Yes, that is definitely the champagne yeast. Give it some time. It will mellow. That beer is too big and bold for that yeast character to take over entirely. I personally like the added complexity it gives. But yes, it does have quite a sour note in the beginning. The first time I did it I thought I did something horribly wrong. But I gave it more time and it really smoothed out nicely. Wine yeast is a lot more mellow, but at 11% alcohol, is a little slow to get going and doesn't always carbonate completely. For me anyways. I find that for the really big beers ( 10% + ) champagne yeast is the way to go. You just have to give it a little extra conditioning time. I would suspect that the roasty flavors aren't necessarily missing, but masked by the pungent champagne yeast. Once it's all done carbonating your beer and falls out, the roasty character should return. Hope all turns out well!
Darin
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