Blackbeerd Imperial Stout
COAST Brewing Company

Poured from a 12 oz can into a snifter.

I've had this a few times before, but to my surprise I never actually reviewed it, so when I picked one up for the Barleywine/Stout BIF #2, I figured I would grab an extra for myself to review!

The beer pours nearly black with brown/amber highlights. There is about a fingers worth of tan head that slowly recedes leaving a small ring, and a fair amount of lacing.

The aroma is big and roasty with notes of char, licorice, coffee, a hint of smoke, cocoa, and a slight hop bitterness

The flavor follows the aroma quite closely; roasty with a nice smoky char, licorice, coffee, a bit of chocolate, and a nice subtle hop presence. There is also a slight booziness. Medium bodied, moderately carbonated, and slightly slick on the tongue, with just slightly bitter finish.

Overall, this is a very nice straight up RIS

Bomber at share, 2015 vintage. Near black pour, thin beige head. Aroma is roasty and sweet, raisins, fig. taste spoons a nice helping of ABV, sweet, roasty malts, notes of chocolate and raisin, tannic.

Dark Brown with 4 fingers of dark beige head.
It smells of toasted malt with a hint of smoke.

The taste follows the nose and adds black licorice, tar, and tobacco,.

Medium oily body with little carbonation.

Having this back in CA July 26, 2020.

 

12 oz can from the Wall of Beer ($2.99; canning date of Dec. 2017) served in a Belgian snifter.
Look: Opaque, essentially black body; thin. rather weak tan head despite an aggressive pour; limited lacing.
Dark bread, booze, dark dried fruits and faint roasted nuts in the aroma.
The flavor largely follows, with more emphasis on dark bread, coffee and roasted nut flavors and less dried fruit. Very good bitter/sweet balance. High ABV is partially hidden.
Smooth, full body with appropriate light carbonation.

 

Picked up a cold 12 oz can of this brew at Whole Foods and am pouring it at cellar temp into my trusty snifter.
the beer pours a dark cola brown color with no light passing through my glass.
A creamy beige colored head of 2 cm foams up and fades very slowly down the sides of my glass. Very dense lattice remains after a swirl or sip of the beer.
The aroma is dark and malty with some roasted notes and a bit of charred wood but also some anice or black licorice notes. I also get a bit of black coffee to round out the malt profile.
First sip reveals a smooth textured body with very fine and gentle carbonation. Leave a good coating on my palate with each sip. Pretty easy drinker for a bigger beer.
Flavor is what I would expect roasted notes, some dark cocoa, a bit of coffee and charred wood again with a bit of anice here too. Finish lingers with a bitter coffee note and I dont get any hint of the ABV on this beer. A quite nice brew that I am glad to have picked up on vacation. Worthy of a purchase if you like Imp Stouts.

 

famed, fabled and fabulous, the legendary stout from Coast Brewing is nearly as known as the infamous pirate that it portrays. Only a smoky, larger than life, ominously dark ale could do that feat.

Jet black and pouring a viscous creamy texture, the beer releases a rich tan lather. A robust and earthen perfume of roast swoons the nose with notions of dark roast coffee, cocoa, walnut, burnt sugars and a curious campfire drift. Savory, roasty and sweet on the early palate, bold hints of molasses, toffee and burnt cream all come to mind with the first saturating sip.

As the flavors begin to align on the middle palate, its roasty sweetness trends gradually more towards the char with burnt toast, bittersweet chocolate, espresso and black walnut character. Rising bitterness from hops are woodsy, piney and nearly seem to extend from the natural bitterness of coffee and cocoa. Hints of grilled fruit and spices allow a slight vinous tone with fennel, blackcurrant and fig looming.

Full, rounded and pleasantly chewy to on the mouth, the beer's rich coat leads to a long, warm and complex linger of coffee liquor with a hint of sherry. But its the char that wins out in the end as it drags the soft suggestions of smoldering embers along into an extended after palate deep into the next sip.

