Somehow this time the finish seemed really bitter to me, in a way that built and built.

Smells like sweet chocolate, kind of reminds me of powder to make hot chocolate drinks. Surprising bitternes for such a beer,

Smells richly of chocolate. Flavor is not exactly bitter chocolate - more like a 55% dark bar with added hop bitterness at the end. The flavor is intense, but integrated - though just a bit more and it would have been over the top.