Fayston Maple Imperial Stout

This beer pours pitch black, completely opaque and devoid of light, with a deep tan head that sticks to the glass with legs & lace. The aroma is chock-full of deep roasted malts, coffee, cocoa, espresso, & lightly burnt toast. The coffee isn’t overbearing and is well melded making it hard to tell the real thing from roast malt. Under all the roast malt is dark caramel with light notes of raisins & dark fruit (plums mostly) and low if any maple. The flavor is similarly very roast forward – rich mocha ice cream, espresso, dark chocolate syrup – with lots more caramel sweetness and dark fruits (black cherry, plums, raisins, currants) than the aroma as well as a little bit of black licorice. It has a rich, chewy mouthfeel that is creamy & smooth with just a hint of alcohol. It’s a great RIS, but I’m not sure I would notice the maple of coffee if it wasn’t listed. Not sure how old this one was, but impressively drinkable for the ABV.