Kill The Sun - Macadamia Espresso
Ex Novo Brewing

 

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing opaque in the glass with a one finger milk chocolate head with great retention and nice lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, cocoa, coffee, nuts, mild bourbon and vanilla. Flavor is dark toasted malt, nuts, vanilla, light cocoa and coffee. Vanilla coffee finish. Medium bodied with silky moderate creaminess; great mouth feel. This can appears to be a year old, even though I just picked it up as a new arrival at the store. As usual, a rich, flavorful dark malt base supports the adjunct flavors excellently. Some flavors are subdued, particularly the coffee and bourbon, probably due to the year of rest. Still tastes fine and well balanced. The nut component seems generic, it would be difficult to identify the exact nut used although there is a pleasant nutty component. Nicely done and hopefully not my last Kill the Sun, one of my favorite stout series. Ex Novo has largely left the Northwest area with physical brewing, but I hope we still see it distributed here.

Canned December 14, 2023

While I find that most stouts look alike, this one separates itself from the pack by virtue of its robust, dense head. No doubt it would have resulted in a thick moustache had I taken a sip prior to waiting a couple minutes for it to fully recede.

On the nose, the vanilla shines through much more than the coffee, and in fact there are limited roasted notes in general. Perhaps some faint macadamia nuts aromas, but I may be imagining that. Regardless, this is a nice smelling beer.

Taste is a little more complex than the nose, with roast and general coffee flavors coming and going at different times with each sip. Still plenty of sweetness, but I can't pick out the vanilla as a distinct flavor. Very smooth, almost milkshake like.

Overall, tasty beer.

Very flavorful and balanced imperial stout. Bourbon is quite noticeable on the nose, along with a strong amount of roast. The additives aren't quite as noticeable, except perhaps for the coffee.

On the palate, it all comes together quite nicely. There's even a nicely sweet earthy note from the nuts, almost as though you're biting into one, all surrounded by notes of coffee, bourbon, oak, toffee, caramel, vanilla, and chocolate. Alcohol is noticeable.

A bit fizzy on the palate.

Very, very enjoyable beer.

From a 16 Oz can. 2023 version.
Pitch black pour with no chance of light coming through. The head is a 1 finger tan color that dissipates to a ring around the rim of the glass.
Aroma is strong, and pleasing. Tons of coffee, chocolate, caramel, and macadamia nuts.
Taste - I get a good coffee hit up front. The coffee flavor lingers and is added to by the macadamia nut flavor. Chocolate and caramel also enter the flavor mix.
Thick, smooth, creamy and full bodied.
This is a damn delicious treat.

Kill the Sun 2023 Macadamia Expresso – from Ex Novo Brewing. Received in a retaliatory ninja strike from @snaotheus. Reviewed 06/06/24 (Review 3289). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Stamped on bottom of can “MACADAMIA EXPRESSO 12/14/23”. Stored at 39 degrees at home. Served at 55.0 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 59.1 degrees F.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Deep Brown (SRM 30), opaque.
Body – Black (SRM 40), opaque. Under direct light, same. Rear lite, same with weak red amber at the edges.
Head – Average (Maximum 2.9 cm, aggressive center pour), brown sugar lightening to wheat as it oxygenates, high density, fair retention, leaving a 0.3 cm crown fed by carbonation and a thin partial cap.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 4.25 – Coffee, slightly sweet. No yeast, no hops, no alcohol (13.8 % ABV as marked on the can). However, as it warms more, some bourbon begins to appear.
Flavor – 4.25 – Begins faintly sweet with expresso and weak bourbon. No yeast, no hops, no alcohol. No vanilla, but that’s a deficiency in my taste buds. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Slight gastric warming.
Palate – 4 – Medium; slightly creamy; soft carbonation.
Final Impression and summation: 4.25 Tasty imperial stout with invisible ethanol. Expresso predominates. It’s been years since I’ve even seen macadamia nuts, so I don’t remember how they taste. The bourbon certainly is not “In your face” but provides a mellow background against which I can enjoy this brew.