Cosm of Darkness
Timber Ales

 

01/29/23 can @ home

 

 

 

Poured hard from a tall can into a snifter glass, forming a finger of brown head that soon faded to intense lacing with major legs on the glass. Black body. Smell is mild cassia bark. Taste is roasty sweet coconut up front, quickly followed by vanilla and cassia bark. The bark is close to cinnamon, and lingers as an after taste. Just barely thick bodied with moderate carbonation. A bit on the sweet side, but definitely an awesome stout.

 

 

 

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing opaque black in the glass with a half finger brown head with great retention and solid lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, vanilla, cocoa and cinnamon (cassia). Flavor is dark toasted malt, cinnamon (cassia), vanilla and milk chocolate with a hint of almond. Cinnamon spiciness in the finish with dark and milk chocolate. Medium bodied with moderate creaminess, nice mouth feel. Like with Chasing Darkness, the cassia bark is essentially cinnamon. The cinnamon character is fresh and well balanced with the chocolate and light vanilla; the malt is dense and supports the bright flavors very well. I really liked Chasing Darkness, and this one has even better, very distinct chocolate character. An excellent dessert stout; I will be revisiting both Timber stouts whenever they are available.

 

 

a: dark, murky black color. silky looking - like oil. nice dark tan head - but only like a film. makes sense with the abv

s: rich roasted malts, milk chocolate, cinnamon, and dark caramel. oak, brown sugar, molasses, and a hint of heat. cocoa, hot chocolate, vanilla, and some lactose

t: extremely rich. sweet malts, roasted malts, milk and dark chocolate. silky sweet sugar. cinnamon, wood (i'm guessing Cassia), and a nice amount of vanilla. caramel, brown sugar, and sticky molasses. a hint of cola. no hint of alcohol at all, which is amazing given the abv. a little bit of nutmeg, and maybe a hint of roasty smoke

m: silky, sticky heavy mouthfeel with low carbonation

o: a very complex Imperial Stout. at 12% it is extremely dangerous. very well harmonized, and a sipper for sure. very nice beer

Worthwhile splurge, pretty epic. Creamy and thick, cinnamon and vanilla beans work well with the malt and high alcohol content. Very similar to Finback's "Late Afternoon", minus the ginger, plus a little more alcohol. I prefer this one, wouldn't want to drink more than one of either in a sitting though.

 

Pours a dense, dark, thick brown color. This looks like Hershey's Chocolate Syrup. Not even a finger of some of the darkest brown head I've ever seen.

Nose at first was very subdued. Smoky malt was all I was getting. But as it warmed, I got fruit and the Cassia bark. From what I understand they call Cassia, "Chinese Cinnamon". Makes sense. The fruit presence that comes through isnt jammy and tart like raspberry or strawberry. It comes through more like apple or pear.

Taste is that smoky malt, chocolate, fruit, and cassia/cinnamon. This is a very nice mix of flavors. The cinnamon and smokiness seems like it wants to take over, but the fruit notes reel it in. Medium bitterness on this one. Alcohol comes through strongly at 12%.

Mouthfeel is fullbodied and smooth. Almost pillowy and light. Wow. This is fantastic.

Overall a great brew that took me a little by surprise. A good introduction to Timber Ales, which is a brewery I haven't had anything from before.

 

 

 

A: The beer is jet black in color. It poured with a finger high creamy light mocha colored head that took a long time to die down and never completely faded away.
S: Light to moderate aromas of cassia bark are present in the nose.
T: The taste has flavors of cassia bark along with strong notes of chocolate and hints of vanilla beans.
M: It feels medium- to full-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: I thought that the taste of this stout was particularly interesting as it had contrasting notes of spiciness (from the cassia bark) and sweetness (from the chocolate and vanilla beans).

Serving type: can