Squatters Outer Darkness
Utah Brewers Cooperative

 

12 oz can poured at 53° into an oversized snifter. 2020 vint.
Pours deep black, small dark tan head.
On the nose, it’s char, molasses, cream sherry, licorice, coffee.
Taste and mouthfeel is glorious, chewy, oily, dates, molasses, a hint of black licorice strand, coffee, dark cacao and quite sweet. Bingo alcohol bite on the finish.
Overall, a beautiful Russian Imperial Stout that I’d put up against Destihl Dosvidana head to head.

Drinking from a 2 year old 12oz. can. Pours black, Dark head, but not much (1/2"). Good lacing / ring activity during the drink. I've been cellaring this now for about 3-4 years and it is hard to keep my hands off it that long. Just getting to the 2 year old stuff lately. RIS style being my favorite; I love roasted, burnt, toasted, hoppy, chocolate'y, RIS bombs. Even mellowed, Outer Darkness still doesn't hide the alcohol completely (just a bit boozy), but I like that! Not too thick of a body. I love drinking one with some of my Irish dark chocolate w/sea salt. Pairs perfectly. Because of the release availability I end up drinking these in the Summer. Great! One of my favorites.

Pours a pitch black with a dark caramel head. Upon shining a light I can see some red shine through all the blackness. This stout is delicious, very smooth, smoky, and malty with hardly any bitterness despite having a BTU of 65. I think the molasses has melted into the caramelized mix of malts, but I can sense a little bit of licorice in the aroma. Otherwise there's some dark chocolate, rum raisin, sherry, black coffee, vanilla bean, and cordial notes here. Solid stout with unique characteristics.

This one smells like bready malts first and foremost. Then I smell some dark chocolaty bitterness. Lastly I can smell the alcohol.  This one smells pretty good.

The taste as they say follows the nose. Sweet and malty up front and then bitter and chocolaty comes out just after.

The mouthfeel is medium and pretty smooth.  It has just a mild carbonation that provides a little prickly. The finish is bittersweet dark chocolate and alcohol. The alcohol and sweetness quickly fade but the bitterness lingers seemingly forever.

This is a good imperial stout. It lacks a little balance due to the predominance of bitter alcohol but it's still complex enough to be tasty. It's good with an overall score of 4.9 out of 6.

Grew on me. Good stout

 

 

 

 

Bottled 9/2013, opened January 2020.

Pours oily black, fluffy head that reduces to a thing ring around the edges of the glass. Smells of roast, malt, very nice overall. Taste is similar. Alcohol is not very present, likely in part due to the age. First time I’ve had this beer, and being aged it somewhat reminds me of Expedition Stout with age on it. Quite good, though I wonder if it would be less rounded and balanced when fresh.

 

Poured from a can into a tulip glass
Appearance -. The beer pours a pitch black color with a tiny head of off white foam. The head fades fast to leave a little bit of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell- The aroma is big of a roasted malt smell with lots of molasses and caramel as well as a decent hit of coffee. Along with these smells comes a little bit of chocolate and a touch of vanilla.
Taste - The taste begins with a big toasty and sweet taste with lots of caramel and molasses sweetness. There is also a big showing of char and a bit of vanilla sweetness. As the taste advances some more roast and a touch of coffee come to the tongue and leave one with a toasty and sweet taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel- The body of the brew is on the thinner side with a carbonation level that is average. A little thicker body may have been slightly better but overall the feel was OK.
Overall - A decent imperial overall. A little sweet, but good overall.

From old, undated notes. Poured from the bottle.

Pitch black; hint of ruby when held to the light.

Dark khaki head; a curtain of lace.

Booze, chocolate & black licorice in the nose (mostly booze).

Thick, creamy mouthfeel.

Booze bomb up front, but dark chocolate and licorice reveal themselves as it warms.

Too over the top to have any kind of balance; this is a rarity: a beer I think would improve with age. Harsh.

 

Pretty good stout out of a can.

Poured into a tulip glass. Very dark brown color with a nice brown head and good lacing. Pleasant mocha smell and taste. Dark berries and nice malt background. Very flavorful beer!

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing opaque black in the glass with a thin brown head that dissipates to patches with light lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, molasses, milk chocolate, light licorice and oak, somewhat boozy. Flavor is dark toasted malt, milk chocolate, licorice, molasses and mild dark dried stone fruit; licorice forward with light char. Medium bodied with light creaminess. A full flavored stout with a malt body appropriate for a RIS. Nice, but subdued, chocolate and dark fruit character. The licorice is a bit bigger than the other flavors, effecting the balance somewhat. Still rich and satisfying and worthy of the Russian imperial name. Enjoyable.

 

 

Can dated best by July 2020 into a tulip glass.

Sum not greater than individual parts. The beer is edgy, doesn't flow/connect together. Visually good, though more brown than black. Nose is nice, LOTS of oak, with raisins and prunes. Taste is my least favorite, ABV isn't well hidden, barrel takes a back seat to the prunes and raisins, some slight additional licorice and molasses. Stinging ABV on the tongue.

