BA Imperial Sonus
Calusa Brewing

 

 

When Calusa steps up a standard strength beer to imperial status, they don't just go kinda big, they go really big. More like an imperial Imperial Brown Ale, Sonus grows up in a hurry.

BA Imperial Sonus revs itself up with a very dark brown, initially modestly frothy and eventually falling still, the dark ale is easily mistaken for espresso. As a robust perfume of chocolate, toast, nuttiness, cream and whisky spice roll off the rim, the first sip is sultry, smooth and decadent with honey, caramel, toffee, vanilla cream, candied coconut and chocolate.

Those sweet and savory flavors continue as a more toasty, roasty flavor emerges with dark roast coffee, heavy toast, roasted walnuts and gently smoldering embers fold into the sweet malts. All wrapped in a cocoon of vanilla, cream and caramel, the session takes a decidedly sweet tone into the late palate with a slight woodsy and coffee bitterness to take a slight edge off of the sweetness.

Warm with whisky, the slight and spicy sweetness that closes the session reads like kahlua, coffee liquor and Irish cream with a bourbon backdrop. A long extension of mocha latte plays out in dessert-like fashion.