Murder
Bombastic Brewing

 

i really was impressed with the attempted murder a few months back, now i am stoked on this one too, same thing from what i gather, just not with cocoa nibs, ancho and cayenne chilies, still with vanilla and cinnamon, a mexican chocolate thing. to me less vanilla than the other one, less pungent and pure pod anyway, but its there with the sweetness of the base beer, lots of malt richness in here even though its inky black, thick as can be, and packed with deep roast, its the sugar that stands out first. the cinnamon is maybe the most pronounced of these, warming and kind of neat with the exposed alcohol this has, i dont mind it in this context at all either. the cocoa is lost in all the dark grain to me, maybe a tad desserty, but its as chocolate forward as the grain itself seems to be, no more, layered nicely though, good internal complexity to this even before all the added ingredients. the peppers are cool too, light smoke and raisin dried fruitiness to them, some middle palate heat and a warm swallow, especially with the cinnamon and the booze, but its in balance with the bitter roast and coffee character, and all the body sort of embraces the heat, warmer than many for sure, but not a fire breather. i actually think the interplay between these ingredients is what makes this coolest, so many beers use this stuff now, but the proportions here are unique to this one, and i could pick it out from a big crowd of them as a result. palate coating, complex but well integrated, spicy but also rich and sexy, really well done! finally a beer from these guys that might be worth what they ask for it...

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing nearly opaque black in the glass with a half finger khaki head with good retention and solid lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, vanilla, cinnamon and hot peppers. Flavor is dark toasted malt, cinnamon, vanilla, green (Ancho in this case) pepper, hot pepper and mild cocoa. Fairly spicy hot finish. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. A quite spicy pepper infused, Mexican chocolate inspired stout. There are some nice, authentic tasting Mexican chocolate character at first, but it quickly is subsumed into the green pepper flavor and cayenne heat. Heat is forward, but appropriate for the style and fairly well supported by the malt base. The quick chocolate flavor at the start is appealing and I found myself wanting to savor it by itself a bit longer. I like hot pepper in stouts and I'm a big fan of chocolate stouts, so this worked for me, but maybe it's a bit too busy. I enjoyed it but wanted a little more balance. Big fan of crows and love this brewery's graphics.

 

L: Black, motor oil, very minimal head.
S: Malt forward. Strong sweet bourbon presence, dark chocolate and coffee notes, hints of pepper and oak, and a bit of cinnamon. Wow.
T: Oh, what a treat this is. Sweet, malty bourbon upfront, quickly becoming dark chocolate with vanilla notes, brown sugar, mild hop bitterness, and coffee beans. Then, the spice. The cayenne peppers are there, adding a bit of a mouth burn, not to much, not distracting from the whisky or chocolate in the body. The heat comes quickly, then subsides, and then the cinnamon on the finish brings it back.
F: Oily, thick, and sticky. Smooth finish.
O: All that I expected, and more. The heat from the peppers and cinnamon changes throughout the swallow, but (for me at least) is never so much that it distracts from the richness of the body. This is a great desert beer, on the sweet side but not all sugar. Superb.

Poured from can into steel mug.

So good. Balanced spices, appropriately solid/heavy mouthfeel that matches the taste. The best mexican hot-chocolate inspired imperial stout I have had.

 

16oz can from Craft Brewers. Inky black pour, small bubbly head fades to flat. Aroma dances a fine line between chocolate and chilis. Taste is Mexican chocolate for an instant before the chilis come in and add some heat, tingling the palate. Sweet heat, cinnamon.

Recent canning poured into a snifter.

A: Fully opaque black liquid with a loudly fizzling mocha-colored head that disappears quickly.

S: Fantastic sweetness is moderate without overpowering, vanilla and milk chocolate. The heat is almost invisible on the nose, with an impression of very faint cinnamon or baking spice.

T: Starts out mellow and darkly sweet with plenty of milk chocolate and vanilla, with a cinnamon spice working it’s way to the front. Then, middle of the palate the cinnamon comes to the front and a spicyness takes a hold of the roof of your mouth and leads to a peppery finish. So fantastic.

MF: Smoothly rich and inviting, with a full-bodied and nearly velvety feel, before a spicy dryness arrives and leaves you leaning in for another sip.

