Shadow Brewer
Brewery Ommegang

Black color. Nice and big , beige head. Coffee, roasted malt , dark fruits in aroma . Great, balanced taste with mild sweetness at the beginning and moderate, roasted bitterness at the dry ending.

I have been holding on to this bottle for about 7-8 years. It poured an opaque dark with ecru head that is leaving some lace. The scent had dark chocolate and subtle roast notes. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with dark semi sweet chocolate malt base with dark roast, vanilla, and dry cocoa. The mouthfeel was medium in body and had good carbonation. Overall it is a solid beer.

 

 

 

 

750 ml bottle into a snifter. Believe it to be a 2018 release, had 3/5/20.

Pours dark brown and mostly opaque, with a one inch foamy head and a good amount of foamy lacing. Aromas of roasted malt, chocolate, light coffee and caramel, a little smoke. Has a light herbal aroma. Flavors of roasted malt, chocolate, some coffee- more as it warms, light caramel and toffee, some hop bitterness. Has a fairly herbal taste. Smooth, a little creamy, a very good full body, well carbonated.

There’s really not all that much to this, but it’s very likeable. Has a different type of hop flavor for a more hop forward stout, but it’s good. Lots of chocolate and malt. Very enjoyable.

This beer pours dark with a brown head.

I taste some chocolate, malty and roasted. The beers is not thick or thin is in the middle. Good beer! I like it!

Poured from a cork'n'cage bomber into a Dogfish Head tulip

L: Nearly black pour with 2 fingers of fluffy off-white head. Nice ring of lacing.

S: Roasted malts, coffee, and cocoa. Rich and inviting.

T.F: Sweet roasted sugars and malts... espresso and dark chocolate. The roast also kicks in some bitterness along with the hopping. Plum and burned raisin a bit later in the swing. Creamy on the tongue... sticky and warming. More roast at the finish.

O: A well done Imperial Stout from Ommegang. Great flavor and drinkability... a dessert sipper.

 

 

Purchased and enjoying Apr 2019.....not sure that this is a retired brew....bottle states its a limited release.

A- Love the masculine bottle with the cork and cap method of sealing the brew inside! As for that brew, it pours with a superbly thick four finger dark tan colored head, which is puffy, creamy and retains very well, only slowly settling down into a meringue like foam over the beer. The liquid is a very dark brown color, is generally very opaque and silky smooth to the eye as it pours. Lacing is thick and clings very well to the inside of my tulip glass, and carbonation is of course much too hard to see. An elegant looking beer overall!

S- Right away, I smell generous aromas of milk and dark chocolates, coffee overtones, mocha, toasty chocolate and black malts, faint hints of old leather and on the finish, there is some sweet blackstrap molasses and burnt toffee richness. An intriguing medley of aromas wafting into my nose here....

T- The burnt character of the malts now take precedent over everything else, providing some traditional bittering charred malt, which hits the sides and back of the palate heavily. Once this dissipates, dry cocoa, black French Press coffee and an Earthy, oat flake dryness that is present from start to finish. Speaking of the finish, the hop character is moderate and provides some bitterness that is sticky and lingering on the palate. Very nice overall!

M/O- The body is most definitely full and the carbonation is very smooth and velvety! The alcohol isn't totally mute, but it is hidden quite well for something that is 9.7%, which translates into quite a social and drinkable Russian Imperial Stout! Overall this has more dessert like qualities than traditional Stout character, yet everything about the new and traditional points blend well together. A perfect after dinner beer in lieu of sweets, but would pair well with a black forest cake or high cocoa content chocolate. Would recommend and will seek this one out again, as long as I can find it! Cheers!!

 

 

L - Deep, pitch, opaque black with a large dark tan head that sticks around and leaves behind tons of lacing - a great looking stout
S - Rich chocolate and roasted malt - slight notes of coffee but overall the smell is pretty faint
T - Follows the nose with notes of rich dark chocolate and roasted malt followed by hints of coffee, slight notes of hops
F - Medium bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation - somewhat airway, yet smooth and rich - lighter than I'd like for an imperial stout, but still a very pleasant mouthfeel
O - Overall a nice imperial stout but honestly, nothing really stands out with this one that would make me want to buy it again over others