Dead Of Winter
Big Elm Brewing

 

Pours a darker fizzy head with almost no retention, a touch of lacing, decent legs, a bit inky, jet black color

Nose brings tons of chocolate and fudge, dark chocolate, a little cocoa, a touch nutty, into roasted malt and a bit of coffee, hint of baking spices and cookie dough, as it warms a lot of caramel starts to come through, light alcohol tingle in the nose

Taste brings more dark malts out front but somehow feels a bit thin, roast and dark chocolate, a bit fudgey with more baking spices, cocoa, roasted malt with some coffee notes, a bit of burnt caramel, light but smooth alcohol, a bit of bitterness mostly from the roasted malts, hint of cookie dough late, finishing with a little alcohol warmth and slight tingle, getting a tad spicy with hops coming through, plenty of fudge and dark chocolate late, and lingering bitterness from spicy hops and roast

Mouth, It seems a bit thin overall even though it's fudgey and chewy like but not as thick as I feel it should be, and the carbonation is super low so that might be part of it, alcohol warmth and a little tingle

Overall not bad, some nice stout like characters but doesn't really stand out, and the lack of body and carbonation really hurts it

Can. Dark brown with no head. Tar chocolate and some plummy aroma. Very sweet and grossly slick and cloying with a body that just sits there waiting to coat your mouth with burn caramel and bad dark chocolate. Really bad. Drain.

Poured from an undated 16 oz can into the test glass.
A - Chalkboard black, with a slow steady pour, a lovely tan cap can be created.
S - Dark roast malts, chocolate syrup, touch of molasses.
T - Very much follows he aromatic, with some dark fruit added, hints of fig, and dark brown sugar.
M - Slick on the palate, almost oily, Big heavy Stout, the start is sweet, with the mid drying out well, finish and linger are both toward the sweet side again. All Imperial for sure.
O - A very good and very big stout. the offering has a full feel and hides the 10% very well. Dried meat and sturdy cheese are all that's needed

 

 

 

The 10% ABV sneaks in unnoticed other than a faint whiff of booze in the nose. Solid, yet unexceptional, imperial stout. Nothing fancy here; no chocolate/mint/coffee/coconut. A yeoman's job.

 

 

 

 

12 oz can into tulip. No date.

L. Black with a thick mocha head about 2 fingers. Retreats quickly but leaves a nice lacing.
S. Not too much on the nose, light mocha flavors with a touch of boozeness.
T. Lots more on the palate. Nice dark malts really shine. Chocolate, and coffee with a really nice smokiness and sweetness on the finish.
F. Creamy mouthfeel with nice advance carbonation. Really enjoyed.

 

 

 

 

Shared by our booze enablers, @fearnostout and his lovely wife
L - black with tan head, minimal lacing
A - minimal with a hint of malt and booze
T - malt with increasing chocolate flavor as it warms
F - nicely carbonated with a sweet and slightly bitter finish and medium body

I really enjoyed this beer. ABV at 10.5 hidden very well. Nice deep dark brown color with little head. Very smooth, almost a sweet taste, but not like a milk stout. Very enjoyable.