A Surprise Left
Mikerphone Brewing

 

 

 

Split a bottle with my father in law who loves classic stouts, and he agreed this was a well made RIS. Black with charcoal highlights and some brown bubbles that quickly disappeared. Smell is typical for RIS with earthy and roasted aromas: soil, coffee, dark chocolate, booze, wood, malt and barley. Taste was exact same, add a hint of licorice with a comfortably warm booze through out. Surprisingly easy to drink despite being chewy and thick.

Tasted in a Rastal Teku from a 750 ml bottle on January 11, 2019. Chocolate sweetness and roasted malt. A bit of booze in the nose with a dark roasted malt finish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On tap at Mikerphone. Served in a 6 oz taster glass. Pours a dark black body, one finger mocha head, good retention, fair bit of sticky lacing. Smell is actually confusing at first; it has that distinct roastiness that Imperial Smells Like Bean Spirit does, and I was thrown off if it weren't for the fact that the barkeep had specifically named them out, and that the actual Bean Spirit had a ton more coffee flavours. If I was smelling this beer on its own without the benefit of a side by side, I'd swear there was coffee in this. Dark fruit, milk chocolate, light earth, trace of smoke. Flavour follows, milk chocolate, dark fruit, touch of earthy bitterness, roast, espresso. It's got a nice complexity, and after tasting this, I wonder if this is the base for IBS. Only Mike knows. Mouthfeel is full bodied, rich and creamy, with a nice substantial depth to it.