What We Don't See
Kings County Brewers Collective (KCBC)

CANNED ON: 11/03/25. Poured into a Duvel tulip.

A: Black with 1-2 finger beige frothy head with good retention and copious lacing.

S: Great balance with roast, black coffee, rye spice, dark caramel, and herbal hops

T: Flavor is complex with ample roast, black coffee, evident rye spiciness, dark caramel, and herbal spicy hop character. Bitterness is low-medium.

M: Medium body with reasonably dry finish.

O: KCBC What We Don’t See is an excellent imperial rye stout with big flavor and aroma. It’s not quite at Wookey Jack level but close. Very enjoyable and definite worth a try.

Very good Imperial Stout. Poured from a 16 oz. can into a snifter, this beer featured a black color with no light coming through and a frothy, bubbly tan head with good retention for a strong beer. Aroma and taste were strong: bready malt, coffee and dark chocolate. Very good flavor. Mouthfeel was rich and creamy without much alcohol presence. This one is a winner all the way11

 

 

Grabbed a single at Cheers. Have been a fan of KCBC for most part, and happy to see a non/ adjunct Imp Stout in the cooler. Served @50 degrees in a snifter. Dry nice pour black and tan with some nice retention then lacing. Some nice blood orange accents to light. Nose evident but muted. Tastes like a big porter with some hoppiness and licorice. Some dark fruit and black malts. Tasty. Body is med-heavy smooth but accompanied by a bright effervescence. All in all a nice drinkable Imp Stout.

Great looking stout. Poured into a belgian/ tulip style glass. Nose is a little muted but you can pick up some roasty notes. Alcohol in the taste - not a surprise at 9% but it does come through noticeably. Beyond that, dark fruits, light chocolate, some hoppy notes. This is a slow drinker - medium to heavy mouthfeel and as previously mentioned the alcohol does make itself known. It's an okay stout. My stout rating scale tends to skew on the higher side since its one of my favorite styles.

Poured a black body with minimal tan head that quickly died. The aroma has notes of mild and roasted coffee along with touches of wood and chocolate. Dry, heavy, sticky, a roasted chocolate with some char, wood and notes of coffee in there with mostly well-hidden booze and something that seemed to come across as black cherry, and beer finishes dry and a touch boozy and overall an enjoyable slow-sipper.

16 ounce can, canned on 11/13/23. Thanks to Brutaltruth for this brew! Served in a chalice, the beer pours dark brown/black with a couple inch tan head. Head retention and lacing are both pretty good. Aroma is nice, the brew smells like coffee, dark chocolate, roasted malt and some earthiness. I think the taste is similar to the aroma, but there's also some dark bread, toffee, licorice, and some smoky flavors noticeable too. Mouthfeel/body is full, it's creamy and a bit coating with a moderate amount of carbonation. I liked this one a lot, worth a try if you get the chance!

 

 

01/2024 can @ home

 

The Pretentious Glass Co. Imperial Snifter is holding a black beer with very dark cola highlights. 1" of foamy chestnut holds for a long period before leaving coating of spotty lace. The pour was dense, and sure enough a thick viscous film echoes each sip.

The hop presence is surprisingly strong, with pine lifted by alcohol fumes. The roasted barley is almost a secondary element. An earthy background is punctuated by mocha.

Bitter, charred malt holds court, while ash, cocoa, and coffee grinds surround every sip. Burnt molasses eventually give way to a light sweetness. The finish is long, strong, and charred, with a persistent bite of alcohol and jalapeno in the throat.

The body seems dese at first, then quickly thins the surprisingly effervescent carbonation. It has a scratchy wool texture. ABV is well above weight, with mild heat. It is dry yet leaves a sugary residue on the lips.

This beer is an exercise in contrasts. Peculiarly old school American Stout, with surprises at every step. I suspect it would go well with a Mexican Mole.

From the 16 oz can in a snifter. This excellent standard bearer of a imperial
stout pours a coal black with a nice head of tan foam that subsides to a thick
ring, thin layer, and displays some nice lacing. Nose of coffee, chocolate,
toffee, char, and light smoke with dark berry notes. Flavors show excellent
balance with dark coffee, dark chocolate, char, cream, brulee, light smoke,
brewers licorice, and toffee. Mouth feel is full, smooth, lightly slick,
moderately coating, light carbonation, moderately chewy, and finishing
with a nicely placed bitter malt note.

Of mention, with warmth brings out dark berry notes of blackberry and
blueberry as well as some raisin notes.

Overall, a fantastic standard bearer---no frills, all stout!

Cheers

Beautiful pour - picture perfect. Deep dark color. Big tall head that stays around.

A bit of tartness comes through on the nose.

Taste is good, but nothing special. Pretty typical for this style.

Decent beer, but nothing outstanding.

 

Pours very dark. Tan foam. Cocoa aroma. A very deep and rich chocolate body. Light sweetness. A little syrupy. Pretty smooth. Slight bitter finish. Heavy but the alcohol is well hidden. I guess thats what we dont see.

16 oz'er canned on 11/3/20 from the Craft beer Quick Stop

Brownish toffee color, a shade lighter than black walnut. Wood grain, rye barrel maple aroma; toffee truffles with licorice slices; vinous, merlot type fruitiness: raspberry chocolate.
Punch of prune flavor and then a bunch of deepened, matured black flavors: licorice, tar, grainy smoke, Riga Black Balsam. Thought it was a Baltic porter at first sip before some warmth and depth it's contributed by English toffee.
Feel has some ethyl heat and somewhat thin given the gravitas of flavor thinking it was a porter.

Canned on 11-03-2020. My can says 9% abv. not 8.5.
Deep, dark brown, clear opaque beer that produced a 3 inch head of tan foam.
Excellent lace cling and retention of a thin cap lasted for a while.
Aroma of black and chocolate malts, notes of cocoa and licorice, mowed Christmas trees and hints of roofing tar.
The flavor is rich and malty but not heavy or over sweet. More notes of semi sweet chocolate along with some maple and charred wood. Mid swallow dryness from dark grains and rye, hop bitterness is secondary but assertive enough to balance the huge malt complexity.
The body is full or close to it but again, not heavy or cloying with rich, stout character and well hidden alcohol.
Finish is warming and a bit astringent but satisfyingly stouty with a lingering blend of scorched toffee and a booze soaked hop bite.
Very drinkable, full flavored Imperial stout.