Reserve Series - Imperial Stout
Shovel Town Brewery

Bottled picked up at the brewery last month. If it's good I'll get more next time I'm there.

Wax coating rips off easy, beer pours a mild foamy smaller head that fades pretty quickly, a little lacing, fair legs, very dark but not quite pitch black

nose started more like a RIS with a bit of dark fruits, fig date like notes, those quickly fade to dark chocolate, cocoa, lots of biscuity cookie dough and the chocolate wafer cookies, lots of sweet caramel and toffee, candy like, even a bit of nougat, all things sweet seem to find themselves in this beer, chocolate chip cookie, semi sweet chocolate, a bit of vanilla and I could almost swear barrel character, but could be just the malts, this smells awesome!

I hope the taste hits just like the nose did... starts with layers of chocolate again, dark thick chocolate out front and hot cocoa, then milk chocolate and semi sweet in the background quickly moving to the chocolate chip cookie, and more biscuity cookie dough but more of the real cookie than the wafer style, into more sweet flavors caramel toffee, nougat, etc, but a fair sweetness not too cloying or syrupy, a bit of roasty malts kick in, an almost char like character, and even touch of smokiness with that interestingly, fair bitterness blending from the roasted malts and some earthy hops, and I think I even get the hints of dark fruits in the background, just before the bitter roasty finish, cocoa powder lingering with more nougat and sweetness. As it warms again I can almost swear there is some barrel spice vanilla and even maybe whisky in there, but again I don't think this has any oak or barrel so weird.

Mouth is fuller bod, a bit soft chewy like, nice fluffy carb, no alcohol

Overall this beer was stellar! Def hit on all cylinders here, and I'll have to get more bottles if they have any, although I think they were almost out last time I was there. I want more!