Strange Illusion
Lupulin Brewing

Solid blackness, rich, brown-toned head, leaving lace, looking nice.

In the nose: Chocolatey malt meets grassy hops. More hop flavors emerge, citrus-y, orange and pine, matching the mocha-ish malt. Nice.

In the mouth: Hops are huge in this RIS, and the malt is big and tasty. Great balance in a big beer. Increasingly delicious. Creamy, hoppy, strong, delightful. I like this more and more.

I don't normally go for hoppy stouts, but this one has got me.

 

Pours a thinnish but deep black color. Smell of chocolate roasted malts and coffee. Taste was very good nicely roasted malts with cocoa,vanilla some burnt char. Mouth feel this=n for an Imperial but was smooth and soft rich with coffee and malts. Nicely done but to me not an Imperial Stout.

 

 

 

 

Poured from 12oz can into glass. One of the cans of the four pack has a legible canning date stamp of 3/6/2018.
Nearly opaque, black colored body. Two finger mocha colored head really hangs around, and results in creamy cap. Lots of spots and strings of lacing.
Aroma of toasted malts, with hops.
Taste of sweeter roasted malts, with slightly bitter hops. Rather dry at the end. Tastes of chocolate, coffee, caramel, pine/juniper, earthy/smoke, and spice. Slight bitterness at the end is clearly from the hops, rather than from the burnt malts.
Medium mouth feel with good carbonation.
This is a stout that successfully incorporates the pine hops as a equal character to the roasted/slightly smoky malts. The head successfully maintains itself throughout the drinking session; this is an added treat.

 

 

Poured from a 12 oz. can into a chalice.

Appearance: Pours midnight black. Moderate amount of bubbles and a solid finger of tan head that settles into a thin creamy layer.

Smell: A rich and roasty dark malt driven aroma with a scent of chocolate and earthy hops. Dark roasted malt with a scent of dark chocolate, coffee, toast, biscuit, smoke, and caramel along with yeast. Hints of anise. Earthy hop scent of pine and grass. Also some hints of molasses and dark fruit. A very nice aroma.

Taste: Like it smells, a rich and roasty dark malt driven taste with notes of chocolate and earthy hops. Dark roasted malt with notes of dark chocolate, coffee, biscuit, toast, smoke, and caramel along with some yeast. Big earthy hop presence with notes of pine and grass. Some background notes of molasses and dark fruit. A really good complex taste.

Mouthfeel: Full bodied with a moderate level of carbonation. Creamy and silky.

Overall: A really good Imperial Stout. Nice hop presence to balance the roast.

This beer pours a dark black with a large, deep brown head. The aroma features notes of juniper, pine, coriander, black pepper, cocoa powder, and burnt sugar. The flavor starts with burst of dark chocolate and cocoa powder, the pine, mint, licorice, juniper, burnt sugar, blackberry, and grass. The mouthfeel is medium to full, with bold, assertive carbonation. Overall this is a spectacular beer - huge hop presence, with loads of gin like flavors and aroma, paired beautifully with dark, roasty chocolate malts. The result is both hugely complex, and utterly drinkable - insanely drinkable, really, for the ABV.