Vertical Epic 09.09.09

Appearance - 4.5

Have a few bottles sitting in my cellar, so I decided to check in on this one and see how it's tasting after a year. It produces a nice 2 finger creamy mocha head when poured into a tulip. The head has very nice retention, sticks around for a long while. There is light lacing and a thick ring left in the glass. The beer is a dark brownish-black, letting very little light through.

Aroma - 4.5

The aroma is very noticeable. There are dark roasted malts, coffee, and dark fruit present. There are also subtle vanilla notes.

Mouthfeel - 4.0

Medium in body with light-medium carbonation. It has a fairly smooth feeling to it.

Taste - 4.0

Similar to the nose. Up front is coffee and dark roasted malts. Towards the middle some of the dark fruits make subtle appearances. It finishes with a black coffee bitterness and woody notes. There are traces of alcohol, but the 8.9% hides itself fairly well.

Overall - 4.0

I wish I had notes from when I had it fresh to compare to it after a year. Regardless, this is a very interesting beer. It has stout like flavors mixed with a Belgian strong dark ale. Interested in re-visiting this beer again in another year or two.