Obsidian Crown
TRVE Brewing Co.

Twelve ounce can. Body is black with two fingers of foamy head. Good lacing.

Aroma is a lightly sweet malt.

Taste follows nose and has a faint chocolate note. No malty char, only a wisp of bitterness on finish. No sign of the 10% ABV.

The carbonation is good and mouthfeel is mid-weight and soft.

Smooth and easy drinking. Inoffensive but that’s damning with faint praise. I prefer stouts with more robust flavor

Pours a pretty effervescent hazel/chestnut color with 1 finger of sand colored head. Pretty good head retention & lacing

S: Roastyness, a little coffee & a little vanilla

T: Coffee with a with a booze smack on the tongue, some vanilla on the edges as well. Coffee, vanilla, woody hops & a touch of booze once this beer is warm. Finishes dry with woody hops & weakish coffee, some booze bite

MF: Medium body, fairly prickly carbonation

Solid for style, the body doesn't say 10% ABV, the flavor does. A little uneven on execution, but wasn't a chore to drink by any means

Didn’t look like a stout when I poured it but it managed to sport a nice tan head which left scant lacing.
The taste has the elements of a stout, the coffee, chocolate, and ubiquitous dark fruit, and has some herbal or grassy flavors going on. A little bitterness which is perfectly appropriate for the style.
The feel is good, a little thin but it fits the taste if not the style.
OA, while not amazing, it’s a tasty beer, but I think it won’t be high on my list of favorite stouts.

Pours out a clean brown color. Looks dark brown in the glass, but not black. Cloudier, too, but not quite opaque. Maybe chill haze in addition to dark malts. Is this some sort of blonde/stout hybrid? Small tan head. Good retention and lacing.

Light roast coffee, roasted nuts, pumpernickel bread, white chocolate, cocoa butter, vanilla candle, hay or very mild spice. Pretty muted, though.

Light roast coffee, pumpernickel bread, hint of vanilla and spice, roasted nuts, dry and lightly roasted finish, clean. Lingering roasted bitterness.

Smooth hit upfront, fairly high carbonation, tapers off to a thin and watery finish, however. Crushable, but not impactful.

A pretty nice experimental stout. Sort of a blonde stout/regular stout hybrid. It has both pros and cons, but it's pretty enjoyable. I'd probably buy it again.

Pours a very clear yet dark brown color; good carbonation presence; thick, fluffy and loosely sudsy head that then settles to a thick, semi-creamy texture, light khaki color. Nice roasted grain nose, rich maltiness. Very good taste; richly sweet, dark malt flavor; a touch of grain char; light brown sugar; light phenolic bitterness; twinge of booziness. Medium-heavy mouthfeel; silky; mild alcohol dryness at the finish.

All in all, this is a good beer, but it does seem a bit weak in color, flavor, and mouthfeel for an imperial stout style. The alcohol presence is relatively subdued, more noticeable in the mild dryness at the finish than anywhere else. While not quite making me think of 'imperial stout' based on my preferences, definitely a no-frills imperial stout (i.e., no crazy adjuncts), and still a very nice dark beer overall.

ABV: 10%; pouring temperature: 52 °F; canning info: n/a
Source: local purchase (Coaltrain Fine Wine, Craft Beer & Spirits)