Black Metal Imperial Stout - Jester King Craft Brewery

peensteen

Ontario (Canada)

4.1/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to LadyOfMuchBeer for the bottle

Pitch black, ring of tan/reddish head, not much in the way of lace but there is a bit in places. Smell is coffee heavy, bakers chocolate and roated malt, some hoppy scents, some warm alcohol, berries and other red fruits come and go with some milk chocolate on the back end. Taste bitter at first, coffee and hops, deeply roasted almost burnt malts, chocolate with some more coffee, burn/roasted finish with some chocolate and coffee grinds. Light-med carb, full feel and a pretty solid weight. Nice stuff here, certainly a big beer that needs to be shared and sipped slowly.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2012 13:52:04 | More by peensteen

thebigredone

Wisconsin

4.26/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Thanks to jakethesnake9z9z for this bottle.

Pours an opaque black with a thick, medium brown head.

Nose is strong on chocolate with a tinge of coffee.

Taste is also strong on the chocolate. A light touch of coffee comes through, and there is zero roast bitterness. I like the strong chocolate aspects of this beer. The 10% ABV is well hidden.

Mouthfeel is pleasant. Good thickness and carbonation.

Overall, this is a very nice stout. The heavy chocolate aspect without much residual sweetness makes this fairly unique. Would have liked just a touch more roasted malt bitterness.

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2013 23:15:57 | More by thebigredone

xnicknj

Pennsylvania

4.13/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

750mL bottle poured into JK 1st anny snifter - 2010 bottle - I forget who sent this but thanks!

Pitch black, heavy pour with a one-finger crop of darkly tanned head resting on top. Fades slowly, leaving spotty lacing and a collar of film while drinking.

Darkly roasted malts with touches of baker's chocolate, cocoa, anise and boozy warmth. Light suggestions of coffee beans too.

Cascading waves of dark roasty malts and semi-sweet chocolate, followed by cocoa and soft notes of anise. Layered malt backbone with a tempered sweetness and a pleasant boozy warmth. Finishes with chocolate and a bit of coffee.

Full body, decent carbonation, chewy and soft on the tongue. I've tasted this a couple times before, but it was nice to sit down with a full bottle and really enjoy it. I'm bummed this has been 'permanently' replaced by the farmhouse version.

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2013 12:40:38 | More by xnicknj

wdarcy77

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +2.4%

06-09-2013 14:36:07 | More by wdarcy77

SHODriver

California

4.25/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

A: pours black as night and thick like well used motor oil with a quarter inch of dark tan head that fades slowly in a DFH snifter
S: smells of bitter dark chocolate, roast malt, coffee and charred wood
T: chocolate, roast malt, coffee, anise and a slight sweetness, slight char and burnt sugar. swallow is more chocolate and coffee with a bit of warming alcohol on the back end
M: big and thick in the mouth with soft and smooth carb that leads to a silky mouthfeel. finish is a touch dry but doesn't linger
O: Very impressive and quite good. very smooth flavors and good complexity. drinks pretty easy as well. I'm curious what the farmhouse version is like

Serving type: bottle

06-06-2013 03:08:06 | More by SHODriver

Anonymous1

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -9.6%

06-05-2013 19:54:34 | More by Anonymous1

jasonycurtis

Oklahoma

4.25/5  rDev +2.4%

06-05-2013 00:11:00 | More by jasonycurtis

bird22

California

4/5  rDev -3.6%

06-03-2013 04:25:29 | More by bird22

BeerGuyEsquire

Minnesota

4.5/5  rDev +8.4%

06-03-2013 00:59:24 | More by BeerGuyEsquire

Horse_Mullet

Texas

4.25/5  rDev +2.4%

06-02-2013 12:50:26 | More by Horse_Mullet

SmellsofMahagony

Texas

4.25/5  rDev +2.4%

05-22-2013 03:27:07 | More by SmellsofMahagony

pauldevay

Texas

5/5  rDev +20.5%

05-21-2013 18:42:31 | More by pauldevay

yamar68

Minnesota

4.31/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Big old thanks to Hugonaut13 for sending me this one. I've been longing to try the regz Black Metal for a long time.

Black? Yes, definitely. Creamy beige on top, Old Greg status.

I get a whole lotta plum right off the bat. Raisin, fig, mocha... all things that are nice. Booze is tame, well integrated. So far so good.

