Navel Gazer
New Heights Brewery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look: It pours dark brown with a brown head. Head retention is low.

Smell: It has aromas of cocoa and chocolate with some toffee. There are some light roasted elements in the background with a hint of dark fruits.

Taste: It has cocoa and toffee up front with chocolate. There are some berries in the background which creates some sweetness. It has a strong alcohol component as well.

Feel: It has a full body with strong alcohol with is a strong in the aftertaste.

Overall, there are good flavors and aromas, but the alcohol aftertaste takes away from the flavors of the beer.

thick mouthfeel, rich and roasty, solid imperial stout... reminds me expedition stout and yeti...
dark black body...
smell malty and roasty, pleasantly
taste strong roasted malt larch
feel sharp coffee toasted grain
16oz can

 

16 oz can, illegible date, into EBC Teku.

Silky black which forms a dark brown to black body and a ridiculously tall beige cap of 3 fingers, receding gradually to two, and then gradually to one, leaving lacing that just obliterates the glass.

Aroma of metal shavings, dark chocolate, bakers cacao, and caramel malts.

Flavor is milk chocolate and dark chocolate first; a huge wave of earthy and herbal hop - tethering the sweetness to earth; some burnt coffee, sticky burnt toffee, char, and brown sugar. It's not what I expected but it's a beer I have to respect - utterly shameless in its brash robustness and not afraid to blur lines between Imperial Stout and Black IPA.

Feel is ridiculously creamy for a basic imperial stout, and gives an almost cappuccino-like mouthfeel; has some stabbing carbonation here and there, and a bunch of hop resin on the finish with drying roastiness. Alcohol heat is appropriate here and properly distributed throughout its stay on the tongue.

Overall, an impressive imperial stout, one that will really thrill you if you're not shy of hops. I like my stouts to be a little on the sweet/balanced side, but this was a nice change-up. Approach it like a Black IPA with added sweetness and you'll be ready to enjoy it fully.

Price paid : $3.99 / can
Would buy again : Maybe

 

 

 

 

I received this beer through a BIF, not sure who sent it, but thank you. This beer was my Tennessee beer, however I got ipas to fill that slot. The beer was on my want list for quite a while. I am stoked to try this beer. The label on this beer is awesome. The beer is 50 degrees and served in a tulip glass. The pour of the beer produced a one finger dark tan head. Retention of the head was dismal. The beer does have a higher ABV. No lacing was left on the glass from the head dissipating. A ring around the glass is the only sign on the glass. SRM 36 is the color of the beer, it is dark brown nearly black.The appearance of the beer is above average, I wanted to see a longer lasting head with lacing.

The aromas in the beer are toffee, caramel, dark chocolate, dark roasted malts, anise, figs, hint of smokiness, a touch of char, dark roasted malts, earthiness, herbal, floral, solvent, burnt sugar, and rich medium body coffee.

The flavors in the beer is dark roasted coffee, dark chocolate, dark roasted malts, anise, stone fruit, smokiness, a touch of char, earthy, toffee, burnt sugar, and a hint of Maillard.

The mouthfeel of the beer is coating and a touch dry.

The body of the beer is full, low carbonation, and full finish.

I was expecting more from this beer. The beer has the classic Imperial Stout but heavy on the dark roasted malts. The beer had strong coffee flavors and chocolate, yet the balance in the beer was off. I was wanting more harmony in the beer. I could easily pull flavors out instead of it being seamless.

 

Navel Gazer has a medium, tan head, a very dark brown appearance, some bubbles, and a bit of glass lacing. The aroma is of rich, dark-roasted malt, sweet cream, and coffee. The flavor is of those elements, along with chocolate. Mouthfeel is high medium, and Navel Gazer finishes midway sweet/dry. RJT

L-Dark brown...impressive creamy chocolate head

S-A lot of milk chocolate...chocolate covered milk balls.

