A Night To End All Dawns
Kane Brewing Company

A Night To End All DawnsA Night To End All Dawns
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From:
Kane Brewing Company
 
New Jersey, United States
Style:
American Imperial Stout
Ranked #213
ABV:
12.2%
Score:
98
Ranked #468
Avg:
4.41 | pDev: 7.71%
Reviews:
64
Ratings:
631
Status:
Active
Rated:
Sep 05, 2023
Added:
Mar 12, 2013
Wants:
  444
Gots:
  91
A Night To End All Dawns began life as an imperial stout and was transformed into a massive dark ale during 15 months spent in bourbon barrels.

2014 Version is 12.4% Aged 12 months in bourbon barrels from Four Roses.

2014 release has black wax.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by eawolff99:
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Rated by eawolff99 from Minnesota

4.75/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Sep 25, 2015
More User Ratings:
Photo of BillRoth
Reviewed by BillRoth from Maryland

4.43/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Notes. Had at Controlled Chaos festival @ Burly Oak / Nov 2022.
Massive rich BAIS that presented with strains of old ales. Deep dark malts and subdued hops enhanced with strains of wood, leather, dried fruit, Madeira.
Outstanding.
Sep 05, 2023
 
Rated: 4.38 by Dgman8053 from New York

Feb 18, 2023
Photo of ovaltine
Reviewed by ovaltine from Indiana

4.5/5  rDev +2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Pours a pure onyx black with a creamy tan head that lingers around the edge of the glass as you enjoy the beer. Gorgeous BA imperial stout. The first note on the nose when you crack this open is oak - LOADS of oak, followed by bourbon, caramel, vanilla, and milk chocolate.

The oak is forward on the taste, with a significant amount of rich caramel and milk chocolate which provide a touch of decadence, and a bit of stone fruit and some boozy heat at the back of the palate that settles warmly in your chest. Exceptionally balanced, flavorful, and comforting.

The mouthfeel is rich and velvety, adding to that comforting characteristic. This beer is a delightful indulgence for any beer nerd that loves big BA stouts.
Jan 22, 2023
 
Rated: 4.6 by CraftFan5 from New Jersey

Dec 20, 2022
 
Rated: 4.5 by JonB25 from Delaware

Nov 13, 2022
Photo of Treyliff
Reviewed by Treyliff from West Virginia

4.49/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
2016 Vintage
750ml black wax top bottle poured into a snifter

A- pours jet black in color with a one-finger foamy dark khaki head that reduces to a thin ring around the glass

S- pronounced aroma of nutty mocha fudge brownie batter; chocolate, walnuts, charred malt reminiscent of burnt brownie crust. Plenty of barrel undertones popping through, adding a peppery note, as well as wet oak, caramel, vanilla and a hint of coconut. Traces of molasses, brown sugar and black licorice

T- sweet and malty with notes of cocoa, bitter dark chocolate, caramel and toffee up front. Mid-palate brings out a sharp oaky bourbon note, that adds cracked pepper and a touch of vanilla. The finish gives a umami note, followed by more dark chocolate and some charred malt. Lingers of oaky bourbon, chocolate and brownies

M- medium-heavy body with low carbonation leads to a velvety and silky mouthfeel that continues into a warming, silky finish

O- plenty of barrel to be found, it makes me wonder what it was like fresh. Regardless, a fantastic BA stout
Jun 24, 2022
Photo of micada
Reviewed by micada from New York

3.43/5  rDev -22.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Seems like a mess. Cinnamon up front? Some barrel wood coming through. Mouthfeel is sub-syrupy. Roasty meets sweet meets syrup meets cinnamon meets drain.
Jun 20, 2022
 
Rated: 4.33 by Ben1313 from New Hampshire

Mar 27, 2022
 
Rated: 4.31 by ScottP from New Hampshire

Mar 27, 2022
 
Rated: 4.75 by paulish from New York

Mar 09, 2022
 
Rated: 4 by Nichols33 from Massachusetts

Jan 06, 2022
 
Rated: 4.34 by howardnss from Pennsylvania

Oct 23, 2021
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

3.88/5  rDev -12%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Bottle at share. Near black pour with a thin beige head. Aroma is roasty malts and bourbon. Taste come in sweet, sugary, dark malts, caramel and lots of oak.
Aug 05, 2021
 
Rated: 4.43 by NolaHopHead from Louisiana

Jul 30, 2021
Photo of SierraNevallagash
Reviewed by SierraNevallagash from Maine

4.09/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
2020 vintage - poured into a stout balloon at 50°F.

