Old Heathen Imperial Stout
Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a snifter. Appears an opaque black with a half inch dark tan head that sinks to a skim quickly. Nothing much in the way of lacing. Aroma is somewhat strange. The first few whiffs smelled a bit like the smoked meat aroma produced by Rauchmalt, but that went away. Now there is a layer of milk chocolate and a bit of banana esters in there as well. Kind of like those chocolate covered frozen bananas. Taste is pretty chocolaty from the start with a bit of a burnt wood character creeping in midway through. It becomes stronger and eventually changes into more of a black coffee taste in the finish. It's good but something about it seems a bit watery to me, hence the docking of a half point. Mouthfeel is fair for the style, full, thick and chewy. Carbonation is decent, but could be a little higher I think. This one wasn't that great, but I wasn't expecting that much so I'm not let down. It's a solid B class Imperial Stout. I say give it a shot.