Dark Necessity
Ever Grain Brewing Co.

Have you ever heard the adage of "One door closing means the opening of CANother"? The Pizza Boy horizontal became MUCH more involved than I initially imagined! Between long hours at work & not drinking as much as I would like as a result, it was a really protracted affair. It was also CANspirational in that they are based out of Enola, PA, on the west shore of the Susquehanna River, across from Harrisburg. Also on the west shore is Ever Grain in Camp Hill, PA & if that city seems familiar, then you may have been a Book of the Month Club member at one time. Fasten your seat belts as The CANQuest (tm) takes on this undertaking! CANd now, the finale. 13/13.

From the CAN: "Dark Necessity Russian Imperial Stout"; "Nostrovia! Nostrovia! Nostrovia!"; "A Russian Imperial Stout with roasted aromas of coffee and molasses, with underlying notes of dates and raisins."; "Proudly Brewed in Camp Hill Central Pennsylvania"; "Estd MMXVI".

Fittingly, the Crack! of the vent produced a light spritz due its being yet CANother brimful craft CAN with nowhere for the tongue to go. This brewery has proven itself to be the generous purveyor of the Brewer's, not Baker's, Dozen throughout the course of this horizontal & for that, I salute them! A slow, gentle C-Line Glug into the awaiting glass produced two-plus fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, deep-brown head with excellent retention, leaving loads of lacing as it slowly fell away. Color was Very Dark Brown to Black/Opaque (SRM = > 34, < 44) with cola highlights at the edges. Nose was quite roasty with a light charcoal smokiness, acCANponied by/with dark chocolate, tobacco, anise, treacle & a distinct booziness. This beer was not ashamed to be up front about its ABV! Mouthfeel was big, thick, full & creamy, like a dollop had been scooped into my mouth & onto my tongue. Mmm. The taste beCAN as a liquefied fudge brownie & slowly morphed into a smoky, bitter anise, dark chocolate & treacle admixture, all while retaining its ever-present alcohol. Once upon a time, this site's Bros used to preach about the respect of beer as a beverage & NOT simply a medium for the ingestion of alcohol. Fair dinkum, but this one was so pervasive that it was hard to ignore. Finish was definitely dry & quite enjoyable as a result. I liked their Sweet Pastry Stouts well enough, but the sweetness really beCAN to weigh me down. No such problem with this one! YMMV.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A- dark black like midnight or motor oil. A 2 finger tan head that is frothy and foamy with a spiderweb lacing on the inside of the pint.

S- molasses, thick, and dark roasted malts, hints of coffee as well.

F- sweet molasses with dark malts. Dark coffee as well like that of a dark roast. I do get hints of raisin but no date.

M-thick and heavy bodied beer. Takes a bit to get through but it is sweet.

O- a nice RIS, i have had better but this was a nice 700th review beer

 

Sampling a cold growler poured into a snifter. The beer is straight from the brewery and pours a pitch black color in my glass with a frothy tan head of one CM that fades to a thick and sturdy edge layer.
The aroma is rich and dark roasted malt with some molasses notes and a good dose of anise. I also get raisins mixed in to sweeten up the nose a little bit. There is also some booziness on the nose, which makes sense at 10%.
The first sip reveals a smooth textured beer with mild spacious carbonation and average to a little thick body. Definitely a sticky coating on my palate after each swallow. The body could be a little thicker to boost my rating of the beer.
The flavor is similar to the nose, I get lots of roasted malt and some molasses and dark fruit, with anise coming in on the finish. There is some boozy finish on the swallow that gives some black pepper and a bit of warming hit on my throat and into my belly.
Even with the warming finish the beer is easier to drink than I would expect from a 10% Imp Stout.
I dont get too much hop character on this beer and enjoy it, I would love it with less anise flavor but that is a personal preference of that not being a favorite flavor. I cant stand black licorice. But other than that this is a worthwhile beer to purchase, especially if you are trying to break away from the hop cycle.

 

 

 

Draft offering at the source appears black in color with a brown cap.
The nose is primarily fruity and alcohol driven with raisons and roasty earthen character. The taste is anise forward with charred grain bitterness and solvent alcohol. It flirts with being acrid yet has an herbal hop presence too.
This is medium in body with light carbonation. Not my favorite RIS but not bad and worth trying.