Glugs out a used motor oil colour, sitting black as night in the glass, with a short head of dark mocha head that quickly settles to a thin brown collar that persists. Slightly glass-coating, and rich looking. 4.25

Nose: STUNNING aroma. Rich, bold, deeply roasted malts exuding caramel, burned toffee, brown sugar, dark and semi-sweet chocolate, and chocolate liqueur. The bourbon barrel is so huge here - vanilla bean frosting, melted caramel, bourbon-soaked charred oak, cinnamon, spices, dusty wood, and age. Very reminiscent of Assassin. 4.5

Palate: ANTEAD greets the palate with a big hefty load of rich malty sweetness. Lots of caramel, brown sugar, and toffee. The roast is very dark and bold, thus, a firm, biting roasty bitterness quickly sweeps in and cuts that sweetness down fairly early on. Baker's cocoa, cacao nib, malt char  lend dryness, followed by a second punch of barrel char, oak spice, and a touch of booze. Massively bold and very roasty. The barrel lends vanilla, bourbon, and spicy heat which all become more apparent as it opens and warms. There's some subtle dark fruit - namely raisin, with a bit of a leathery accord and a whisper of dry tobacco. It quickly dries out, setting up the finish whixh showcases all that dark roast, char, barrel spice, and some oaky tannins, with nary a trace if that opening sweetness in sight. Dry cocoa and barrel linger on like a slow sunset, bringing upon the night - The Night To End All Dawns. 4.0

Mouthfeel/Body: This one suffers a little bit here. Within 10 minutes, it reached a stable point, drinking rather thin for how utterly bold and heavy this is. I'm not one to chase these hot fudge sundae stouts, but I do think a little viscosity can benefit a particularly aggressive stout, and I wish this were just a bit fuller. It's heavy - full-bodied, bold, and slick, but it is quite thin, and without much effervescence to speak of. It does, however, coat the lips pretty dramatically, allowing for a short sweet reprieve whilst being bombarded by the bold roast. Finishes fairly dry - drying, with a big roasty, tannic bite. 4.0

Overall: An enjoyable barrel-aged imperial stout, with a particularly nice bourbon barrel presence. All of the key components are in the right place here, though I find it's just a little imbalanced. If the roast were just slightly less aggressive, with some more malt complexity, and the body a bit fuller, this would be spectacular. Drinkability is slightly hindered by the acrid roast, but over the course of a full night, it opens up a bit. I wouldn't drink it again, but it's a well-made stout nonetheless. 3.75
Jul 09, 2021
Photo of JLK7299
Reviewed by JLK7299 from North Carolina

5/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Pours a nice black with good head. Smells like sweet licorice. Taste is a perfect balance with out the overwhelming bourbon, it’s just the right amount. So thick you can almost chew it. Maybe the best beer I’ve had from maybe the most underrated brewery out there! If Kane were in Vermont, it would be much more well known!
Jun 28, 2021
Photo of Fordcoyote15
Reviewed by Fordcoyote15 from Pennsylvania

4.52/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
A massively long time want finally ticked.

2017 bottle, so a cellar beer, we'll see how this goes.

Look is damn near perfect. Thick, viscous and foamy.

Smell while excellent, smells no different than recent BCBS. So very good, but hopefully this pans out better than BCBS.

Taste - while downright stellar, its absolutely indistinguishable from BCBS. Theres a slightly chalky dry aspect to it that modern bcbs doesn't carry, but old school pre 2015 bcbs does have. Maybe a hair more roaster too. It definitely has a 25cent edge over goose Island but that's about it.

Mouthfeel - slick, oily, sugary, viscous and coating.

Overall- hate to keep comparing this to BCBS and had no idea that was what I was in store for but shit... this is a 750ml bottle of bcbs.

I would absolutely not trade for it again. Would I buy it over bcbs? If the price were the same, yeah. If it cost any more? Probably not. Trade for it? Sad letdown.
Mar 31, 2021
 
Rated: 4.5 by brittanylicious from Indiana

Dec 24, 2020
 
Rated: 4.5 by heysuz from Indiana

Dec 24, 2020
A Night To End All Dawns from Kane Brewing Company
Beer rating: 98 out of 100 with 631 ratings