Shot In The Dark
Illumination Brewing / Funk Brewing

 

Black, opaque body; thick head, light khaki color, dense and creamy. Very nice malt, mocha, and caramel aroma; nice touch of oaken whiskey barrel. Semi-sweet chocolate taste; raw white oak; light coffee flavor; touch of booziness. Heavy body, smooth and velvety with the residual sugar presence; a smidge of alcohol warmth; semi-sweet mouthfeel.

I like this imperial coffee stout. I don't know how intense the coffee presence would be with a fresher version, but I like how its more of a subtle background flavor while the imperial stout's malt sweetness takes center stage. A big, delicious beer.

Poured at 48 F; CANNED ON 04/28/21

Poured into a goblet: color is solid black, head is tan, head presents

Pours a deep dark brown to black color with copper edges and a finger of tan head. The nose has soft bourbon notes that blend well with some modest roast and a touch of chocolate. The upfront notes in the flavor are that of coffee extract. The body is quite light for the style.

 

Sampled in May 2021 from 16oz can in pint glass. "Canned on" date of 4/28/2021 was on the can.

Appearance: Pitch black, dark color, and had a small 1-finger dark tan head when poured. The head lasted only a minute leaving a thin head, and left almost no lacing on the glass.

Smell: There is a strong coffee aroma detected as well as some chocolate and earthy aromas. Also, some sweet vanilla aromas, with no bitter hop aromas. Nice combination between the various aromas, but the coffee aroma dominates.

Taste: Interesting combination of chocolate and coffee flavors. There is a little hop bitterness which provides a nice balance to the other flavors. Also, a little roasted malts flavors, and contrasting bourbon flavor that provides a bit of an edge. A little sweetness like licorice as well.

Mouthfeel: Full/Medium-bodied, and very smooth stout. Moderate alcohol which matches with the 8.0% on the label.

Overall: This is a very good drinking beer, and an interesting imperial-stout. It is not dominated by just the coffee flavor, and is more complex and enjoyable than a regular imperial-stout. This is one of my favorite imperial-stouts, and I would definitely buy this again.

Update: the more I drink this, the more I like it. It reminds me of Founders Breakfast Stout, also one of my favorite stouts. I probably prefer this Funk beer a little more as the bourbon flavor gives it more complexity, interest, and edge.
I could drink a can of this every day.

16 oz can, canned 4/28/21

Pours jet black, tan colored head. Nice soft coffee aroma of dark cocoa and moderate roast, a touch of oak. Similar flavors, drier finish. Full bodied.

 

Poured into a 13 oz Funk Brewing Teku canned on 12/05/18. Pours a very slick near pitch black with a 2 plus finger sticky brown head that leaves loads of thin wisps of lace, nice retention. 4.25

Smell is dry coffee grounds, oaky vanilla, dark chocolate, back strap molasses, and some hints of toffee. 4

Taste follows follows expresso, dark chocolate, molasses, and some oaky vanilla. 4

Mouthfeel is a tad bigger than medium, a touch dry for sure, plenty of carbonation, and drinks a little bigger than its 8.3% ABV. 4

Overall this is very nice, the one I had before was so incredible that this was difficult to keep up with, but a very nice stout. Thanks @jzeilinger for this tasty stout. 4

Sampling a cellar temp 16 oz can poured into my snifter. Picked up the beer on a recent visit to Funk Brewing in Elizabethtown.
The beer is poured fairly aggressively and is motor oil black color with no light passing through my glass when I hold it to the light. The dense creamy tan head foams up 2 cm and fades to a thin surface layer. This wispy layer remains throughout the sampling.
The aroma is rich and malty with some dark chocolate and roasted malt notes mixing together. I also get some charred wood, coffee grounds and black licorice or anise notes. No hop character that I pick up here and the booze is fairly well hidden. Definitely a malt forward brew.
First sip reveals a smooth textured beer with a lighter body than expected and fine and tingly carbonation.
The flavor is what I expect based on the nose. I get a big hit of roasted notes and coffee ground up front. This then rolls to some dark and milk chocolate flavors and then the finish is more coffee and a bit of charred character. not really bitter astringency that can happen from a bold black coffee, but definitely very coffee on the finish.
Again, no hop profile and the booze is still well hidden. This is a very drinkable malty imperial stout, the body could be a little thicker in my opinion, but otherwise its a good beer. Grab one if you are malty like me!

 

A - Dark black colored pour with thick, creamy toffee lacing and very sticky on the sides of the glass.

S - Huge coffee aroma with some dark chocolate roast and a shot of light cream.

T - Robust dark coffee roast flavor from start to finish with some dark roasted chocolate and light char/charcoal. Ends with a lingering dark chocolate coffee char.

M - Thick and full body, viscous like oil, and leaves a coating off coffee and char in the mouth.

O - The coffee is robust and aggressive in this beer. A little on the lighter side of ABV for an Imperial Stout.