Giant
Off the tap at the brewpub this beer was a truly opaque black color with a baking cocoa-colored head. The retention of the collar was great and the lacing looked just like a lace-top fishnet stocking, yum! The aroma was light for the style, doughy malt, toasted malt, hints of cocoa and alcohol. The flavors were semi-sweet and had a lot of alcohol punch to it, really reflecting how young the beer was. I tasted caramel malt first, followed by the distinct alcohol heat that was stepping all over the chocolate underneath it. As it warmed I tasted more butterscotch, toffee and wood notes with hints of vanilla. But all the flavors were sadly being quashed by the burden of the 10%. The mouthfeel was silky smooth but a little watery, the body full and the carbonation light. Perhaps with age this one would mellow out into some proper complexity but as it was I found it just too heavy-handed.