22 oz bomber from the October 2009 bottling, drunk in Feb 2010.
Pour gives a standard black affair with medium head, retention and a little lace.
Nose and tastes are quite restrained with all of the usual roast, light bitter and mild-chocolate notes but it is ALL very restrained and tempered. This is also true of the alcohol which gives a tiny bit of heat to the finish, but to describe it any other way than subtle would be wrong.
If you are looking for an aggressive, hop-forward high alcohol beast for your RIS experience, I think that you will be disappointed. I on the other had, was delighted by the approachability of this beer and the way that it drank – super offering.
Alcohol is very well hidden, and along with the mild roast notes and understated nature of the beer, this is extremely drinkable and does not seems like an aggressive beer at all. The drinkability score reflects some of that.
Tasty and a beer i would definitely try again.