Tag Archives: imperial stout

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Stout - Imperial, The Lost Abbey, USA

Lost Abbey Box Set Track #10 (Bat Out Of Hell)

Monday, 14 March 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: The Lost Abbey
Country: USA
ABV: 13.5%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Aged in American Oak Bourbon Barrels

Brewer Description: (from website) From the Ultimate Box Set: “A fresh track, Track 10 began as a fresh Serpent’s Stout base aged in bourbon barrels with oodles of coffee and cacao nibs added shortly before packaging. Late in November of 2011, our head brewer asked about creating a Coffee and Cacoa Nib version of Serpent’s Stout for the San Diego Strong Ale Festival. The beer was a hit with our fans. When we wrote up the syllabus for the Ultimate Box Set, we knew a version of this beer would be included. We waited until the very end of the release schedule to put this beer in a bottle so that the coffee and cacoa nibs really come through.”

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.77
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.6

Intro: A corked and caged 12.7 fl oz bottle poured into a snifter glass. I believe this is a 2015 bottling as “2015” is printed on the neck.
Appearance: It poured an opaque pitch black with a thin less than half finger dark brown head that leaves nice stringy lacing.
Aroma: Strong bourbon and chocolate with some sweetness coming from hints of molasses, toffee and vanilla.
Taste: Very nice espresso coffee, crunchy coffee bean, dark bittersweet chocolate and bourbon notes.
Mouthfeel: Thick, full bodied with low carbonation and light alcohol warming.
Overall: This was really good. It was surprising that there wasn’t much coffee on the nose, but it definitely came out in the taste. A great sipper on a cool night.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Stone Brewing Co., Stout - Imperial, USA

Stone Americano Stout

Monday, 14 March 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Stone Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 8.7%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: 65 IBUs. Hops – Amarillo, Cascade, Chinook and Columbus. A decidedly American Imperial Stout with espresso.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The coffee notes in Stone Americano Stout are bold, rich and full of American swagger. We incorporated a mother lode of artisanal espresso beans into the mash and added in Columbus, Chinook, Amarillo and Cascade hops to invigorate the coffee taste with a slight citrus and resin hop presence.

Coffee roasting, like artisanal brewing, has risen to be a true art form in recent decades. Techniques that blend art, science and ingenuity have allowed roasters to create coffees that offer incredible depth, complexity and nuance. When it came to selecting our coffee, we chose San Diego roasters Ryan Bros. Coffee. These are the same guys who contributed their art to our sought-after 2013 Stone ESPRESSO Imperial Russian Stout. Their fantastic espresso helped us achieve the perfect match to our beer, one that’s certain to satisfy your coffee fixation. Rest assured… not a single decaf bean was used in the process.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.08
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a bottled on 22nd January 2016 date. Poured into a Moonzen teku glass.
Appearance: It poured an extremely dark brown with a one finger tanned head that had good retention and left only a little lacing.
Aroma: Strong espresso aromas and sweet chocolate/mocha with a hint of cinnamon and coconut.
Taste: Espresso and dark chocolate. There was a bit of sweetness midway through, but the finish was a nice long lasting bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Mid to full bodied with low carbonation.
Overall: A nice Imperial Stout with coffee that has a wonderful lasting bitter finish. I think my one gripe is that it was not as full bodied as it could have been.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Goose Island Beer Co., Stout - Imperial, USA

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout

Tuesday, 2 February 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Goose Island Beer Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 14.3%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: 2015 vintage. Stout aged in bourbon barrels.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Intense aromas of charred oak, vanilla, caramel & smoke.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.95
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.9

Intro: A 1 pint .9 fl oz (500ml) bottle with a bottled on date of 22nd October 2015, poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Poured an extremely dark dark brown colour with a reddish hue on the sides. Dark tanned head was very thin and did not last long and there was some thin spotty lacing.
Aroma: Rich rich aromas full of bourbon, oak, caramel, salted chocolate and vanilla.
Taste: Much like the aromas it was full of bourbon, oak, caramel, salted chocolate and vanilla. Stunning, heavenly goodness.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied, thick motor oil like richness. Low carbonation. Nice light burn as it goes down.
Overall: Wow, this was amazing… a brilliant sipper. Even drinking it 3 months in, aromas, taste and feel were already wonderful. It should develop more complexity with a year or two of aging, which is what I’m going to do with the rest of my bottles.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Clown Shoes Beer, Stout - Imperial, USA

Clown Shoes Chocolate Sombrero

Monday, 21 December 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Clown Shoes Beer
Country: USA
ABV: 9%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Brewed and bottled by Mercury Brewing Co., Ipswich, MA.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Roasted dark malts plus extra chocolate malts plus ancho chilli plus cinnamon plus vanilla extract plus a chocolate loving, beer drinking, Clown Shoes wearing, multi limbed, gorgeous and glorious Mexican wrestler on the label. That’s the recipe for Chocolate Sombrero!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.15
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle bottled on 12th March 2015 and poured into a Spiegelau stout glass.
Appearance: It poured a deep dark brown colour with a one finger tanned head that dissipates quickly and leaves some stringy lacing.
Aroma: Strong chocolate aromas mixed in with a hint of vanilla and cinnamon.
Taste: Much like the aroma, chocolate is the main theme with a definite roasty element to it. There’s a hint of vanilla and the finish is chocolate ice cream. I don’t know what ancho chilli tastes like, but the spice in this one is very light and in the background.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: The first time I tried this, it was at a tasting and I didn’t like it too much, but now with a proper sit down, I enjoyed it. The aromas and taste was pleasant and you don’t get the 9% at all.

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

Epic Big Bad Baptist

Tuesday, 14 July 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Epic Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 11.4%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Malt – Maris Otter Malt, 2-Row Brewer Malt, Crystal, Light Munich Malt T1, 2-Row chocolate malt, 2-row black malt, roasted barley. Spices – Caffe Ibis and Cocoa Nibs.

Brewer Description: (from website) One Big Bad Imperial Stout with Cocoa nibs and Coffee beans. Each season’s release uses a different dark roasted coffee.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.56
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.5

Intro: A 22oz bomber from release batch #46 with a brew date of 24th September 2013 and a packaged date of 8th December 2014 and poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: The beer poured an opaque black colour with a one finger brown head that dissipated fairly quickly leaving a thin whispy layer and spotty lacing.
Aroma: Strong aromas of chocolate mixed in with coffee, caramel and vanilla. There is also a hint of whisky alcohol aroma.
Taste: Taste is much like the aroma. Chocolate and espresso coffee dominate followed by hints of slightly burnt caramel and vanilla. There is also some roasted malts and oakiness but not a lot of whisky even though its aged in whiskey barrels.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied, light carbonation, smooth.
Overall: I’m a sucker for coffee, whisky and beer (my three favourite drinks). Now put together into a single drink, although the whisky is not so prominent here, this brew is fantastic. It’s right up there with Founders Breakfast Stout and Evil Twin Imperial Biscotti Break. Another must buy beer to add to my list.

words of another dreamy traveller