Presentation: 12 oz. can with a batch number and canning date printed on the bottom. Served in a Samuel Adams pint glass.

Appearance: The two finger, tan colored head is thick and stays for a while leaving some great lacing that covers the whole glass. It's almost black but a hint of reddish brown comes through when it's held up to the light.

Smell: It's rich and malty with notes of milk chocolate, vanilla, molasses and a hint of dark roasted coffee in the background.

Taste: It's sweet and smoky. The main flavors are of roasted malt, dark chocolate, dried fruit and molasses. There's some bitter coffee and a hint of alcohol in the end as well.

Mouthfeel: It's thick, smooth and oily with medium carbonation. Despite the sweetness on the palate it's not cloying at all.

Overall: A well balanced stout with a sweet yet bitter and smoky flavor profile with the right amount of alcohol that gets better as the beer warms up. The texture is very nice as well.

Shoutout to Mbgreg for this one!

 

Bottled on 040115. With Rodda and Jack

 

 

Aged four years prior to drinking (2013 vintage, consumed in 2017)

Subtle hints of Cadbury milk chocolate, rich coffee-like roasted malts, blackcurrant, figs, beeswax, and a hint of smoke trespass upon the olfactory senses with first whiff out of the glass. The chocolate-coffee dichotomy pretty much takes over the entire experience on the nose for the remainder of the drinking session, with the roastier more bitter characteristics seemingly evaporating into thin air with the passage of time.

The sensation on the palate closely matches the nose; bold flavors of French press sludge/thick Turkish coffee blend deftly with smoother milk chocolate and cocoa-notes, accentuated by the RIS grocery list characteristics of jammy dark fruits, toasted oats and charred wood. Likewise on the palate, the coffee mocha theme pervades and solidifies its dominance throughout the remainder of the drinking experience.

Medium to full-bodied, with gentle non-invasive carbonation. Creamy initial mouthfeel, with a tiny bit of slickness on the tongue. There's a bit of gritty tenacity to this brew as it sticks and sort of remains in the back of your mouth long after you're done sipping it; absolutely no evidence of any ABV-derived heat despite almost pushing two digits.

A most excellent non-BA stout.

Received from @Dragginballs76 in NBS BIF#6 – thanks Michael!
12oz can dated 11/29/16. Stored in my reefer at 42 degrees and served at 57 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter.
Aroma – Initially sweet roasted malt. Toward the end, a bitter aroma appears.
Head - Small (Maximum two cm, aggressive pour), tan, dense, good retention, slooowly diminishing to a three mm dense ring fed by effervescence and a complete thin layer.
Lacing – None.
Body – Dark brown/black, opaque.
Flavor – Begins with a slightly bitter roasted malt with a hint of licorice (Licorice is stronger at lower temperatures). Allowing it to warm in my mouth doesn’t enhance any flavors and actually makes the licorice disappear. No trace of hops, alcohol, or diacetyl.
Palate – Full, almost creamy, lively carbonation.
Impression: The lack of lacing and the small head are very typical of a high alcohol (9.3% ABV) brew, at least in my experience. However, the mono-taste, while not bad, is somewhat disappointing. Overall, not a bad brew, just not one I will seek out.
Appearance 4, Aroma 4, Flavor 3.75, Palate 4, Overall 3.75.

not sure from whereal I got this, I believe it was a trade extra. bottle says 112016.

overall fairly nice non BA stout. very creamy mouthfeel and great chocolate flavor. really enjoyable.

 

 

Viscous black with a large, fluffy mocha head, caving in due to large air pockets and settling to a thin film.

Smell is coffee, chocolate lava cake, with a slight sharp, metallic note, and banana skin

Taste is nice and roasty, with cocoa, dark chocolate, bitter coffee, toasty walnut, tangy Werther's and woody earthy hops.

Medium, velvety body, thin fizz, and semi-dry.