Category Archives: Stout – Imperial

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Omnipollo x Buxton Brewery, Stout - Imperial, Sweden

Omnipollo x Buxton Yellow Belly

Monday, 27 March 2017 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Omnipollo x Buxton Brewery
Country: Sweden
ABV: 11%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Imperial Stout brewed with aromas of peanut and biscuit. Brewed by Omnipollo & Buxton Brewery at Buxton Brewery

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Yellow Belly – a person who is without courage, fortitude , or nerve; a coward. To us, one of the most cowardly deeds is to act anonymously, hiding behind a group. A signifying trait of institutionalised racism. This beer is brewed to celebrate all things new, open minded and progressive. A peanut butter biscuit stout with no biscuits, butter or nuts. Taste, enjoy and don’t be prejudice. Henok Fentie, Karl Grandin, Denis Johnstone, Jake Oulsnam, Geoff Quinn & Colin Stronge.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.79
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.7

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 11th August 2021. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Extremely dark brown to black in colour with a very thin brown head that disappears quickly while leaving very sparse lacing.
Aroma: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, peanuts, wafer biscuit, caramel and toffee.
Taste: Peanut butter, milk chocolate and biscuit sweetness followed by some nice lightly bitter coffee and dark chocolate with hints of peanut here and there.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied, low carbonation with slight alcohol warming.
Overall: Really good wonderful aromas and taste. Even at 11% ABV, it was very easy to drink and definitely a must buy beer for me.

5 - Excellent (must buy), AleSmith Brewing Company, Beer Reviews, Stout - Imperial, USA

AleSmith Speedway Stout

Thursday, 16 March 2017 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: AleSmith Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 12%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Imperial Stout with Coffee

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Speedway Stout’s ominous, pitch-black appearance has become a hallmark of this modern-day classic. Chocolate and roasted malts dominate the flavor, supported by notes of dark fruit, toffee, and caramel. A healthy dose of locally-roasted coffee from Ryan Bros. Coffee, Inc. added to each batch brings out the beer’s dark chocolate flavors and enhances its drinkability. Despite its intensity, Speedway Stout’s fine carbonation and creamy mouthfeel make it very smooth and surprisingly easy to drink. This beer ages very well and will continue to mature for many years to come.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.54
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 750ml foiled bottle with no clear bottled on or best before date. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a just over one finger tanned head that had good retention and left great lacing.
Aroma: Roasty malts, dark chocolate, coffee, caramel with hints of vanilla and dark fruit.
Taste: Follows the aroma with roasted malts, dark chocolate, caramel, toffee, vanilla, coffee and dark fruits.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, velvety and smooth. Full bodied with light carbonation and light warming alcohol booze.
Overall: A very nice classic Imperial Stout. Very easy to drink with its nice coffee and chocolate flavours.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Founders Brewing Company, Stout - Imperial, USA

Founders Lizard of Koz

Thursday, 16 February 2017 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Founders Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 10.5%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: 40 IBUs

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Imperial Stout brewed with blueberries, chocolate and vanilla. Aged in bourbon barrels.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.53
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.4

Intro: A 750ml bottle with no visible bottled on or best by date. Poured into a snifter.
Appearance: Black in colour with a one finger tanned head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving some spotty lacing.
Aroma: Roasted malts, milk chocolate, vanilla and sour blueberries. It sounds good, but this combination in this form was a bit of a disappointment for me.
Taste: Overwhelming sweet blueberries and chocolate with only a touch of vanilla. I feel the bourbon is actually there too, kind of creeps in here and there, but is just completely covered by the blueberries.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied with low carbonation.
Overall: This seems to be a love or hate beer for a lot of people, even though I appear to be kind of in the middle. I shared this with my girlfriend who had about 200ml, while I finished the other 550ml. The first few sips were actually pretty good, but towards the end, due to the sweetness, it was slow going trying to finish it. I felt this would have been better in a 12 fl oz bottle. This way, one person could enjoy it and you could just open another bottle if you needed more. Perhaps aging this would make it better by toning down the blueberries, but as always, there’s no guarantees.

4 - Good (buy), Avery Brewing Company, Beer Reviews, Stout - Imperial, USA

Avery Tweak

Wednesday, 28 December 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Avery Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 17.5%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Batch No.2. Stout with Coffee added, aged in Bourbon Barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Our very own Parker, of the cartoon and cat loving variety, created this cult classic character back in our 17th season. Appearing in several episodes under another stage name that was deemed inappropriate, our executive producers and editors decided that a name change and further character development – a 4-month hiatus in bourbon barrels – were necessary to satisfy our most ardent and demanding viewers.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.34
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle, Batch #2, bottled on 25th January 2016. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: A dark brown to black colour with a one finger mocha head that had decent retention and left sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Very nice cocoa, chocolate fudge, espresso coffee, vanilla, raisin, cherry and bourbon.
Taste: Sweet plum, prunes, raisin, bittersweet chocolate, vanilla, molasses, coffee and strong but not overpowering bourbon.
Mouthfeel: A little bit thin at medium to full bodied, with low carbonation. Definitely some boozy heat, but its not overdone.
Overall: A very nice Coffee BA Imperial Stout that’s not overly sweet and has great aromas and taste. At 17.5% ABV, you get the boozy heat, but it’s still a very nice sipper.

4 - Good (buy), Avery Brewing Company, Beer Reviews, Stout - Imperial, USA

Avery Vanilla Bean Stout

Wednesday, 7 December 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Avery Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 11.5%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Stout with Vanilla Beans added, Aged in Bourbon Barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A double dose of vanilla derived from both fresh Bourbon barrels and the trio of Tongan, Ugandan and Mexican whole vanilla beans is complemented by essences of chocolate, caramel and molasses to round out this luxuriously silky stout.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.46
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 22 fl oz foiled bomber, bottled on 29th April 2016. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: A dark dark brown to black colour with a less than one finger tanned head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Nice strong sweet vanilla, cocoa, oak, bourbon and perhaps some light char.
Taste: Sweet vanilla, cocoa, molasses and toffee, a good hit of bourbon with a touch of dark fruit and oak.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with moderate to light carbonation.
Overall: Other than its body being lighter than I prefer for an Imperial Stout, this beer has everything else going for it. Great aromas and taste make it a great sipper on a cool night.

words of another dreamy traveller