Grey Monday
The Bruery

 

Pours a very dark brown though with moderate light clarity on the edges. Fizzy cola head that quickly dissipates to a thin ring. Nose has a hint of hazelnuts right off the bat before giving way to big waves of whiskey and rum, molasses, dark soy sauce, barley, oyster sauce, and vanilla. Flavor is a little tough to place. Heat - both warming booze and sharp ethanol - pop right away. There's significant salinity that's different from Black Tuesday - less deep, blackstrap molasses, more brackish sea spray or even oysters. Malts, soy sauce, black licorice are there, but with less intensity than BT. The nuts come forward as it warms, and though it's hard to definitively place hazelnuts, they would be a guess along with peanuts and hazelnuts - definitely nothing too fatty like a walnut. Mouthfeel is remarkably thin for this kind of beer (I'd call it "moderate"), especially when compared to BT or a BCBS. That's not bad per se, but I think the feel contributes to the overall heat and sharpness. This was interesting - though I'm not sure I'd be keen to shell out for another bottle.

 

 

 

 

750 ml bottle, bottled 05/31/19, 19.2% ABV. Served in a snifter, the beer pours dark brown/black with about an inch tan head that didn't stay around for too long. Not much lacing, either. I like the aroma, the brew smells like bourbon, vanilla, fudge, hazelnuts, brown sugar and roasted malt. Taste is similar to the aroma, but there's the addition of some burnt/charred malt, caramel and earthy/oaky flavors. It's a little more roasty/bitter tasting than I was expecting, but that's not a complaint by any means. All the flavors seemed well balanced with no one flavor overpowering the others. Mouthfeel/body is full, it's slick and a bit rich with a moderate amount of carbonation. And as with most of the Bruery's big beers, it's not as boozy as you'd expect it to be. I thought this was a good overall imperial stout, definitely worth trying if you get the chance!

 

 

2013 and drank in 2022
Look - black thick syrup
Smell - boozy maple barrel and hazelnut
Taste - boozy maple hazelnut barrel
Feel - medium full body slight syrup very light carb
Overall - tasty

2018 Vintage
The beer pours very little head and the beer itself is a dark brown color with a bourbon like appearance.

The smell is good. It has a nice mix of a sweet alcohol note and sweet hazelnut.

The taste still has the hazelnut note but the chocolate is more forward and dominates the taste alongside the alcohol note.

The feel is good. It has a heavy body with very little carbonation and a slight burn at the end.

Overall, a good beer worth getting and drinking fresh instead of holding it for a while.

 

 

 

 

 

2018 vintage courtesy of Padremike.

 

 

 

 

 

Boozy delight!

Woah. This is a huge beer. Hazelnuts on the nose. Chocolatey and nutty on the palate. The booze is there, but it works. Just don't have more than one!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pours a very dark brown, or more so, it's black with brown shining through the edges. Its a blood-burgundy color with a clear transparency when direct sunlight pierces it. Head is a finger of khaki-caramel foam after a slow pour, but it fizzles out quickly. Aroma is raisins, toffee, molasses, caramel, chocolate and roasty, toasty, earthy, nutty and caramely malts. Heat is seeping through pretty heavy with a whollop of bourbon booze at the back. Flavor profile is raisins, figs, toffee, molasses, caramel, chocolate, molasses and syrup with hearty roasty, toasty, nutty, caramely and bready malts. It's thick, thick and thick. Drinking a boozy cookie. Bourbon adds heat that seems in and lingers long after the malts wash away. A touch of char adds a little grounding bitterness for the sugary initiation. Mouth feel is thick, sticky, velvety and chewy. Overall, thick and boozy with a lot of complexities. It's super rich and full, which is what you'd imagine out of an 20% ABV beer.

Served in a glencairn glass from a 750mL bottle. 2017 vintage, served & reviewed in May of 2020.