb, a bit of warming booze but good for 15% beer, and carbonation is typical for something like this as well.

Overall as a beer it's nice base beer, but no real pepper or heat. Then again it's 2 years old.

Received in a trade from Australia ...finally my white whale!

A - Poured into a palm tulip a oily black hue with no real head or lacing but very nice legs. Solid.

S - Aromas of nice chocolate malts, faint vanilla, faint chili pepper (the fruity flesh of a pepper). Not much booze at all.

T - Taste is nice sweet malts and vanilla along with faint smokey earthy that comes with the pepper. Faint caramel notes and toffee with nice creamy chocolate..faint lingering chili pepper finish that has a light tingle on the tongue.

M - Mouthfeel is slightly thin but just a kiss of carbonation.

O - Overall I enjoyed this beer, wish it had more chili on it. Still though for a 15% imperial stout this is very nice. Solid stout with lots of nice elements going for it. As I drink it the chili comes out more and lingers nicely.

 

Thanks to crusianbeer for bringing this beer back from the UK.

The beer pours an inky black color with a tan head. The aroma has a lot of roasted malt, as well as some something that resembles soy sauce. The flavor is more complex. I get a lot of chocolate and some light soy, as well as some oak, vanilla and maple. There is also some alcohol. Thick mouthfeel and low carbonation.

 

Served in a Dogfish Head snifter.

Bottle #1149/3300 (strangely handwritten), bottled 11/1/10. So there's coffee, cacao, and chile peppers in this stout? Right on. It pours a straight obsidian topped by a fizzy, short-lived finger of golden brown foam. The nose comprises rich, nutty coffee, cocoa, roasted malts, peanut butter (residual nuttiness, I suppose, but richer), and a touch of molasses. The taste holds notes of chocolate syrup, roasted malts, coffee, molasses, light walnuts (way in the background), brown sugar, light maple syrup, and a touch of those peppers in the finish, very subtle but pronounced enough to be perceived. The body is a strong medium, with a very light moderate carbonation and a slightly chewy feel. Overall, a very complex, finely-layered stout, one of the best-built beers I've ever had from the BrewDog boys. Nicely done, indeed.

bottled 1/11/10

pours thick and black. very light thin chocolate head. once gone, no retention.

very rich and bold. lots of black chocolate and alcohol blended together perfectly. a hint of chili pepper.

fairly strong on the chocolate up front with the chili pepper kicking in leaving a tingle on the tongue. sweet roasted malt and vanilla through out. very heavy on the chocolate.

not as thick as you would think for 15% but fairly thick and chewy. chili burn on the tongue and light tingle through out.

this is pretty good, enjoying it. wish i had cracked it open when it was a bit fresher.

 

Drank from mt Duvel Tulip

A - Pours Black as Black with a one fingered head that dies quickly.

S - Big aromas of beef extract, with some bourbon malts, with some stewed dark fruits.

T - Up front some nice sweet malts. Mid palate is some dark toffe flavours with some sticky extract flavours. The finish is an absolute licorice assault on your tongue.

M - Full body and carbonation that is relatively smoothy.

O - A decent stout thet will satisfy your taste buds. The licorice is powerful and impressive.

 

A black/brown brew, really no head, some faint tan bubbles, no lacing of course, surprisingly small curtains.

The smell is powerful, cured meat, some smoke, licorice and soy sauce. Rather black!

The taste starts wit brown sugar and sweet licorice, fried sugar, cold coffee and soy sauce with a hint of wasabi, sherry and lemon zest.

No carbonation, very soft and oily, a coarse quick dry finish.

A spicy sweet digestive, enjoy responsibly!

Bottle courtesy of maneliquor - hope you enjoyed your trip to Chicago. Served in a Darkness glass. Bottle #1992 of 3300. A 15% Imperial Stout with ghost chilis and champagne yeast - what could possibly go wrong?

A - A quick-dissolving dark mocha foam settles to a thin ring, leaving a few wisps on top and a few spots of lace. Black body with the faintest hint of brown at the edges. Looks pretty intimidating.

S - The smell is absolutely incredible. Massive chili pepper notes mingle with coffee, dark chocolate and roasted malts. Reminds me of Hunahpu's but on steroids. Actually made my eyes water merely from the aroma.

T - Taste is good, but not quite as spectacular. A nice blend of dark chocolate, chili peppers, roasted malts, smoke, and shockingly well-hidden alcohol. I'd never guess this was 15%. Finish is surprisingly understated, without overwhelming bitterness or heat.

M - There's some warmth, but nowhere near what you'd expect from the combination of 15% ABV and Naga chilies. Medium-full body, smooth texture with light stickiness, light dryness and roast in the finish. Champagne yeast keeps things from getting syrupy, but isn't overly thinning or spritzy.

D - I was expecting trainwreck, and I got a superb beer instead. Easily the best thing Brewdog has ever made. I was actually sad that I shared this, as I think I could have tackled the 375ml bottle on my own. May have to seek out additional bottles of this one for the cellar.

A: This one is pitch black with a rather small brown head. Only small lacings.

S: Hot chilli peppers and dark chocolate with a little espresso-like coffee. Sweet dark dried fruits.

T: The chilli kind of dominates. Some sweet dark malt with faint dark dried fruits. Chocolate and coffee. Not that well balanced.

M: Full body and moderate carbonation. The chilli lingers in the aftertaste with a dry bitterness.

O: This was kind of a dissapointment; the chilli overpowered everything else, sadly. A little less chilli would have been better.

Dark thick pour, almost no head. A dark khaki collar forms around the top.

Freshly ground coffe, hot peppers and milk chocolate dominates the aroma.

The flavor strikes first with a thick sweetness and a fresh burst of chile without the heat. A bright cherry acidity mixed with roasted chocolate bitterness that reminds me of a high quality madagascar dark chocolate. Long bittersweet aftertaste. An excellent beer but I would love to see the spiciness of the ghost chile come out more since that is what intrigued me so much about this beer. I feel like my stomach is mixing the heat and alcohol and causing some burn.

Sampled at Redlight Redlight January 2011
The beer sits in my glass with an inky brown / black color. It doesn't have much carbonation to it, but does pour with a thin, brown colored head. There is a big not of chile in the nose, or rather it is definitely noticeable. Rich, umami laden dark malt savoriness is found in the nose too (a mix of dark malt and sweet malt character that is quite concentrated). Chile aromatics mix with a fruitiness to form an interesting mix and the alcohol is surprisingly well hidden in the aroma. The biggest aroma here though is an espresso / black-coffee like roasted character that I almost forgot to mention because it was so expected.

The beer tastes sweet as it first hits my tongue and it is quite viscous but still somehow light bodied. The finish has a lingering, huge black-coffee / espresso character to it. There is a hint of chile spiciness to the finish that grows in presence as you linger in contemplation after a sip. There is a lot of big, dark chocolate like flavors in this beer and it is quite surprising how "light" this beer is; for something of this alcohol level I was expecting a much heavier brew, though this is still most definitely a sipping brew.

I found this beer quite interesting in the end; I wasn't really expecting to enjoy it that much, but I really like the good use of subtle chile notes. If I had to describe this beer I would say that it is first a coffee like beer, supported by chocolate notes that are supported by the chile notes.