UPDATED: JAN 10, 2022 Bottle at a tasting. Black, beige head. Aroma of burnt malt, chocolate coffee, cocoa. Moderately sweet, chocolate, cherries, chili, cocoa, vanilla, umami. Medium-full bodied, oily, smooth.

UPDATED: JAN 6, 2022 Bottle from webshop. Black color, beige head. Bitter taste with roasted malts, bourbon, dark fruits, chocolate, cacao and nuts. Bitter finish with roasted malts, chocolate, bourbon, dark fruits, cacao and nuts. Excellent imperial porter.

UPDATED: JAN 1, 2022 Bottle online from Trembling Madness. Pours oily black with a slim tan head. Aroma: dark chocolate, booze, treacle. Taste: moderate sweet & bitter, rich, boozy, dark chocolate, dark fruits, wood. Medium body with light carbonation. Hefty but decent

UPDATED: NOV 15, 2021 Bottle at home in Hackney - picked up from HOTM. Pours deep brown with a bubbly, tan head. Medium sweet flavour with good hearty roast, cocoa, raisins, booze, a little vanilla, dark fruits, cherry. Medium to full bodied with fine, massaging carbonation. Warm to hot in the finish, further. Utter sweet cocoa, aged dark fruits, torched barrel, nips of smoke. Lingering warmth. Good, toothy stout.

UPDATED: NOV 9, 2021 330 ml bottle. Pours a very dark brown with full head that settles quickly. Aromas of roasted pepper, dark chocolate and roasted malts. Flavors of cola, dark chocolate roasted malts, alcohol and definite chili. Nicely balanced flavors but ABV is prominent.

UPDATED: JUL 10, 2021 Thin tan left a collar on a deep mahogany coloured still body. Whisky, malt & boozy aroma. Medium bodied, smooth soft & cloying. Bourbon, boozy, malt, coffee & sherry tastes with a big alcohol burn in the back.

UPDATED: MAY 22, 2021 Bottle 330ml shared at DH2 tasting. Pours black with thin beige head. Flavor has roasted malts, licorice, cacao, alcohol. Full body, oily texture, soft carbonation, roasted finish.

UPDATED: MAY 6, 2021 Barrel aged imperial porter flavoured with chili and cocoa nibs, from what I tend to consider the most accomplished of all those wonderful craft breweries the 21st-century ‘wave’ of microbrewing in Britain gave us. Pale greyish beige, small-bubbled and somewhat creamy, medium sized head quickly opening and dissolving; black robe with hazy burgundy edges. Intense bouquet of hot chocolate sauce, brandy, lots and lots of vanilla-scenting wet oak wood, toasted walnuts, marmite, beef stock touch even, vague liquorice hint, hard caramel, soy sauce, solventy shoe polish aspect, peppery note from the chilies but relatively subtle. Sweetish onset, dried figs and raisins with a dash of candied cherry, light but clear soy sauce-like umami side effect, soft carb, full and oily body; hard-caramelly, pecan-nutty malt bittersweetness, becoming increasingly dry and roasty, especially when the tannins from the oak wood appear, adding further dryness. Bourbon-like, warming alcohol in the end, leafy and peppery hops mixed with chili pepperiness though a true ‘chili burn’ remains absent, lots of woodiness and lingering malt bittersweetness. Layered, boozy and powerful beer, but in all its bulkiness and boldness still managing to maintain subtlety and balance too, with equally divided ‘subparts’ together creating something bigger than just the sum of the parts. Another Buxton masterpiece, though I would not have minded more capsaicin heat.

UPDATED: MAR 17, 2021 33cl can. A black beer with a small beige lacing. Aroma of strong dark roasted malt, dark fruits, cocoa, chocolate, mild chili. Taste of sweet sticky dark malt, chocolate, cocoa, mild chili, wood.

UPDATED: MAR 12, 2021 Bottle from HOTM. Jet black colour with a slim tan head. Aroma and taste roasted bitter chocolate with a slight warming chilli hint. Smooth full body.