Rolling Thunder Imperial Stout

This beer poured a beautiful, pitch black color that featured a tan foamy head. I detected very nice aromas of roasted malts, chocolate, dried fruit and oak barrel with slight hop overtones. The flavors were very pronounced with dried fruit leading the way (think raisins and plums) along with nice roasted and chocolate malts and moderate hop bittering. The whiskey barrel flavors, though slight, added more definition and complexity to this beer. The body and mouthfeel of this beer was medium to heavy and was somewhat creamy. The carbonation was just right. The alcohol character was certainly in this beer at 11.8 percent ABV, but I detected solvent flavors that are often associated with more alcoholic beers of this nature. This is a minor fault that can be easily corrected in the future, but because of this the finish was a harsh rather than smooth burn. Still, a solid offering from Rogue.