Jester King Black Metal Review

Name: Jester King Black Metal 
Style: Imperial Stout
ABV: 9.3%
IBUs: 60

I think now is a good time to finish off the second Texas craft beer package that I got about a month ago, and now you can see why. Two of the beers sent to me were from Jester King Brewing based out of Austin, Texas.

Jester King is known for specialising in mostly Wild & Farmhouse (i.e. Saison) style ales so it comes as little shock to me that the first beer we're looking at is described as a Farmhouse Imperial Stout. I give to you Black Metal. On the label there are the ingredients plus a quote about introducing yeast strains to a fermenting beer and how sour beers have more character than non-sour beers.
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Appearance - Pitch black with no visible carbonation. The head takes on a light brown color and is very foamy but I'm not getting any lacing along the sides of the glass.

Aroma - Strong chocolate malt and cherry sweetness/tartness upfront with some light Belgian Yeasts, a bit of toffeeness, some mild bitter hoppiness and maybe some light booziness. The cherry aspect of the nose reminds me a bit of Founder's Imperial Stout, though that is probably the sourness I'm getting and not the actual hops.

Taste - It's fairly identical to the nose. You've got strong chocolate malts with some Belgian yeastiness and a rather strong cherry sour tartness at first. As it warms up however, the tartness becomes more mellow and the beer starts to become more Imperial Stout-like in terms of overall flavor.

This is unlike any Imperial Stout I've had so far and the cherry sourness definitely takes you by surprise and tricks you into thinking it's hoppier than it actually is. With that said, it's a different Imperial Stout that trends unfamiliar territory, but it's a tasty one at that. If you ever find yourself in Texas, this one is a recommended buy.

Jester King Black Metal - 9/10