Black Magic Imperial Oatmeal Stout
Crystal Ball Brewing Company

 

Sampling a cellar temp 16 oz can poured into a snifter. The beer pours a dark cola brown color with a creamy beige head of 1 cm. The foam fades slowly to a large island a sturdy edge line around my glass. The edge leaves some scattered lattice on my glass after each sip.
The aroma of this beer is fairly mild but I do get some roasted malt and a bit of brown sugar. No hint of the booze on this bigger beer and no hops anywhere on this brew.
First sip reveals an average body with fine spacious carbonation that gently rolls across my palate. Slightly slick texture that coats my tongue on each swallow.
The flavor is some dark chocolate and a bit of anice, with also the brown sugar and roasted malt from the nose. I dont find any hops here either. The booze is well hidden on this beer and it is easy to drink. the 11% sneaks up on me pretty seriously as I go through the glass. However the nose is so mild and the flavor is not robust either. It isnt a bad imp stout, just not a memorable one.

Happy Preparation for Tomorrow's Solar Eclipse New Beer Sunday (Week 652) CANtinues for me with my fifth entry of the day. I am really anxious for tomorrow & so I am breaking out all sorts of Dark, Black beers in the hopes of appeasing the angry gods who are making the Sun disappear tomorrow.

From the CAN: "Seek the Finest".

I Crack!ed open yet another 16-fl. oz. monster & was faced with the eternal CANundrum of to Glug or not to Glug. I felt that a gentle Glug was in order since I was flagging & I wanted some rack time without having to clean up a mess in the interim, but even a gentle Glug was raising massive amounts of head. Sheesh! I wound up with two-plus fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, deep-tan/light-brown head that suddenly decided to puff away into wisps. Color was Black/Opaque (SRM = 44, although the CAN identifies it as 38), allowing ZERO light penetration. Nose smelled like my idea of a stout - filled with coffee, dark chocolate, dried dark fruits, anise/licorice & treacle. Mmmm. Let's get in on, baby! Mouthfeel was medium, but it had this soft, satiny, velvety presence on my tongue, sliding across like it had been lubed up for everybody's pleasure. The taste was more towards anise, treacle and dark chocolate than the others, but the dried dark fruits and coffee were definitely players in this game. Man, but this was the way to get ready for the eclipse! I CAN't believe that more disciples have not turned on to this majestic stout. Finish was semi-dry, not totally dry, which leads me to wonder how it might age. Would it CANtinue to smooth out? Would some of the flavors fade & others become more assertive? I may have to score another CAN or two & find out.