Coven (Ghost Coven)
Adroit Theory Brewing Company

L: Pours a chocolate, thick and viscous. Forms a short but robust dark tan head that is very slow to fade. A thick ring of lacing around the edge of the glass. When held to the light it has a thick impenetrable fudge hue.

S: Medium-roast coffee, roasted malts, hint of char, and a hint of baker's chocolate.

T: Dark chocolate, coffee, some malt; fairly bitter.

F: Smooth, creamy mouthfeel at first, but a flourish of hops or something bitter. Alcohol warmth.

O: It's a solid if unspectacular Russian Imperial Stout and another good entry from Adroit.

A very enjoyable Russian Imperial Stout. Poured from a 16 oz. can into a USAF Academy snifter, this beer features a dense, black color with no light coming through. A hard pour produced a smallish, bubbly, dark brown head that was surprisingly large and long-lasting for a beer of this strength. Lacing was primarily a brown film on the glass. Aroma and taste featured strong maltiness with some bitterness in the finish. Very tasty!!! Mouthfeel was the unusual part. It started out very rich, smooth and creamy, almost like it contained lactose. Then the alcohol and hops bitterness kicked in a bit to let you know this was a strong beer. the alcohol presence was mostly warming but there was a slight harsh "kick" to it as well. In all, a well-crafted big beer.

Coven (Ghost Coven) from Adroit Theory. Four pack of 16 fl oz cans, ordered 12/08/25 from Adroit Theory online, $ 31.87/$ 0.498/fl oz. Stored at 40 degrees F at home. Reviewed 31/03/26, review 3717. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Undated can. Served at 56.8 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature is 60.6 degrees F.
Appearance – 3. Other than slight variation in the color of the oxygenated crown, it looks like every other Russian Imperial Stout.
First pour – Deep Brown (SRM 30), opaque.
Body – Black (SRM 40), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear-lit, same except at the very edge.
Head – Small (Maximum 0.8 cm, aggressive center pour) Windsor Tan changing to Caramel as it oxygenates, short retention, quickly dropping to a 0.25 cm crown and a thin partial cap.
Lacing – Poor. A couple of very narrow vertical streaks of near-microscopic bubbles remain.
Aroma – 3.5 – Generally very weak chocolate. No hops, no malt, no coffee, no alcohol.
Flavor – 4.5 – Begins with mild coffee and some light chocolate. No hops, no alcohol (12.5 % as stamped on the label). No dimethylsulfide, no diacetyl. Moderate gastric warming.
Palate – 4.25 – Full: Creamy: Soft carbonation.
Style: Fits the general BA description.
Final impression and summation: 3.75 (After deducting 0.25 point for an undated container) Uncredited label art, unfortunate because Adroit Theory labels are intricate and interesting. The flavor is very good but the nose is weak. At 12.5% ABV, this is dangerously easy to drink.