Small guns and big suspicions. A dangerous combination. Another dangerous combination in my books is high ABV and a stout. Dark, dangerous and complex, and almost the highest ABV we have sampled, this Collective Arts Imperial stout has someone peeling me a grape* with Pinot Noir skins, South Pacific vanilla, and Kiwi cacao. The combinations and permutations seem endless, and dangerous! I approached this brew with trepidation, fear, concern, and of course thirst. The thirst won out and I poured and scored and here are the results.
It pours dark side of the moon dark, Conrad’s heart of darkness dark.** A beer this dark should not be taken lightly. Head in absentia. An aroma of fear, almost medicinal, good lord, what have I got myself into? First sip is cough syrup strong, and not the good tasting kind, not quite as bad as Buckley’s but strong enough to know it will work. My not quite worst fears but pretty bad fears are starting to materialize. It is a sip to survive stout, and once I accept that, things start to settle down. A strong with a sweet chocolate finish is evolving. Strong as in dark fruit with the roasted malt. A full smooth mouthfeel. Slow and easy, this is a Foghat slow ride quaff. A strong but sweet finish as the kiwi cocao does it’s job. Not quite too strong and not quite too sweet. A stout lover stout to to sip and savour. Complex for sure. Sippers savour, swiggers are punished for the caution they have thrown to the wind.
It is what it is, and that is a very strong dark complex sipping stout. Can one beer last a whole hockey game? Nope, not quite, but two periods isn’t bad.
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