Sump Coffee Stout | Perennial Artisan Ales

4.48/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

4.44/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.29/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4.48/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.7/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

4.42/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Beautiful, perfectly inky black brew, topped with a strong, dark brown head. Excellent retention. The brew just looks thick while pouring.

Inviting nose: coffee, molasses, mild red grape notes, brown sugar, caramel, restrained roast. In the background - and I can't really identify why - I get notes of vanilla and maple syrup.

Flavor represents the nose fairly accurately. Though listed as an American Imperial Stout, there's some of the roasty bitterness of an RIS in here. Plenty of sweetness, but far from a dessert stout.

Toast covered in brown sugar and melted caramel, paired with a side of coffee and some red grapes. Surprising amount of roast on the second half, as compared to the much more restrained nose in that respect.

Thick and chewy on the palate. Still lively, and represents the 10.5% ABV almost perfect: it's easy to drink, without losing that "big beer" feel. You know this is potent, without ever hurting from the burn.

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4.73/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75

4.47/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

4.41/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.45/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

4.08/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Bottle thanks to Jon

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4.36/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

4.49/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

4.37/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.52/5  rDev +2%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

2017 vintage, drinking at 1 year 9 months from bottling

L -- First off, this is a very dark beer. No light allowed through, even with 1,000 lumens pressed against the side of the glass. Quarter finger of beautiful mocha-colored head produced with aerated pour. Minimal retention and decent lacing. Nice bottle shape, too: much easier to pour without the dreaded "glug, glug, glug"
S -- Dark chocolate, chili, light roast coffee, french toast, fig, vanilla. Quite decadent
T -- Dark roast coffee, fudge, coffee ice cream, prune, char, caramel, brown sugar, dark chocolate, booze, hint of chili heat in the back
F -- Thick and velvety. Big mouthfeel, minimal carb. Carb could maybe be upped just a hair to make the beer jump off the palate a little more, but I'm really splitting hairs here
O -- Very impressed by the freshness of the coffee character even after over a year in the bottle. This is an excellent coffee dessert stout, one of the best I've had

91/100

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4.14/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

4.24/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25

4.48/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

4.5/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.81/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

4.48/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a large dark brown foamy head. Aroma of floral coffee notes with light roasted malt notes and some black chocolate notes. Taste is a mix of floral coffee notes with no bitterness, some black chocolate notes and light residual sugar. Body is full with good carbonation and no apparent alcohol notes. World-class coffee stout.

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4.1/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Good enough, but underwhelming. Bright and sharp coffee flavor, but thin mouthfeel, and I would say an weak finish compared to other brews in this category. I would try the BA version but I can easily think of a dozen imperial stouts that are a cut above this one.

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4.69/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

4.47/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

4.51/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25