After a one year hiatus the Imperial Stout is back in action. We figured that after catching a bit of flack for its absence we'd have it return with a bang. We bumped up the starting gravity from 20° P to 24° P. This allowed the beer to finish just over 10% ABV. Like this year's Barleywine, we've decided to play with the hop character, specifically the dry hop presence. Trying to avoid the fiasco of my previous attempt at adding pellets to the fermentor, I did what any good manager would do: I made Charlie add them. He had the advantage of being able to add the hops directly through a top manway and so his besting me in this challenge is not necessarily a sign of his superior brewing skills but more a reflection of my adventurous, try anything spirit (or at least that's the story I'm stickin' to). The Charles added 44 lbs of Cascade, split evenly between two batches, or about half a pound per barrel. We then transferred the beer onto seventy-eight pounds of an even mixture of Centennial and Columbus whole flowers, about one pound per barrel. The beer is a little top heavy in terms of the hopping but it seems to be smoothing out a bit as it's aging. I'd give it six months or so, if you can wait that long. If not, hey, enjoy it anyway.
Beer Ratings and Reviews:
[1] Review by Dansting from Overland Park, KS, USA who has tried this beer once. (3/19/2008 10:28:58 PM)
"Bottle. Poured a blackish-brown color with a medium brown head. Good lacing. Aroma is very pleasant, consisting of vanilla, coffee, and chocolate milk. Mouthfeel is very nice and full. Flavor is very nice, with a strong dark chocolate presence and hints of vanilla, bourbon, and coffee. Thanks to TimmyK77 for the bottle."
Aroma:
10/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
10/10
Flavor:
9/10
Overall:
9/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(4.6)
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure Compared to this brewer's other beers: Not Sure
[2] Review by Timmyk77 from Overland Park, KS, USA who has tried this beer once. (12/14/2007 9:59:13 PM)
"From a bottle, '06 version. Pours an opaque black with a thin white head. Aroma is sweet, with a nutty, chocolate presense. Somewhat sour as well. Great silky mouthfeel. Flavor is what you'd expect from a great impy stout. Chocolate, coffee, slight alcohol. Hope aftertaste that lingered for a long time. Excellent beer! Great work out of Smuttynose. Thanks to Cott for trading with me and recommending this one. Great choice!"
Aroma:
9/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
9/10
Flavor:
9/10
Overall:
9/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(4.4)
Sampled: Bottle
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
[3] Review by Phil B from Gatineau, Canada who has tried this beer once. (8/15/2007 4:07:35 PM)
"Bottle courtesy of Hogtownharry: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a medium foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of bitter roasted malt with some coffee notes is interesting. Taste is dominated by some roasted malt, which are quite bitter with some dry coffee notes. I thought the taste was a bit too dry generally and some sweetness to balance the dryness would have been good. Body is quite full with some good carbonation and no alcohol was discernable."
Aroma:
8/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
7/10
Flavor:
8/10
Overall:
8/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3.9)
Sampled: Bottle
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
[4] Review by beerguy101 from Newark, CA, USA who has tried this beer once. (6/22/2007 9:46:51 PM)
"This Imperial Stout pours an eclipse black color from a 22oz bottle. Small sized tan foamy head Aroma is chocolate and coffee, hoppy and earthy. A medium bodied Imperial Stout. Malts are chocolate and coffee. Hops are earthy and floral. Nice balance. Good carbonation. Nice round mouthfeel. Doesn’t seem as complex as some Imperial Stouts, but the flavors that are there are good. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.
"
Aroma:
8/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
7/10
Overall:
7/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3.8)
Sampled: Bottle
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
[5] Review by oh6gdx from Vaasa, Finland who has tried this beer once. (3/5/2007 3:18:44 PM)
"Pitch black colour, mediumsized brown head. Aroma of conifereous woods, alcohol, licorace, strong hops and roasted malts. Flavour is pitch, roasted malts, old coffee, alcoholic sweetness. Wellbalanced and lovely. "
Aroma:
9/10
Appearance:
10/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
8/10
Overall:
9/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(4.4)
Sampled: Bottle
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
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(4.6)
