Figure Eight Ro Shampo

This is a 7.5% ABV Imperial Red Ale from the Figure Eight Brewing Company of Valparaiso, Indiana. I rarely like to type the bottle verbiage verbatim, but in this case it both explains the bottle art and is funny. "In 2010, three chimpanzees were placed in a laboratory setting comprised of three separate rooms, each with a computer, a pint of Ro Shampo Imperial Red Ale, and a window to see the other two chimps. As the lab techs observed the primates, they rewarded them for story composition typed on the computers with more Ro Shampo. Eventually the scene digressed with each monkey "insisting" that his "story" was the best. They then proceeded to settle the argument with a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors! And again they were rewarded with another round of Ro Shampo."

The beer pours a very dark amber, dark orange-brown, nearing garnet. There is a half-inch of thick, almost creamy very light brown head that leaves some curtains of lacing on the glass. The aroma is malty, fruity, dark caramel, chocolate covered raspberries and cherries. The taste follows the aromas, a malt bomb exploding in the mouth, and then out of nowhere a very dry and fairly bitter hop edge cuts off all the malt sweetness, adding an oaky woody astringency, that veers into dark, moist tobacco. It is medium-bodied, feeling even heavier due to its massive flavors. It is somewhat smooth, with a subtle carbonation. Ro Shampo aint’ no chimp, I mean, chump.