Category Archives: Stout – Imperial

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, De Struise Brouwers, Stout - Imperial

De Struise Black Damnation II – Moccha Bomb

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Brewery: De Struise Brouwers
Country: Belgium
ABV: 13%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: 72 IBUs

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A massive Stout from Flanders, matured in bourbon barrels.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.24
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml bottle, bottled on 25th July 2018, with a best before date of 24th July 2023. Poured into a Black Damnation tasting glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a thin brown head that dissipated fairly quickly but settled to a ring around the glass, while leaving some decent lacing.
Aroma: Coffee, chocolate, with bourbon notes.
Taste: Coffee, chocolate, slight roast, bourbon, woody, with a lightly bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Alcohol warming, medium to full bodied, with soft to moderate carbonation.
Overall: An enjoyable sipper with lots of coffee aroma and flavours.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Olde Hickory Brewery, Stout - Imperial, USA

Olde Hickory The Event Horizon

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Brewery: Olde Hickory Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 8.5%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Ale brewed with honey & aged in bourbon barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The Event Horizon is the point of no return. Once you have entered the realm of this supermassive imperial stout you are there for good. The cosmically heavy body sucks you in. It’s unfathomably deep and black, tasting of rich coffee and chocolate. The faint twinkle of honey is the last sensation you experience before the taste of bourbon washes over you with notes of cracked nuts and vanilla bean. Prepare to have your tongue spaghettified.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.14
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 22 fl. oz. bomber, bottled on 28th September 2016. Poured into a snifter.
Appearance: Black in colour with minimal brown head, with some spotty lacing.
Aroma: Bourbon, dark fruit, raisin, prunes, light roast, chocolate, and vanilla.
Taste: Similar to the aroma, it’s bourbon forward, prunes, raisin, followed by a roasty finish that includes chocolate, cocoa powder, vanilla, and bitterish coffee.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, smooth, medium bodied, with soft carbonation.
Overall: Body is lighter than I prefer, but then the ABV is also pretty low for a BA Imperial Stout. All that is just a minor hiccup in what is still a great and enjoyable Imperial Stout with big bold flavours.

2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), Beer Reviews, Stout - Imperial, The Bruery, USA

The Bruery Share This: Mint Chip

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Brewery: The Bruery
Country: USA
ABV: 10.5%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Imperial Stout with mint and cacao nibs. We donate $1 for every bottle we produce in our Share This series. This release, inspired by mint chip flavors, supports the mission of Food Forward, which donates fresh produce to hunger relief agencies across Southern California.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Share This is a series of beers that spotlights unique ingredients and important causes. This imperial stout is inspired by mint chip flavors, recreated by adding spearmint leaves and cacao nibs to a rich base. It supports the efforts of Food Forward, who is chipping away at hunger relief across Southern California, reaching over 100,000 people a month with recovered fresh produce.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.46
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.1

Intro: A 750ml bottle, 2017 edition. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a one finger brown head that had good retention and left lots of spotty lacing.
Aroma: Light roast, chocolate, and strong mint, maybe too overpowering.
Taste: Spearmint, light roast, and only a hint of chocolate.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: So I like a good mint chocolate any day, but the mint really overpowers anything else in this beer and there’s just not enough chocolate and roast to support the mint. The body is also lacking and feels too thin. You have to really like liquid mint for this.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Stout - Imperial, The Bruery, USA

The Bruery Share This: O.C.

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Brewery: The Bruery
Country: USA
ABV: 11%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Imperial Stout with orange zest, cacao nibs and vanilla beans. We donate $1 for each bottle we produce in our Share This series. This orange chocolate release supports the mission of Food Forward, which donates fresh produce to hunger relief agencies in Southern California, including Orange County.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Share This is a series of beers that spotlights unique ingredients and important causes. This rich imperial stout is inspired by orange and chocolate flavors. It’s a profile we’re quite fond of, given the abundance of orange trees in our own backyard. Food Forward takes it one step further – reaching over 100,000 people a month with recovered fresh produce.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.41
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 750ml bottle, 2017 edition. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a one finger brown head that had decent retention and left lots of spotty lacing.
Aroma: Roasty, dark chocolate, cacao, coffee, with notes of vanilla and citrus zest.
Taste: Much like the aroma, roasted malts, dark chocolate, cacao, coffee, vanilla, and orange notes.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium to full bodied, with soft carbonation.
Overall: An excellent Imperial Stout with great roast and chocolate flavours. The orange citrus notes also complement the chocolate well. I do wonder whether due to the age of the bottle (three years), any of the adjuncts have toned down a bit, but the chocolate to citrus proportion is great right now.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Estonia, Põhjala, Stout - Imperial

Põhjala Cellar Series Pime Öö PX

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Brewery: Põhjala
Country: Estonia
ABV: 13.9%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Pedro Ximenez Sherry Barrel Aged Imperial Stout. 60 IBUs. Malts – Pale, Munich, Special B, Crystal 300, Crystal 150, Crystal 200, Carafa type 2 special, Chocolate Malt, Chocolate Rye and Oats. Hops – Magnum and Northern Brewer

Brewer Description: (from bottle) An Imperial Stout brewed for the darkest night of the year, aged in Pedro Ximenez sherry barrels.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.9
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 330ml red waxed bottle with a best before date of 10th June 2022. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a half finger brown head that dissipated quickly while leaving only sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Toasted malts, tar, chocolate, brown sugar, sherry, wood, licorice, dark fruit, plum.
Taste: Sweet, sweet malt, light roast, chocolate, sherry, wood, syrupy, dark fruit, raisin, with notes of mixed berries.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: It’s got good complexity, but due to the sweetness, it was definitely a sipper. It was probably too sweet for my taste and it showed as it took a long time for me to finish.