Charlottesville Area Masters of Real Ale

I felt in the mood for a stout tonight and remember that Econ_guy so nicely gave me one of his smoked stouts a while ago.  I figured I would have enjoy the beer and write a review.

This beer pours exceptionally dark.  I mean like black hole dark, the kind of liquid that seems to absorb light.  There are no highlights, none, at all.  There was almost no head on the beer, perhaps a slight chocolate lacing that vanished within 10 seconds of pouring.  The beer has an interesting auroma.  There is a light smoke that I can barely detect, along with some sort of dark fruit, maybe raisins.

The beer has a strong coffee/roast flavor, very big.  There is a sugary flavor to the beer as well, one that I can't quite pick out, maybe like a sip of dark Belgian candi-syrup, though not as sweet.  There is a Belgian-like funky-ness as well, and the taste finishes a bit cloying.  I think there might be a bit of oxidation in the back of the tongue, but the flavor is very interesting.  I would like a bit more carbonation to balance the other flavors, as well as a bit more smoke.  But, all in all, a very interesting beer.  Thanks for sharing, Econ_guy.