Tag Archives: imperial stout

Kings Barrel Aged Dia Noche Stout

Brewery: Kings Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 10%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Mostra coffee

Brewer Description: (from website menu) Aged in bourbon barrel and conditioned on blueberries, coffee, cinnamon and cacao nibs.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.65
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.5

Intro: A 500ml waxed bottle (looks nice but really annoying to open), with no clear bottled on or best before date. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark dark brown to black in colour with a one finger tanned head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving some nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Light roast, cinnamon, coffee, red bean and a hint of bourbon.
Taste: Cinnamon, bourbon sweetness, chocolate, coffee.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Maybe too much going on here that the flavours are clashing? Cinnamon a little strong while I’m not getting any blueberry at all. Body is also lighter than I’d prefer.

Kings Night Cap

Brewery: Kings Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 12.5%
Style: American Imperial Stout

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Imperial Nutella & Toasted Hazelnut Stout.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.42
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.3

Intro: A 500ml waxed bottle (such a pain to open), with no clear bottled on or best before date. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a one finger tanned head that had pretty good retention and left some spotty lacing.
Aroma: Nutella, nuttiness, light chocolate milk and a hint of banana bread.
Taste: Chocolate milk, Nutella, vanilla and banana cream pie like sweetness, with only hints of hazelnuts in the background.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, light bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Body was so light (too light) that the whole time it seemed like I was drinking a 6% Stout instead on an Imperial Stout. It also lacked roastiness to balance some of the sweet, and even though this is a Pastry Stout, it just lacked balance without any roast. Lastly, the hazelnut was unfortunately just hidden in the background and not really found in the flavours.

Perennial Abraxas

Brewery: Perennial Artisan Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 10%
Style: American Imperial Stout

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Ale brewed with ancho chili peppers, cacao nibs and cinnamon sticks.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.47
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 750ml bottle, bottled in 2017 (I think 27th November 2017). Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark dark brown to black in colour with a minimal brown head that dissipated quickly and left only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Cinnamon, creamy chocolate, carrot cake, and hints of chili peppers.
Taste: Cinnamon dominates when cooler, but as it warms it gets better as the roastiness, rich chocolate and cocoa, tones down the harshness of too much cinnamon. Only hints of chili spice on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, smooth, full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Cinnamon was too strong and harsh at cooler temperatures, but as it warmed, this was a wonderful balanced sipper.

Evil Twin x Prairie Bible Belt

Brewery: Evil Twin Brewing x Prairie Artisan Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 13%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Brewed and canned for Evil Twin Brewing at Westbrook Brewing Co, Mount Pleasant, SC

Brewer Description: (from can) Imperial Stout aged on coffee, vanilla, chilies, and cacao nibs.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.4
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 1 pint can, canned on 22nd September 2017. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a one finger brown head that had pretty good retention while leaving some sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Roasty, chocolate, cacao, coffee, with hints of vanilla and a splash of booze.
Taste: Rich milk chocolate, vanilla, roasty, coffee, light smokiness.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, velvety, medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Nice easy drinking flavours means it doesn’t feel like 13% ABV. I’m not getting much (if any) of the supposedly chili though. A slightly heavier body would also have helped it even more. But really, I’m just nitpicking now.

Epic Quadruple Barrel Big Bad Baptist

Brewery: Epic Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 11.9%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: 2018 Rare Release. Imperial Stout aged in whiskey & rum barrels with roasted cacao nibs, almond flavor, barrel-aged coffee beans, barrel-aged coconut & barrel-aged almond

Brewer Description: (from bottle) We’ve taken barrel aging to a whole new level by aging shaved coconut, almonds, and Blue Copper’s Colombian coffee beans in whiskey barrels, while our Imperial Stout ages separately in both rum and whiskey barrels. Then our brewers hand-blend each batch creating the most complex and outrageous version of Big Bad Baptist we have ever made.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.35
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 22 fl. oz. bomber, 2018 release, release #9. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with an almost one finger brown head that had decent retention, eventually dissipated to a thin layer and left some nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Coffee, chocolate, cocoa nibs, brown sugar, vanilla, whiskey, rum, oak, light roast and a hint of toasted coconut.
Taste: Moderate sweetness, rich chocolate, coffee, brown sugar, cocoa nibs, nuttiness, almond, coconut, whiskey, rum, oak, with hints of dark fruit.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Enjoyable, but not quite as good as the original BBB or the Triple Barrel BBB.