O: I LOVED this one, it is nearly perfect as all four of the listed adjuncts are clearly tasted and the spice & heat are real without being an afterthought or overwhelming the other flavors. It definitely leans into the spice by the finish, but that is what I expected and that’s what I received. BB can sure adjunct-brew a dark beer, that’s for darn sure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A: The beer is jet black in color. It poured with a finger and a half high dense tan head that gradually died down but consistently left a short head covering the surface and lots of lacing down the sides of the glass.
S: Moderate aromas of chocolate and cocoa nibs are present in the nose.
T: The taste initially starts out like the smell with flavors of chocolatey cocoa nibs but almost immediately transitions to spiciness from the ancho chilies and cayenne pepper; these linger into the finish along with some hints of cinnamon.
M: It feels medium- to full-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation. There is a moderate to strong amount of heat from the peppers, particularly in the finish.
O: This is Russian Imperial Stout packs in a lot of heat. While it does a very good job at hiding the alcohol from the taste the peppers are what get to you and make this a slow sipper.

Serving type: can

16 ounce can into tulip glass, canned on 11/27/2019. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a 2 finger dense and rocky tan head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Thick foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, cinnamon, ancho chile, cayenne pepper, vanilla, roasted nuts, biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of licorice, molasses, dark fruit, smoke, charcoal, wood, herbal, grass, peppercorn, pine, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/black/roast/bready malts, cocoa, vanilla, cinnamon, ancho, cayenne, and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast notes; with big strength. Taste of huge milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, cinnamon, ancho chile, cayenne pepper, vanilla, roasted nuts, biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of licorice, molasses, dark fruit, smoke, charcoal, wood, herbal, grass, peppercorn, pine, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate pine, herbal, grass, peppery, roast, charred bitterness; and cinnamon/pepper spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, cinnamon, ancho chile, cayenne pepper, vanilla, roasted nuts, biscuit, dark bread/crust, licorice, molasses, dark fruit, smoke, charcoal, wood, herbal, grass, peppercorn, pine, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/black/roast/bready malts, cocoa, vanilla, cinnamon, ancho, cayenne, and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; with an awesome roast/hop bitter/sweet and spiciness balance; with no cloying/acrid/astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitter/spiciness. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy, silky, bready, and fairly sticky/chalky mouthfeel that is great. Mild increasing warmth of 10.5%, and lingering spice heat after the finish. Overall this is an awesome spiced Russian imperial stout. All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/black/roast/bready malts, cocoa, vanilla, cinnamon, ancho, cayenne, and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV with the mellowly bitter/charred/spicy/drying finish; great soft/silky feel with the spices. Awesome balance of super rich malts, cocoa, vanilla, chile, cayenne, and earthy hops. Mild residual sweetness with lingering bitter/spicy dryness. Very pronounced on spice flavors, but not overwhelming. A really enjoyable offering, and impressive spot on base style example.

 

Pours translucent brown. When it's in the glass it's a dark opaque brown. Two fingers of light brown smooth head. Mild lacing.

Nose is strong cinnamon, malt, chocolate, vanilla. Cinnamon is quite dominant.

Taste is cinnamon, chocolate, malt. Spicy on the back of the throat. One of the most spicy stouts I've had.

Mouthfeel is thin to medium bodied. A little disappointing. The Murder On Drury Lane was beautifully soft, smooth, and dense. This leaves a lot to be desired.

Overall its not bad but compared to other Mexican style stouts I've had its not close to the best. Enjoyable but forgettable.

Very nice Russian imperial stout - canned date 11/27/19. Unique flavors for a stout and the spice worked very well with the richer flavors. Pours a sludgy thicker black color with a minimal film of tan head and really no lingering lacing. Smells of faint ancho spice and heat, medium roast coffee, rich dark fudge chocolate, malt, nuts, caramel and vanilla. Taste follows the nose, good amount of spicy heat at the finish which is well balanced by the sweeter chocolate and malt notes. Smooth mild mouthfeel, not that creamy, decent carbonation. Would have loved to see a little more depth but the balance was good and the uniqueness of the spice was a nice addition.

22 oz bottle- Pours black with a medium dark tan head that retains fairly well. Aroma is cinnamon, cocoa nibs, a touch of cayenne pepper, not getting much of the chilies unfortunately, also tobacco, leather, toffee, rich and decadent. The taste is cinnamon, cocoa, rich without being too sweet, alcohol warming, cayenne is there, but hidden, the chilies again are mostly absent, a touch of heat slowly builds with each sip. Delicious, with all beers with peppers, it can never be enough for me, but this has a nice balance for most people.