Fire in the Belly...

I was very excited last night to crack open a bottle I had been cellaring for about 10 months, Great Divide Brewing Company Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout. Or GDBCCOAYIS as I like to call it. It measure in at 9.5% abv. and pours oil black with a dark tan head. The tiramisu aroma is tantalizing. Dark chocolate morsels, mocha, bourbon oak, vanilla, and spicy alcohol on the nose as well. Good lace. I probably could have cellared this for a few more months to mellow it even more, since the alcohol is a bit more obvioius than I expected. It has a rich espresso flavor at finish. Very interesting cayenne spicyness on the back of the throat...I wonder if they added some kind of pepper. This beer smells amazing. Oak dryness is more pronounced at finish. Hop tingle develops halfway through the first glass. Hop spicyness and pepper combine for a really interesting complexity. Tingle on the front sides of the tongue. I love spicy, so I love this beer. However I can see how some people could be a bit distracted by what has to be cayenne...ok, did some research, it turns out it is cayenne pepper. Tastes like a Mexican spiced chocolate. Certainly a bit out of the ordinary, but I like it a lot.