BBA Der Roest Imperial Stout
Ellison Brewery & Spirits

I had a pint of this freshly draft at the Alvarado Street Brewery in Monterey, California. Pours a dark licorice like color with a nice tight lacing of white foam. The nose is of roasted chocolate covered macadamias. The taste is rich with notes of chocolate, coffee, vanilla and roasted nuts. The feel is atrociously satisfying. One of the best brews I’ve had, period.

 

 

16 ounce can into snifter; no can dating, but is a recent release. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a small dense khaki head with decent retention, that reduces to nothing eventually. Minimal lacing on the glass, with some light streaming carbonation. Aromas of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, nutty dark roast coffee, cinnamon, vanilla, chile pepper, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, bourbon, toasted oak, and dark bread; with light notes of molasses, smoke, char, dark fruit, herbal, and roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malt, coffee, spices, and bourbon barrel notes; with great strength. Taste of huge milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, nutty dark roast coffee, cinnamon, vanilla, chile pepper, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, bourbon, toasted oak, and dark bread; with light notes of molasses, smoke, char, dark fruit, herbal, and roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Very mild herbal/roast bitterness and bourbon/oak/pepper spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, nutty dark roast coffee, cinnamon, vanilla, chile pepper, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, bourbon, toasted oak, dark bread, light smoke/dark fruit, herbal, and roast/toast/oaky earthiness on the finish for a while, Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, coffee, spices, and bourbon barrel flavors; with a nice roasted bitter/sweet and bourbon/oak/pepper spiciness balance; with zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Minimal dryness. Light-medium carbonation and very full body; with a very smooth, creamy, silky, velvety, and rich mouthfeel that is fantastic. Slight slickness, sticky spice, chalky roast, and oak tannins. Mildly increasing pepper heat and alcohol warmth of 10%, no barrel booziness lingering after the finish. Overall this is a fantastic barrel aged spiced imperial stout! All around outstanding complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, coffee, spices, and bourbon barrel flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV; with the very mild bitter/spicy finish. Extremely rich and complex malts, great coffee/cocoa/spice balance, and spot on barrel integration without any booze. A highly enjoyable offering, and spot on spiced stout. Nothing is overwhelming.

 

A - Pours pitch black with a two finger fizzy tan head. The head dissapates quickly leaving no lacing.

S - Aroma is cinnamon, cocoa nibs and pasilla peppers.

T - The taste is cinnamon, dark chocolate, coffee, vanilla, brown sugar and light bourbon with a light pepper heat in the finish.

M - Medium to full bodied with medium carbonation. Creamy mouthfeel with a crisp dry finish.

O - This is a solid BBA spiced stout. The pepper add a nice touch of heat in the finish.

 

 

 

I poured this into a tulip from the can a week after canning. You can hear the fizz popping as it pours, and it leaves no head or lacing whatsoever. The color is a shiny black with red around the edges. The smell is nothing to write home about, but there seems to be some black licorice, with maybe some toasted graham crackers or gingersnaps. It's a bit too fizzy, but other than that the texture is pretty easy, maybe a little light, and it feels like it finds all the tastebuds in your mouth before delivering a massive slug. Licorice, prunes, and brown sugar burst onto the scene in a big way, and they stay there for a while. Sticky and delicious. I had N'Ice Chouffe a couple months ago, and the taste matches pretty well if memory serves me well. I was a fan of that, and I'm a fan of this. I wish I bought more.