Dark Tsar Imperial Stout
Alcatraz Brewing Co.

 

Poured a very dark brown with reddish brown highlights that had a half finger of light brown head and left some bubbly lacing sticking to the glass. The aroma had some nice roastiness to it with chocolate malts, slight coffee, and a hint of cherries in the background. The taste was even better than the nose which consisited of the fabulous roasty character that meshed real well with the chocolate malts but had nice coffee accents and a touch of cherries to add a little sweetness. The brew was medium in body with a good amount of carbonation which had a roasty, slight sweet, mild astringent, and creamy finish. It drank really good and IMO it was a solid imperial stout. I would definitely have another pint of this beer any day.

On-tap at Alcatraz (Orange)

A: The pour is a very dark brown color with a few hints of red. There's a finger of khaki colored head to go with it.

S: Smell is initially metallic but this goes away for the most part after letting the beer sit for awhile. Otherwise I get pretty usual imperial stout aromas of roasted malt, coffee, and dark chocolate. There are some dark fruit aromas as it warms up.

T: A solid roasted malt flavor, which is really what this beer is all about. Some more subtle chocolate and coffee flavors, but this one is pretty much just roast. Maybe a bit of dark fruit if you're feeling generous.

M: The body is medium with a pretty decent level of carbonation.

D: Pretty easy to drink for an imperial stout. Not too much that's big and bold about it, like you'd usually expect for this style, but at least it's not boozy.