“Imperial Stout – 2x mash, extended boil condition on toasted Sri Lankan Coconut.”

Glassware: Snifter.

Appearance: pitch black with a finger of dark brown head. It slowly peels off and forms a collar with scarce lacing on the glass.

Aroma: First thoughts are that it seems a little disjointed and messy. The 11% ABV is very direct and the coconut aspect is super oily. Once it settles it starts to come together a bit more. We still feel like the base Stout gets a little lost though… we’re only getting a pungent mix of alcohol and rich molasses. To make matters slightly worse we’re now detecting a hint of ethyl acetate (pear drops/apple). Sheesh.

Flavour: Surprisingly far better than the aroma. The coconut provides more of a toasty note and the base stout is less convoluted. The booze burn is still present but it’s better integrated as well. Our main issue still is that it’s simply too harsh, unbalanced and untidy. It’s a mess of flavours that have been let off the leash to do whatever they want.

Mouthfeel: Sharp, oily and astringent. It does coat the palate nicely though. Full bodied, low-ish Co2. As already mentioned the 11% ABV overplays its hand.

Overall: Our first crack at this Canberran brewery and it’s probably obvious to say we’re not impressed. We like the black can, we like the label but unfortunately the beer inside on this occasion fell well short of the mark.