Imperium
York Brewery Company Limited

A 330ml bottle with a BB of July 2018. Acquired recently from Trembling Madness in York. Sticking with York Brewery's Roman theme, the label describes this as an imperial stout brewed with six types of malt and hopped with Northdown and Phoenix.

A: Poured into a tulip. A dark reddish-brown hue that appears virtually black in the glass. Good carbonation is visible when held to the light. Yields a large head of creamy beige foam that lasts for a minute or two before reducing to a patchy surface layer.

S: Aroma of dark malt with hints of mild roasted grain, molasses, subtle dried fruit, smoke, ale yeast and leafy hops. Quite nice but lacking in complexity for the style.

T: Tastes of roasted malt with notes of burnt grain, molasses, a hint of coffee, mild dried fruit, smokiness, bitter chocolate, ale yeast, leafy hops and stewed husks. Slightly sweet, followed by a robust malt-driven bitterness upon swallowing.

M: Mouthfeel is smooth and tingly, with fizzy carbonation and decent body. Could be a shade thicker for the style. Somewhat astringent, dries the palate. Aftertaste of bitter roasted malt, molasses, subtle dried fruit, ale yeast and leafy stewed hops.

O: A pretty good beer, but doesn't live up to the claim of being an imperial stout. Looks good, while the aroma and flavour are a satisfying blend of roasted malt, molasses, dried fruit, ale yeast and stewed hops. Body is OK. Drinkable, but neither sufficiently rich nor complex for an imperial stout. That said, it's perfectly decent on its own terms. Worth sampling.

Not a very good imperial stout, though not below average, either: just mediocre, I suppose. The recipe or process could use refining: dry, tannic/astringent, over-use of roasted barley/malt to the point of being ashen, an odd plastic/wax-like scent/flavor, and without much complexity from any apparent layers of base malt or caramel malt.
Pours a dark beige to light tan foam (probably roasted barley and not black malt, according to the Malt book) that fades in below average time to a thin ring around the perimeter of the glass. Lacing is minimal: a few dots cling to the sides of the glass. Body is a dark brown to black color, with light bringing out red-brown hues (SRM 27+). Transparent.
Aroma is modest: charred/ashen toast, some acridity from roasted malt, hints of dark prune character from yeast esters, modest plastic/candle wax character, a slight sweetness far down below everything else.
Flavor is a mix of ashy roast, slightly tannic char, little sweetness, plastic-like/candle wax character, hints of fruity esters (black currant, prune): at least there is no ethanol obviousness. Front: acrid, astringent, and tannic char/ash, plastic-like character, Mid: acrid and bitter roasted malt that yields a bit of molasses and charred/ashen toast, some moderate tannic character, mild bitterness, slight plastic/wax character (phenolics?), modest fruity esters (black currants, prunes), occasional hints of marshmallow as the beer warms. Back: plastic/wax phenolic character, burnt/ashen toast as from roasted malt, bitterness from hops and/or roasted malt, black currant, marshmallow. Aftertaste of lingering dry, charred/ashen toast character and moderate dry bitterness.
Beer is medium bodied, with carbonation of low intensity, resulting in a mostly smooth, just lightly foamy mouthfeel (2.1 or lower CO2). Closes dry, with medium to medium-heavy stickiness on the lips and palate.