Dark Horse Plead the 5th Pseudo-Vertical

I had planned this pseudo-vertical ever since I picked up a bottle of 2009 Plead the 5th from Capone's. I call it a pseudo-vertical since a real one would have had a 2010 version as well but drinking three would have been too much for me so it works out I didn't have it.

On the left is the 2009 with the 2011 on the right. The 2011's aroma was full of chocolate, roast and vanilla notes, nearly smelling like some bourbon aged stouts. Really interesting. The 2009 had vanilla and chocolate, but added in some cherry, almost sherry notes. A small sip of the 2009 was very smooth and continued the chocolate and slight sour cherry notes. The 2011 had more chocolate and a bit more of an alcohol edge with some vanilla. No real hints of the sour cherry.

I started out drinking the 2009 first. Very thick mouthfeel on it, really nice. Chocolate and vanilla are the major flavors. Some alcohol comes out but not harshly, just kind of there. The flavors continued after a while with some interesting graham cracker notes appearing in the background. Really enjoyed this with the sherry giving it an interesting extra dimension.

After that was the 2011 which was great, but not quite as good as the 2009. The body was a little thinner and the alcohol a little more noticeable. Without the sherry notes, I did notice the chocolate and vanilla more which was nice.

Plead the 5th is probably my favorite imperial stout right now. It's just so chocolately and vanilla and delicious.. While I enjoyed the 2009 a bit more than the 2011 and the latter had a bit more alcohol heat, both were still pretty awesome and I wasn't disappointed while drinking either. I just liked the 2009 a bit more.