Too many others out there to revisit this one.

Had a can at Squatters Brewpub/ SLC Airport.
Big but not too big; abv well hidden. Body silky but heavy/chewy. Very drinkable. Too drinkable. Would live to try on tap... but won’t be here in Utah.
Delicious as advertised. Malty roast with molasses, oak and licorice.
Will look for this one again.

 

Poured from fridge temp. Pours motor oil black with nice light brown head. Nose is coffee grounds, chocolate, tobacco, molasses, and roasted malts. Taste is really nice. Mostly sweet - big brown sugar and black licorice notes. Milk chocolate, vanilla, coffee grounds, charred wood, and cherries. Mouthfeel is insanely creamy. Overall, a super nice RIS.

 

 

Feb 23, 2019

From a can at bar in Salt Lake airport.

Pours jet black without a decent head. Pretty nice looking stout

The smell is a tin like nose. Not very appealing. Also get some prune smell upfront.

The taste is just not that great. Kind of like it smells. Metallic taste and almost a bitter cherry taste to go along with it.

The feel isn’t one you’d expect from a stout. It feels more like it carbonated like an ale.

Overall not that that good. Certainly not worth the abv. Would not have this one again.

 

Tasted from a 12 oz can in a snifter.

L - Deep brown color, just short of black. Totally opaque, even when held up to the light. Thick, sticky, long-lasting tan head and thick sheets of lace.

S - Huge, deep spectrum of malt aromas: dark chocolate, espresso, low oak, a hint of licorice.

T - Strong espresso, burnt coffee beans, low chocolate milk and a tiny bit of licorice. Great flavors for an imperial stout, but maybe not as deep and complex as some.

F - Medium to thick body. High hops and roasted grain bitterness. Medium carbonation asserts as a prickly sensation from minuscule, never-ending bubbles. Moderate alcohol presence.

O - I found this a very good example of the style.

 

Poured from 12 ounce can into snifter glass. Pours motor oil black with a thin, copper-colored head that quickly dissipated. Leaves behind a nice lacing as you power through it. Really nice looking beer overall.

Smell: A bit underwhelming; I’m only getting roasted malt and hints of chocolate

Taste: Initially boozy on the intake and then I’m getting coffee, chocolate, booze, and plums.

Feel: Slightly creamy with medium carbonation. I would have preferred less carbonation but it doesn’t take away from the beer.

 

[Original rating 2012-11-29] Pours opaque brown/black with a small brown head that recedes quickly. Aroma is caramel, faint chocolate and coffee. Taste is sweet malt with the chocolate and coffee and just a bit of alcohol in the finish.

 

 

Pours black with a finger of khaki foam. Head retention is fair, with dense lacing after the first few sips. Aroma is roasted and toasted malts. Black licorice, chocolate, caramel, and light burnt sugar add to the complexity and darkness. Flavor profile is roasted and toasted malts mingling with char, caramel, chocolate, and black licorice. Black licorice is light. Mouth feel is thick with a velvety texture. Overall, a dark and dense stout that is pretty straight forward in terms of flavoring.

Served in a 12oz snifter from a 12oz can.

Beer #300!

Looks like motor oil pouring out of the can! Pitch black in color with no light even in the bulb of my glass. Agressive pour got close to one finger of a creamy dark brown head that slowly settled into the darkness. Leaves nice slicks that slide down the side of the glass as you drink it.

Smells of dark roasted malts. Also getting like a sweet stone fruit smell like cherries. Faint aroma of some black coffee.

A bit of alcohol flavor at the front of the tounge. Middle of the tounge is getting that roasted malts, a slight bit of coffee and the stone fruit thing. The back of the mouth I pick up some slightly gritty yet slightly sweet chocolate.

Mouth feeel is a solid medium. Slightly creamy on the mouth. Finish seems to drop off nicely, not quite like a crisp finish but close. Seems like the flavors linger on.

I bought this last year and cellared this beer to save for a special review. Here it is my #300 beer! Can on the bottom says best by 09/02/18. Yet at 10.5 ABV this seems to cellar just fine. This is one of those big beers that you definitely sip on and enjoy. Not like crushing two or three at a sitting. Definitely a damn well done beer for the style. If you want to take a trip into the darkness this may be the beer for you!

 

 

 

Pours out pitch black as the name suggests. Head is tan with decent retention. Leaves a bit a lacing as well.

The nose grainy, chocolaty and has hints of dried dark fruit. Also picking up some faint coffee but this is lean towards the chocolate. Booze is there as well although not too strong.

Getting lots of dark fruit in the taste. Raisins and plums come to mind with some toast grains and coffee. Chocolate is more mild in the taste.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied and fairly smooth. Carbonation seems a tad bit high but really doesn't hinder the beer.