Continuous Darkness
Block 15 Brewing - Southtown Tap Room

 

Look: Pours as black as used motor oil with a dense and frothy brown head that quickly builds and slowly recedes to a pillow, leaving gorgeous lacing surrounding the rim

Aroma: Bakers cocoa, espresso, warm brown bread, earthiness, a little toffee, roast, piloncillo, wafts of dark fruit, dark caramel, and light ethanol

Taste: Whoa Nelly. Opens up with a huge, lush hit of cocoa and roast that unpack slowly and methodically, soon followed by some toffee and earthiness. Dark caramel, piloncillo, toffee, and dark fruit bring forth the next chapter in this journey and blend seamlessly with the dark chocolate and coffee, all while earthiness keeps the rich sweetness held off through the close, which is still fairly absent of alcohol heat

Mouthfeel: Full, silky smooth, lightly viscous, medium-high carbonation, and smooth on the finish with a touch of dryness

Overall: This stuff is awesome, simply put. These folks are in my top 5 brewers in the state so when I saw a Russian Imperial Stout from them, and packaged to boot, it was an easy score. It’s a ridiculously good and well-made example that seamlessly blends all aspects I look for in one into a liquid poem with relative ease. A total delight to drink and no sign whatsoever of the whopping 14% ABV either, which makes it quite dangerous. Highly recommended

Pours pure black, settles pure black, and absolutely swallows light in the glass as it supports creamy tan head. Absolutely gorgeous RIS.

The nose is roasty malts, rich milk chocolate, toffee, and a nice dollop of stone fruit, especially dark cherries and plums. I am drooling.

The taste is a dance between the milk chocolate, roasty coffee, toffee, and the dark cherries and plums. This is so delicious, with the balance between all the flavors masking the 14% ABV. That is hard to do, but executed perfectly by the brewery.

The mouthfeel is creamy and coats the palate. This is a world class RIS, IMHO.