“Knowing this beer would be released on Canada Day, eh, we decided to finally brew with an adjunct we have been eager to use since the early days of Mountain Culture – poutine! No, we mean maple syrup. We use a bankrupting amount of the liquid gold both in primary and secondary fermentation to aggrandise the sweet character of this beer and to complement the rich, malt driven body and flavours of chocolate and coffee. Be mindful though, one too many of these and you may find yourself living in the back of a broken down truck and using milk jugs not for their intended purpose.”

Glassware: Snifter.

Appearance: Impenetrable black with a short and fizzy brown cap. The head gradually fades and settles at the rim with little to no lacing as we go.

Aroma: We’ve now said it multiple times that we were going to steer clear of reviewing MC beers but sometimes they brew beers that are too damn irresistible. Example A right here! What they don’t normally do, though, is miss the mark and it appears that’s the case here. The description on the can states a ‘bankrupting amount” of maple was used but it’s still way too subtle for us. Considering it’s an Imperial Maple Stout!

Flavour: Again, the maple is there but it’s agonisingly weak up against the rich Stout base. Big, roasty flavours dominate with chocolate, coffee, singed wood and earth then the shy caramelised sweetness of the maple tries its best to counteract. This unfortunate little set of events carries forward into a rather bitter, roasted and mildly sweet finish.

Mouthfeel: Oily yet fairly chewy texture. Medium-full body and perfectly carbed. The 10% ABV is pretty well concealed for its size.

Overall: Not sure what’s happened here. DJ is nothing short of a maestro, but it seems his Stouts can sometimes fall short on expectations. Very average for his standards.