Velvet Magnum II
Other Half Brewing - Center Street

 

 

 

 

Pours pitch black, impervious to light. Nice mocha head slowly fades. Aroma is mainly coconut oil with faint macadamia nut. Very flavorful - lots of coconut; macadamia nut intermingles with faint cinnamon. Ample vanilla and a gentle dose is coffee round out the finish. Sweet but not cloying. Light carbonation. Overall an amazing dessert / pastry imperial stout, these guys are making amazing beers!!! I’ll buy any bottle of their dark stuff any day.

5/7/19
500 ml bottle dated Dec 2018
4.75 rating

 

 

 

 

Perfect dessert beer. Pours black with beige head. Aroma is robust with cinnamon, vanilla and nutty. Heavily sweet. Nutty flavor with lots of cinnamon. Coconut, cocoa, vanilla, coffee, molasses. Excellent

Absolutely delicious. Nose is quite complex and balanced,. Coconut, cinnamon, vanilla, chocolate. Taste follows in balance complexity with a nice nuttiness from macadamia nuts. Thick and creamy. Really great beer

 

Picked this up at Other Half back in December, getting around to it on this night full of pure winter by means of mixed precipitation. Didn't know what to expect with this but there was no doubt that this wasn't like any other American Imperial Stout that I ever had, as the nuttiness and range of flavors made this lighthearted and feeling more like an autumnal seasonal more than anything else.

Good pour to this as the liquid was dark a solid, dark brown with a moderate mocha head that complemented it nicely. Not a lot of lacing left behind as there were some spotty, soapy bubbles left in various areas. Lovely aroma to this full of macadamia nuts, cinnamon, milk chocolate, and coconut, making this feel like something out of the fall. All of those came through in the wondrous, sweet, and nuanced taste that took hold of me from the get-go. Slick, full of coffee, and with a roasted undertone, it was so wondrous as it felt like and not concocted in any way. Such a dessert beer with an underlying richness, this grew on me so much as it fully warmed up.

Like anything else that I had from Other Half in a bottle over the last few months, this had such a hidden alcoholic presence that I wasn't sure if there was even any in here. By the time I finished this off, I could feel a buzz but with so much goodness going on, that was an afterthought more than anything else. Such a understated beast of a beer, this was decadent without feeling rich or luxurious. Once again, Other Half's hit it out of the park with this and has me forgetting what this cost. Lovely to see a Stout take on this form and not be overtly strong, as the lingering coffee creaminess and lactose sweetness had me clamoring for another release of this understated winner of a brew!

 

 

 

Decanted from a 16.9 oz (500 ml) bottle into a custom tasting pint; no production information available, purchase December 2018.
A: Pour a cloudy, dark, dark brown color, not quite black, with a half finger orange-brown head, fair retention, and sticky, somewhat soapy lacing on swirl.
S: Chocolate, bang. Aromas of vanilla, cinnamon, and coconut clearly present, but also more subtle.
T: Sweet without being cloying. Flavors of milk chocolate really overwhelming (and delicious) but vanilla, coconut and cinnamon notes present and additive. Nuttiness also present. Bitterness subsumed within flavor pallet -- very much in the background.
M: Full bodied, low to modest effervescence. Creamy, chewy and substantial. Just a delight on the palate.
O: A home run from Other Half and Burial. Hope they contemplate making it again. Liked the early comment about being decant. Oh, yeah.

 

On draft at the mothership in BKLYN

Crushingly delicious creation.

Dark malts, cafe au lait, vanilla, cinnamon.

Super smooth, devastingly delicious..world class Impy stout all the way