Category Archives: Stout – Imperial

Clan Brewing Imperial Stout

Brewery: Clan Brewing Company
Country: Scotland
ABV: 8%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Matured in Lowland whisky casks for up to six months

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A rich, dark and intensely flavourful Imperial Stout, packed with burnt coffee and lemon scents, skilfully balanced by sweet sherry and raisin flavours derived from a short period in Lowland malt whisky casks. A smoky, slightly acrid mouthfeel, and a long burnt finish.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.37
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.2

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of end of February 2019 and poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: It poured a dark dark brown colour with a less than one finger tanned head which dissipates fast but left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Chocolate, dark malt, hints of raisin, cream, light whisky and maybe a touch of caramel and lemon on the finish.
Taste: Chocolate, molasses, toffee, hints of dark berries, very light whisky, maybe some slight char but not much barrel.
Mouthfeel: Very light for an Imperial Stout, maybe too light in my opinion. Barely medium bodied with moderate to low carbonation and dry.
Overall: If this was a Stout, I think I would have rated it higher, but as an Imperial Stout, it’s just not quite there. Everything just seemed to be too light whereas I was looking for more punches as an Imperial Stout. This was especially true with the barrel aging, which did not seem to impart as much as it could have in both aroma and taste. It is by no means a bad beer, but I had both BCBS and KBS in the last week which is perhaps setting a rather high standard.

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Boulevard Dark Truth Stout (Smokestack Series)

Brewery: Boulevard Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 9.7%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: 60 IBUs. Malts – Pale Malt, Amber 50, Cara 120, Cara 300, Chocolate, Roasted Barley, Chocolate Rye, Malted Rye, Malted Wheat, Honey Naked Oats and Flaked Oats. Hops – Magnum, Zeus, Citra and Perle. Other – Brown Sugar and Dark Brown Sugar.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Roasted English malts provide a deep, rich texture, Belgian yeast bestows plum-like fruitiness, and German hops add spicy aromas as Dark Truth Stout mellows to a smooth, dry, smoky finish.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.94
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a best by date of 24th February 2017, and poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: It poured a pitch black colour with a one finger tanned head that dissipated quickly but left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Roasty coffee, chocolate, crème brûlée, caramel, some dark fruits like plum and fig and a touch of smokiness.
Taste: Similar to the aroma except the dark fruits and char smokiness are more prominent whereas the roasty coffee and chocolate notes are more in the background. There is also some bitterness on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to low carbonation and a dry finish.
Overall: This was an interesting Imperial Stout. Body was a lighter than I prefer and carbonation perhaps a tad too high. But still definitely worth a try.

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AleSmith Speedway Stout – Hammerhead

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

Brewer Description: (from website) Mirroring the coffee-house espresso-drink of the same name, Hammerhead Speedway Stout is a version of AleSmith’s world-renowned coffee imperial stout dosed with even more select java plus a heaping helping of espresso. This highly caffeinated one-off was first brewed on an experimental basis as part of AleSmith’s popular Speedway Grand Prix event during the 2013 edition of San Diego Beer Week. Introduced along with 11 other special versions of Speedway Stout, it was an instant classic and the all-around favorite of AleSmith fans. As such, we are immensely proud to bottle it for the very first time as the first in a family of future releases that will eventually tackle the beer’s much beloved offspring, Double Hammerhead Speedway Stout and, for the most insatiable Joe enthusiasts, Triple Hammerhead Speedway Stout.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.39
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: On tap at Mikkeller & Friends (Stefansgade), Copenhagen, into a Mikkeller tasting glass.
Appearance: It was a nice dark black colour with a one finger beige head with moderate retention and great lacing.
Aroma: Dark chocolate, oak, vanilla, coffee and a touch of alcohol.
Taste: Espresso, chocolate, vanilla, oak and dark fruit.
Mouthfeel: Rich, full bodied with light carbonation.
Overall: A very nice Imperial Stout and a great variant of the Speedway Stout.

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De Molen Hel & Verdoemenis Port Charlotte (peated) BA

Brewery: Brouwerij De Molen
Country: Netherlands
ABV: 11%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Smoked Imperial Stout-ish. Malts – Pils, Caramel, Chocolate, Roasted and Brown. Hops – Saaz and Columbus.

Brewer Description: (from website) We were looking forward to this beer… and it turned out we were right to. With 11% ABV it’s a strong beer for beer lovers that enjoy their peated flavors. The original bitter coffee and chocolate flavors of Hel & Verdoemenis (translates as Hell & Damnation) are enriched with the peat, woody, roasty tastes of the exceptional Port Charlotte barrels. The beer aged in these barrels for over 6 months.

About Port Charlotte – Two miles south of Bruichladdich (Scotland), lies the village of Port Charlotte and ruins of Lochindaal Distillery, that ran spirit for 100 years between 1829 and 1929. The heavily peated Port Charlotte single malts of Bruichladdich are a tribute to the men who once worked this great, now silent, distillery. The spirit is matured in wooden barrels of the original old stone warehouses in Port Charlotte.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.59
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: On tap at Brouwcafe de Molen, into a De Molen snifter glass.
Appearance: It was black in colour with a two finger beige head that had good retention and nice lacing.
Aroma: Whisky, chocolate, coffee, wood and liquorice.
Taste: Peat, whisky, coffee, chocolate and oak.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied with low carbonation.
Overall: Brilliant! The base H&V was already very good. I thought that barrel aging it in peaty Port Charlotte barrels was even better as the nice peat and whisky notes make for a great sipper.

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Buxton The Living End (Bourbon Barrel Aged)

Brewery: Buxton Brewery
Country: England
ABV: 11%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Bourbon barrel aged Stout

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Months spent in wood have imparted characteristic sweet, vanilla and oak flavours and aromas into this rich Imperial Stout.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.31
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 330ml bottle, 11% ABV version, bottled on 30th October 2015 and best before 30th October 2020. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: It poured a pitch black with an extremely thin brown head that disappeared almost immediately and left nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Dark chocolate and bourbon with hints of mocha coffee and sweet vanilla.
Taste: Sweet mocha, dark chocolate, bourbon notes, vanilla and molasses with light caramel and a lasting light nutty ashy finish.
Mouthfeel: Oily, full bodied with light carbonation.
Overall: A nice Imperial Stout that was not overly sweet and with light bourbon notes.

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