Dead Bear Imperial Stout - Devils Backbone Brewing Company

ThomWade

Virginia

3.75/5  rDev -4.6%

02-20-2013 14:17:03 | More by ThomWade

ipas-for-life

Virginia

3.75/5  rDev -4.6%

05-14-2013 22:40:25 | More by ipas-for-life

jorrx003

Florida

3.5/5  rDev -10.9%

01-13-2013 22:25:09 | More by jorrx003

ncaudle

Virginia

3.75/5  rDev -4.6%

10-13-2012 15:00:05 | More by ncaudle

Thorpe429

Illinois

3.63/5  rDev -7.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On tap at Rustico during the Devil’s Backbone NoVA launch. Served in a taster glass. Pours near-black with a nice mocha head and a touch of lacing. The nose carries quite a bit of chocolate and some roast. Almost seems as if this one is barrel-aged, as everyone there seemed to get some oak and bourbon notes from it, however light. Flavor had nice chocolate and a bit of vanilla. Big body with a bit of booze. Nice.

Serving type: on-tap

05-09-2012 17:34:50 | More by Thorpe429

Rhettroactive

Virginia

4.25/5  rDev +8.1%

04-01-2012 00:41:18 | More by Rhettroactive

billab914

Virginia

4.03/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at the brewpub. It poured pitch black in color with a creamy, frothy, dark chocolate colored head to it.

The aroma shows some rich dark chocolate flavors mixing with a little roasty coffee. I get a little caramel sweetness to it as well. Very smooth and flavorful aroma.

The taste also has a lot of dark, bittersweet chocolate coming through. The finish shows more of the roasted malts with some coffee notes to it. I get some sweeter, creamy, caramel notes that give it some nice balance.

The mouthfeel is silky and somewhat creamy with moderate carbonation. Overall I thought it was a very nice beer. It had some rich chocolate and coffee flavors, but brought them all together very well. Very flavorful and drinkable beer overall.

Serving type: on-tap

02-20-2012 20:49:54 | More by billab914

horrorspecialty

Virginia

4.5/5  rDev +14.5%

02-17-2012 13:06:19 | More by horrorspecialty

Deuane

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A-Deep, dark black/brown with ruby highlights. Medium tan head reduced to a thin film and left spotty lace.

S-Fairly light roasted malt with a half hearted backing from some earthy hops. Subtle notes of dark chocolate and espresso upon warming. Had it not been for giving this a chance to warm it would have scored a 3....kinda whimpy for an imperial stout.

T-Lack of aroma hides a full flavoured brew. Full of dark roasted malt goodness, espresso and a finish of dry, bitter chocolate and earthy hops.

M-Medium bodied rich flavours linger and end in dry dark chocolate bitterness.

D-Nicely done as the aroma does kick in with warming. Flavour is present without being over the top. An easy to drink and in the end enjoyable imperial stout.

Serving type: on-tap

09-13-2009 22:17:18 | More by Deuane

CrellMoset

Virginia

4/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Growler courtesy of and split w/ dkachur - thanks! Poured into my new 10 oz. Cristoffel cervoise, which I purchased from Sam's Quik Shop recently only because it's sort of my name and all.

Appearance: I'd poured this one twice - both while it was fresh and after it had been sittin' for a while - and both times a minimal, relatively fast-fading off-white head forms. The brew is a dark brown, not quite black, but getting relatively close.

Aroma: Fresh, crisp baker's chocolate, slightly bitter, perhaps some slight lighter roasted notes, maple syrup, molasses. Surprisingly light, but in a full, earthy, not-too-complex-but-still-enjoyable way.

Taste: Very pleasant. Very pungent on the chocolate end of the scale, sweet and milky, but also a healthy amount of coffee, toast, faint bitter notes - perhaps malty astringencies, perhaps a slight hoppyness - but very nice on the whole. A little syrupy, perhaps.

Mouthfeel: Heavy, and minimal on the carbonation, but probably thinner than most examples of the style. A slight bitter prickle, particularly in the finish, not from the alcohol, but more like bitter chocolate.

Drinkability: A surprisingly low-abv%ed RIS, which is nice - definitely improves the drinkability. This one's not a terribly complex brew - it's basically just your one-two coffee/chocolate malt combo punch - but it's a solid, flavorful one-two, balanced and enjoyable.

Serving type: growler

02-09-2009 06:01:19 | More by CrellMoset