DJ Dodo
Ale-Mania

Pours a deep, dark mahogany coloration that shows a reddish sheen when held up to the light, with a medium, creamy head. Smells of bready, roasted malt and much lighter accents of coffee and herbal hops. Taste is a good balance of quite bready and roasted malt, some herbal, bitter hops and strong coffee notes, as well as lighter tobacco and licorice, with just a hint of chocolate and brown sugar. Finishes quite dry, with a medium/strong bitterness and some roasted malt, coffee and tobacco lingering in the aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

This is quite dominated by the rather roasted malts and coffee, bitter hops and tobacco accents and while I can usually really appreciate this kind of flavor profile, it feels a little too dry and acrid here, to be honest, while the body and mouthfeel could also be a bit fuller. It still makes for a pretty nice Imperial Stout if you can enjoy that REALLY roasted, dry and bitter character, but the balance seems to be a little off, while this also comes across just a tad too boozy. At the end of the day, this makes for a bold, uncompromising brew that is enjoyable in its own way, but could have probably done with a better balance overall, although the muscovado sugar does provide a bit of subtle sweetness here that doesn't feel overdone at all.