Monday (2023)
Cycle Brewing

22oz bottle. Label has a 2023 dated copyright. No details for ABV% or for bottling date.
Black colored body. Quiet pour leaves behind a few surface islands and a very thin ring. Initially leaves behind some small lacing spots, but finally a oily sheen only.
Aroma is intense, with smells of roasted malts, nut (hazelnut), and a whiff of banana.
Taste evolves into several expressions. Flavors in order: red wine and cherry, chocolate, hazelnut, banana. Also a flavor akin to coconut, and another to banana bread (with baking spices and butter). Generally sweet and low in bitterness, but let's you know there's alcohol here (vapors from the nose and from each sip). Aftertaste gets more simple with sweet roasted malts and chocolate.
More than medium mouthfeel. Slick and sticky texture. Higher ABV% vaporizes at the end of each sip. Quiet carbonation.
Encourages slow sipping in order to enjoy the progression of flavor stages.

2025-11-23
22oz bottle served in a stemless rastal. Aside from the 2023 vintage, I don't think there's any other date. Fairly sure I got this from @beergoot.

Pours pitch black, syrupy, zero head, still. Smell is chocolate, graham crackers, coffee. Little ginger, something definitely reminds me of graham crackers and gingerbread.

Taste is chocolate cake, frosting, graham crackers light on the ginger, something very sweet and nutty. Booze is kind of noticeable, something similar to a chocolate cherry syrup sweetness. So much chocolate.

Mouthfeel is thick, slick, smooth. Overall, pretty good.

Motor oil thick appearance; impenetrable blackness; no apparent carbonation or head; wispy rings of foam secretively materialize around the inner edges of the glass. Alluring nose like toasted coconut; banana bread; baked cacao nibs and lovingly burnt toast. Intense milk chocolate and roasted coconut flavors; faint banana notes; muted booziness. Dense, chewy, sludgy mouthfeel; lip-smacking stickiness.

A no-nonsense ball-busting multi-year barrel aged imperial stout infused with banana and hazelnut adjuncts.

Without question, this is a big, bad dark beer personified.

ABV: n/a (assumed between 12-13%); pouring temperature: 43.9 °F: bottling info: 2023
Source: local purchase (Coaltrain Fine Wine, Craft Beer & Spirits)

 

 

 

Pours very dark. Strong notes of nuttiness, followed by banana and barrel. Taste is sweet, fruity, and nutty, barrel asserts itself well. Medium bodied, mild thickness but no syrup or oiliness. Boozy warmth. I’m not the biggest hazelnut fan, but this one is flavorful, tasty, and all around great.

Viscous opaque black oily stout pour, brown cap is short lived. Hazelnut, baker's chocolate fudge, with a large bourbon barrel all lead in the smell before that glorious banana note shines through, but once it does it will not be ignored! Taste is similar with the chocolate more of the semi-sweet variety and not fudgy, hazelnut and banana both stars but milder than nose, barrel is still large but bourbon forward by far. Feel is sticky and cool, smooth and viscous, full bodied but not in a chewy way. Extra points for nailing trick ingredients!

 

poured from a 22oz bomber into a TG DBA tumbler. pitch black. minimal brown foam that disappears quite quickly. huge barrel and hazelnut on the nose. love it. tastes offers the same plus chocolate and a light banana in the finish. this is really well done with the subdued banana. thick, full mouthfeel. cycle does it again. was a little hesitant on the banana addition but the barrel, hazelnut and even the chocolate notes of the base stout are all in the lead compared to the banana.

This beer pours jet black. Banana nut with just a hint of barrel on the nose. This has the perfect mouthfeel...coating but not syrupy. Banana shines but not overpowering. Nutty fudge with a finish that is so smooth. You can't wait for next the next drink.