Black Plague
Brigadoon Brewery & Brew School

my first one from these guys and its dialed, a gorgeous example of the style, dry and complex, with super cool art as well, i was impressed with this. dark brown, short but dense burlap colored head, not super carbonated but it doesnt need to be, this has just enough textural life to it for the style. aroma is intriguing, roasty and dark but with a little more middle malt than a lot of these have, some of that long boiled crystal character, yet its got less sweetness than a lot of beers that start out like this, almost a dry barleywine richness about it, good bitterness from the dark barley, and with a perhaps high gravity english yeast strain that has some personality, but it also has some cool conditioned character to me, hints of charcoal and black coffee too, and a well hidden alcohol strength, not really there in the nose much at all. the flavor is great, layered and distinctive. i get some smoke in this, some ashy char, but its not intense its smooth and mellow, grounding and wintery and beguiling. the bitterness is high which is pleasant, the finish is fast, i get some underlying minerality indicative of good water chemistry, and the malt flavor is so bold it seems almost decocted to me, really good. full bodied by not gross, drier than many, and hiding its strength the whole time. clever little no frills russian imperial, im eager to try more from these guys now. this really is solid.