Daybreak
Hill Farmstead Brewery

 

 

 

 

 

(500 ml bottle, 'bottle conditioning since Februrary 23, 2024; purchased at their retail shop at the brewery... split poured between my Sapwood stemmed and stemless wine glasses)

L: stupid explosion of thick foam on both pours, looks wondrous; damn dark liquid... some lace, eh... collar stays mighty thick though

S: heavy roast(ed barley grist), piney/minted hops overtone; more Black IPA than Big Stout... hint of molasses cookie at the back... subtle herbal noise in the middle, taint of charred things... the aromas coming from the narrow-mouthed stemmed wineglass are fantastic, and decidedly Baltic(?!, as far as malts character)

T: ah, there it is, but what is it?... gravelly robust roasted grain in the aftertaste, relatively bottom-cut dry and almost like overproof, high-herbal alpine dry amaro at the top; mint chocolate layer mid-palate... the subtlties start to subside a few sips in, then the citrus emerges but is merely a backsplash to the slow crescendo and sharpening... halfway through, now the pithy citrus nudges itself into the short-term memories

F: teasing plush swell up front, darting off, quietly morphing into a cold, dark, distorted howl; roast/bitter smoked-out aft, suave slipping away of residual sugars and booze on the palate perimeters... the contrast of the fore-flush and after-burn is supreme; dynamic, edge-pushing blast; stunning

O: had this on draft at the brewery and it had a little something different going on... this bottle wasn't far off, but the bottle conditioning I would assume gave this a touch more hair... one of the better imperial stouts I've had in recent years, but so very much to my inclinations (2314)

Super strong on the roast, herbal, and charred characteristics of a RIS. Some baker's chocolate and espresso. The citrus is only slightly discernible, mostly in the flavors, and lends a nice festive note to an otherwise very bold and abrasive beer.

This one pours a very dark black color, with a small head, and not much lacing.

This smells like milk chocolate, citrus zest, bitter roasted malt, and coffee.

This is quite roasty, in a very old school way that I enjoy. It’s got that European black patent malt feel, roasty, almost smokey, which makes sense given the Mikkeller influence. The citrus zest adds a pleasant softness and zestiness without adding too much overt citrusy flavors. It’s also pretty chocolatey, especially as it warms a little bit.

This creamy, but not sweet, with a great drinkability.

I really enjoyed this one – it does added flavors to a stout well without going the typical modern route for that.

On tap at Armsby Abbey with Paul and Josh on Zwanze Day 4/20/2024.
Pours an opaque dark black iwth a decent sized tan head that slowly dissipates. Rich roasty licorice and chocolate with a hint of smoke and a subtle citrus orange character. Wow that is a great sipper.

January 2014 bottle, drank March 2021 out of a tulip.

Looked nice and had a nice little swirl of head around the edges despite an insignificant carbo pop of the cap to open. Smell was a bit toasty and nothing more, taste followed. I might have detected a trace of burnt orange, but it wasn’t anything all that impressive. It would have been great if it was sweet which was what I was expecting, but no. Feel was thinner than medium to thin, also on that lighter side of what I was expecting.

I don’t think time did this beer any favors, but after reading a few reviews, I think it’s somewhat overhyped as well. I’ve had much better HF stouts.