Wow. Smooth, silky fruit character followed by char and chocolate. Alliterations ta boot. This is off the chain. A bit of coffee bitterness. I'm not sure why they chose to nix this for the farmhouse version... this is plenty interesting just as it is.

Delicious. Literally. This is bomb, thanks Tom.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2013 03:02:49 | More by yamar68

sirsteve42

New York

4.5/5  rDev +8.4%

05-20-2013 03:04:03 | More by sirsteve42

OCdrummer7271

Texas

5/5  rDev +20.5%

05-19-2013 22:56:44 | More by OCdrummer7271

jakeox

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -9.6%

05-19-2013 01:06:42 | More by jakeox

powz87

Illinois

3/5  rDev -27.7%

05-14-2013 03:08:52 | More by powz87

csfcmitchell

Texas

4.5/5  rDev +8.4%

05-09-2013 17:11:57 | More by csfcmitchell

Auror

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev -3.6%

05-03-2013 18:04:07 | More by Auror

StonedTrippin

Colorado

4/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

not bottle date on this, so I cant say whether its really retired or not, but this was my first jester king brew, and ive decided its the best thing to come out of texas in the dallas stars won the cup in 1999. the pour on this is an inky black with just a small mocha head. it doesn't appear nearly as thick as some other Russian imperials. its got a wild nose on it, a little funk from the yeast, and a ton of burnt barley, char, bitter chocolate, and black licorice. it actually smells and tastes quite a bit like the uinta labyrinth black ale, without all the booze. there is indeed a lot of licorice in the flavor, and it goes well with the bitter malt complexion. I am amazed how thin the body of this is. I mean, its not thin at all, but for the style its much less viscous, and it lends to drinkability, as does its well hidden abv. in the finish I notice a lot of coffee, really picks up after the swallow. not sure of there is coffee in this or not, but it sure comes across like there is. this is a rare Russian imperial stout that I could drink regularly. its just interesting enough, and just easy enough to drink that I could handle a few of these per week. fortunately for my liver, this was the only bottle around, so I don't have to worry about that. already looking forward to my next jester king ale, this was a great introduction to their lineup.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2013 21:58:03 | More by StonedTrippin

Clonies720

Texas

4.73/5  rDev +14%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

10.4% ABV. 750ml bottle

Appearance: Pours like the blackest crude oil you can imagine. Small head with little retention.

Smell: Strong notes of coffee, chocolate, roasty malts, and somewhat of a floral bouquet.

Taste: Dark fruits, similar tastes of roasted coffee, dark chocolate, hop bitterness is present and makes itself known to balance out the sweetness of this beer.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied, but surprisingly light. A pleasant, easy carbonation matches the body as I'm sure over-carbonation would absolutely kill this delicate beer.

Overall: Reading the ingredients list provides some insight as to why the body is so thin. Dextrose is listed on there. Dextrose boosts the alcohol content since it completely ferments out, but leaves a thinner mouthfeel. Even with the light body, this beer certainly has it's place as a great pairing beer to a heavy dessert.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2013 22:07:29 | More by Clonies720

pokgye

California

4/5  rDev -3.6%

04-12-2013 18:33:11 | More by pokgye

Lucho

Florida

3.81/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Thanks to CuriousMonk for the great trade. Cheers!

Appearance: Pours a beautiful thick black with a one finger medium body cherry soda head that dissipates in a minute or so with a ring of carbonation around the rim

Smell: Chocolate malts and some coffee with an astringent smell, maybe anise or cardamom.

Taste: Very lively on the tongue. lots of carbonation and malts up front. In the middle there some sweet characters maybe dark fruit but mostly malts and chocolate. The end finishes slightly acidic and astringent with some coffee and maybe that anise or cardamom. Finishes clean with a mild coffee aftertaste. correction, after 70 mins of drinking with the bottle sitting out and cork stopped, there are some sweet notes that come out more. there are berry notes, maybe blueberry with sweet malts.

Mouthfeel: medium body with lots of jump on the tongue because of the carbonation level.

Overall: This is a good stout but not my favorite for the style. Too much coffee and chocolate malts and not enough dark fruits. The astringent quality is also not desirable.

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2013 04:59:53 | More by Lucho

mikeincharleston

South Carolina

3.75/5  rDev -9.6%

03-31-2013 22:35:56 | More by mikeincharleston

RandyKemka

Connecticut

4.5/5  rDev +8.4%

03-30-2013 17:38:12 | More by RandyKemka