Jester King Black Metal

Jester King Black Metal is a Russian Imperial Stout. Bottle 0002049. This is the non-farmhouse version last produced in 2010 I think, I am guessing this is about 2 years old (maybe a bit more). I emailed the brewery about a month ago to try and confirm the age of the beer but got no response, kind of disappointing. The beer itself has some intense roasted malt with a bit of liquorice and dark chocolate. I can’t see how the 10.4% ABV has dulled at all and I can’t even imagine how strong this was fresh. I am a bit baffled as to how there is still so much alcohol heat and huge roasted malt flavor a 2 year (?) old bottle. Not that I am unhappy with that, it’s just contrary to most of my aging experiences. In any case I can’t believe they replaced this with the Black Metal Farmhouse Imperial Stout. The original version, at least in my opinion, is far superior.