Blindman Brewing Ichorous Imperial Stout at 11% ABV | 80 IBU (C$4.51 at Andrew Hilton Wine & Spirits, 355 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 22-Nov-2017, reviewed 5-Dec-2017)
Appearance: clear deep brown with a short, short-lived beige head, no lacing. (4/5) Aroma: boozy dark fruit, coffee, chocolate, liquorice, hint of smoke. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, high bitter. (8/10) Palate: full slick body, moderate-soft carbonation, sticky lingering bitter warming finish. (4/5)
I had cautiously high hopes for this: cautiously because the can felt like a short fill to me, but high because Blindman has really been hitting their stride with me lately. I needn’t have worried. Boozy good fun, with high sweetness balanced by even higher bitterness, pumped with dark roasty notes that stop just short of Rauchbier levels of smokiness. I hesitate to call the sticky finish drying, because of the high sweetness, but it’s certainly not cloying, and the warming is emphatic without being harsh. That’s not to suggest it’s easy-drinking as such, but that’s a characteristic I’d neither expect nor want from ichor, the blood of the gods. Good stuff any way you look at it. (16/20)
8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
