Imperial Stout
Samuel Smith Old Brewery (Tadcaster)

Imperial StoutImperial Stout
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From:
Samuel Smith Old Brewery (Tadcaster)
 
England, United Kingdom
Style:
Russian Imperial Stout
Ranked #224
ABV:
7%
Score:
93
Ranked #3,946
Avg:
4.16 | pDev: 11.3%
Reviews:
1,870
Ratings:
4,048
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 17, 2024
Added:
Feb 27, 2001
Wants:
  256
Gots:
  596
Brewed at Samuel Smith's small, traditional British brewery with well water, best barley malt, roasted barley, yeast and hops to create a rich flavorful ale; deep chocolate on color with a roasted barley nose and flavor that is a complexity of malt, hops, and yeast. Fermented in 'stone Yorkshire squares'. This distinctive type of ale was originally shipped to Imperial Russia; it was a favourite of Russian nobility.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by mfnmbvp:
Photo of mfnmbvp
Reviewed by mfnmbvp from Illinois

4.3/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
550 ml (1 pint) bottle poured into a Boulevard tulip glass. No bottled on date, just a code stamped on the side, which I'm not about to look up.

A - About as black as we can get it. No light shines through. The vaguest mocha colored foam disappeared within seconds of pouring. Tiny bit of alcohol wisping on the sides.

S - Raisins. Dark fruit. Alcohol. Whiskey barrels. This brew smells pretty intense.

T - Again, raisins, dark fruit, alcohol. Roasted coffee bean flavor. Tastes like some type of alcohol that I tried when I was a kid, as the taste seems to reverberate somewhere deep within my subconscious mind. I think the taste might remind me somewhat of this 18 year old bottle of Hermes Glogg that I drank last summer with some friends, which had fermented berries and nuts floating around in it, and which we all ate. Definitely some type of roasted fermented nut and dark fruit flavors are the main attraction of this beer.

M - Mouthfeel is wonderful. All the complex, subtle flavors of this brew seem to linger around for you to savor the taste of them all for a while. This is definitely one of the best stouts I have ever had, and like others have said before me, at $3.99 a bottle, this beer is so ridiculously underpriced, what are you waiting for? Pick a bottle of this up. Beers that aren't half this good are sold for twice as much money.

Overall, one of the most impressive stouts I've ever tried, and I was very impressed with the Samuel Smith's Organic Chocolate Stout also, as it was probably the best beer I've had to date. Therefore, I can't really urge you enough to go and pick up some of these fabulous beers so you can agree with me as well, because in my opinion, the fact that a 4 dollar bottle of imported beer can resemble the taste of an 18 year old bottle of wine is pretty epic in itself.

Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout ---4.5/5
Jan 19, 2013
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.6 by MobBarley from Oregon

Feb 17, 2024
 
Rated: 4.24 by drews240 from Rhode Island

Feb 01, 2024
Photo of twage04
Reviewed by twage04 from North Carolina

4.53/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Pours a dark black with normal carbonation. Chocolate, molasses, bourbon on the nose. Taste is the same with some caramel, fig. Very rich and flavorful for the ABV.
Jan 29, 2024
Photo of DoctorRobert1969
Reviewed by DoctorRobert1969 from California

4.25/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
This was surprisingly smooth for an imperial beer, although I haven’t had many. The taste is something like a quad. Samuel Smith can do no wrong. Perfect for a cold night.
Jan 22, 2024
 
Rated: 3.69 by JimKochFan from New Jersey

Jan 22, 2024
 
Rated: 3.78 by harsley from Massachusetts

Jan 16, 2024
 
Rated: 4.68 by k9cousin from New York

Jan 15, 2024
Photo of MNJR
Reviewed by MNJR from Illinois

5/5  rDev +20.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Rich and satisfying with the unmistakable Tadcaster magic that cannot be duplicated, ever. In the history of beer, with the physical, spiritual, and human limitations of the art form of making beer, nothing can ever be better than this, So... this is it, The Best. Try to outdo it, try and fail, maybe someday a stout beer can be better, maybe, but maybe not. Delicious flavors of earth, raisin, cocoa, fruit, vanilla, brown sugar, forest, mountains, and sea. Best stuff, best you can get. Lovely and remarkable in every way a beer can possibly be. 100%. Something has to be, and this is it.
Jan 15, 2024
 
Rated: 3 by prisdefer from New York

Jan 10, 2024
 
Rated: 4.07 by Can_if_you_can from Minnesota

Dec 27, 2023
Photo of Tom-o-Bedlam
Reviewed by Tom-o-Bedlam from Texas

4.42/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Burnt coffee, bitter dark chocolate, toasted bready malt, and hops on the back end.

Has the same undefinable funkiness that all Samuel Smith beers have (I’m drinking this one after having their Oatmeal Stout, Tadcaster, and Organic Chocolate Stout earlier this week). I guess it’s the well water.

There’s something hard and mineral-y that undergirds the flavor and the feel.

Good stuff.
Dec 21, 2023
 
Rated: 3 by AbeO

Dec 18, 2023
 
Rated: 4.23 by arini10 from Oregon

Dec 08, 2023
 
Rated: 4 by Birdlegs from Washington

Dec 06, 2023
 
Rated: 4.69 by KeithGreatNorth from Canada (BC)

Dec 04, 2023
 
Rated: 4.77 by MEnoMoney

Nov 22, 2023
 
Rated: 4.25 by FLBeerGuy from Florida

Nov 18, 2023
 
Rated: 4.15 by cabsandking from Ohio

Nov 10, 2023
 
Rated: 4.25 by thewimperoo from Illinois

Nov 08, 2023
Imperial Stout from Samuel Smith Old Brewery (Tadcaster)
Beer rating: 93 out of 100 with 4048 ratings