T-Milk chocolate up front on the flavor too....a bit boozy...touch of rum...dark chocolate emerging as well. Has some roast, some black coffee and some char characteristics as well but all are very light and contribute slightly to the overall flavor. No question this is a chocolate flavored stout with everything from milk chocolate, to dark chocolate, to chocolate fudge, to malted milk balls.

F-Full bodied...creamy texture....not sharp at all from the ABV...the higher alcohol content lends more of a rummy dimension. Really smooth drinking...Not too heavy but yet firm enough..

O-This is really good. Love the different chocolate flavors and stays interesting with some additional more subtle roasty and charry notes.

 

And now, the big wind-up to Happy New Porters & Stouts Sunday (Week 729), as I diverge from Happy New Russian Stone Beer Sunday (Week 729)! This was a recent drop-off from my local, in-person trader, @tone77 in further support of The CANQuest (tm).

From the CAN: "Proudly Brewed in Nashville, TN"; "Pitch black with notes of toasty sweet malt, this decadent Imperial Stout has a thick, brown head with delicate lacing, toasty malt aroma, and a silky smooth mouth feel. At 9.25%, Navel Gazer will have you nodding your head if you let it."; "IBU: 85".

I beCAN by Crack!ing open the vent on this bad boy. Phew! 16-fl. oz of RIS?!? I remember the scoffing when Oskar Blues released Ten Fidy in a CAN. Heck, I was among them! Put that in a beach-bound cooler? Hoo hah! Now, it comes in a stovepipe CAN, Bbl.-aged & ready to knock you flat. I suppose that I CAN handle a Pint … The Glug had a mind of its own, rolling out in spurts, creating a pseudo-cascade that eventually became two-plus fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, dark-brown head with great retention. Color was Stygian Black/Opaque (SRM = 44), not only with ZERO light penetration, but Cerberus barked at me as I leaned in for a sniff as Charon rowed past on the surface! Holy … Nose smelled like liquified Devil's Food Cake with chocolate icing! Say, where did this CAN come from, anyway?!? Mouthfeel was rich & thick, like a dollop had been scooped onto my tongue. Wait, that was no scoop! That was one of Cthulhu's tentacles! OMFG. The taste was a massive CANbination of Devil's Food Cake, chocolate frosting, fudge brownies, smoked cigars, the aftermath of a home fire, ground human bones & burning Sulphur! It was so unexpectedly delicious that when Lucifer appeared with a pen for me to sign some smoldering document, I almost did so! I pulled my hand away from his parchment at the last seCANd, but I remain in fear of what I CANnot remember. It was as though time had slipped into an abyss as I drank this CANcoction. The brewers have every right to be proud of this one. I have to cop to having low expectations, but I was definitely pleasantly surprised. Finish was dry and while I CANnot say that it was boozy, it certainly made no secret of its ABV. Phew! I see that (unsurprisingly) they make Bbl.-aged versions of this. Next!

L - 2-finger dense mocha head atop a black body.

S - milk chocolate, peanut butter, coffee, molasses.

T - lots of chocolate and peanut butter. Just a hint of coffee. Moderate-low bitterness. Low sweetness. Low booziness.

F - medium-full body with appropriate carb.

O - way too easy to drink for a near-10% beer.

Poured from a 16 oz. can. Has a black color with a 1 inch head. Smell has lots of chocolate, some roasted malts. Taste is the same, chocolate and roasted malts, alcohol is present, way too easy drinking for the abv. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is a very good beer worth trying.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pours a dark black no light showing thru nice thumb sized chocolate head that falls to ring scum, nice sheet lace.

Aroma is big roasted notes big coffee, bakers chocolate, light coco and sugar notes mingled in. Some light anise and hops underneath.

Taste is like the nose good roasted notes, more chocolate in the taste then the nose. Coffee underneath the sweetness and chocolate.

Mouhfeel is big medium carbonation is low side makes it seem smoother.

Overall not a bad big stout.