Aroma: “Roast and chocolate. Some mild dark fruit esters. A little leather and wet tobacco. Clean roast, honey, slight vegetal. Some heat on the nose. Roasty malt with an undertone of tobacco. Maybe a hint of Brett and damp leather.”

Flavor: “Chocolate sweetness carries from the start to finish. The roast builds and adds great complexity. The body is full and sits on your tongue. Some mild fruity esters of cherry and raisin with coffee roast in the finish. Clean, lingering bitterness. Slight chocolate and caramel notes.”

Overall: “Very good, this beer drinks better than it smells. The complexity of the roast and malt sweetness balanced well together. The warmth and earthy bitterness helped to cut the sweet. Very good stout. Heavy on the roast and alcohol, but the hops bitterness and other malts help balance. Could improve with age. This is a great example of the style once you get past the nose.”