Black Flag Imperial Stout
Beer Valley Brewing Co.

Black Flag Imperial StoutBlack Flag Imperial Stout
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From:
Beer Valley Brewing Co.
 
Oregon, United States
Style:
American Imperial Stout
Ranked #1,815
ABV:
11%
Score:
86
Ranked #19,499
Avg:
3.81 | pDev: 12.6%
Reviews:
152
Ratings:
243
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jan 06, 2024
Added:
Nov 09, 2006
Wants:
  24
Gots:
  26
No description / notes.
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Ratings by Rizalini:
Photo of Rizalini
Rated by Rizalini from Nevada

4/5  rDev +5%

Jan 05, 2012
More User Ratings:
Photo of TheBricenator
Reviewed by TheBricenator from Oregon

3.88/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Look: Pours like used motor oil – viscous and pitch black – with a huge and dense brown head that quickly builds and holds, slowly receding to leave a coating of lacing behind
Aroma: Ethanol, baker’s cocoa, roast, warm brown bread, citrusy notes, char, and earthiness. This smells like it’s going to be a huge beer
Taste: Dark and slightly bitter chocolate rushes out of the gate and quickly joined by a deep roast note that holds off other contenders admirably. Earthiness, pithy citrus, and charred wood and bread jump into the fold in the middle and proceed to rough up my palate, which staggers some as cocoa, roast, and citrus return to close it out
Mouthfeel: Full, viscous, smooth, medium-high carbonation, and very dry on the finish
Overall: This beer is definitely not for the faint of heart – or palate. An absolutely huge, rough, and unabashed Imperial Stout that these folks qualify as “American Style,” which it truly is as it drinks and tastes like a R.I.S. that was bombarded with American hops. Roasty, chocolatey, dry, hoppy, and boozy are my short descriptors of it and it’s similar to a young American-Style Barleywine where the hops and booze are still very noticeable. It was fun to try and definitely would scratch the ‘big stout’ itch someone might have but a low sipper for me these days
Jan 06, 2024
 
Rated: 5 by drownedsorrows from Idaho

Nov 21, 2023
Photo of ZebulonXZogg
Reviewed by ZebulonXZogg from Illinois

3.86/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Thick inky black pour, small khaki head and some spotty lacing, nice looking. Boogar factory says, roasted malts, molasses, leather and smoke. Taste buds agree and ad licorice. Smooth, creamy mouthfeel, needs a bit more carbonation. Not excellent, but mighty good, I buy it in a heartbeat.
Sep 26, 2022
 
Rated: 4.18 by arini10 from Oregon

Jun 25, 2020
Photo of Ruger_44-Redhawk
Reviewed by Ruger_44-Redhawk from Idaho

3.92/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Look is black with absolutely no light making it through and pours thick with little head. Feel is thick and rich. Smell has an aroma of leather and smoke and the alcohol is fairly pungent. Taste of heavy chocolate malt, again leather and some smokiness and the alcohol is hidden pretty well. I grabbed two of these at a discount on Christmas Eve so they might be a little aged too! Anyway, I love this style and the high ABV it yields. Was always a Thrash/Death/Black Metal fan so I’ll forgive them for the label. I will get this again.
Dec 25, 2019
Photo of Spikester
Reviewed by Spikester from Oregon

4.12/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Jet black with three fingers of tan head. Rings of lace appear as the head slowly drops.
Smell is molasses roasted malt slight cocoa.
Taste is roasted malts, molasses, coffee, some cocoa. Probably some hop bitterness.
Mouthfeel is medium plus with good carbonation. Finish is dry and bitter.
Overall it is a big stout. Easy drinking for such a high abv. beer. No alcohol in the taste.
Jun 10, 2019
Photo of Atriplex
Reviewed by Atriplex from Idaho

1.97/5  rDev -48.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2
Almost undrinkable. Great body and look, but not a good taste. Wish I could give a local beer higher marks, but it's terribly over-hopped. Suggest they emulate the Imperials at Cloud9 in Boise. Keep trying!
Nov 14, 2018
 
Rated: 3.96 by IDABEERGUY from Idaho

Dec 28, 2017
 
Rated: 4 by 1971bernat from Virginia

Dec 28, 2017
Photo of vikinggary28
Reviewed by vikinggary28 from California

3.84/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
22 oz bottle on sale at Grocery Outlet in Turlock CA not dated. Poured into chilled glass mug. Very nice dark colour, almost completely black with a nice tan head. Aroma is very malty, chocalate and coffee malts are prevalent. Tastes malty at first but soon a bitter hoppy undertaste creeps through which I didn't mind but some stout fans may not be as open to. Mouthfeel is smooth, a nice West Coast stout with a little hoppy citrus rind twist. Prost!
Nov 14, 2017
 
Rated: 4 by necro616 from California

Sep 05, 2016
Photo of woemad
Reviewed by woemad from Washington

3.59/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
22oz bottle purchased at Mid-Columbia Wine & Spirits in Kennewick, WA, for $7.95. Picked it up a couple months ago, but at 11% alcohol by volume, I don’t see that being a problem, although there’s no obvious date on the bottle.

Poured into a River City snifter, this is the color of it’s namesake, with a big tan head that was somewhere between khaki and mocha in color. Despite it’s alcohol strength, it was easy to bring back the head with a swish of the glass.

Big, bitter, roasty nose to this at first. A little bit of coffee and chocolate floats up to the workers at my olfactory as well.

Big, roasty and bitter in the taste as well. It’s not hard to conclude that a lot of hops were killed to make this beer. Quite acidic, with tiny elements of citrus rind peeking out from behind the roast malt There’s an undercurrent of alcohol, but it’s like a medicinal, rubbing alcohol kind of booziness, not enjoyable in the way I’d find, say, a bourbon flavor. As it warmed, there came to be a little bit of a mild, chocolate-like sweetness, but it's fairly low in the mix. Things end on a hoppy and dry twang.

Full bodied, with a coating, sticky and creamy mouthfeel.

This is drinkable, but not my cup of tea when it comes to the style. It’s like a more strictly bitter version of Old Rasputin. I’m not a big sweetness guy, but a little more sweetness would definitely improve this beer. The nitro treatment might also work well with it, perhaps smoothing out some of the rough edges.
Jul 18, 2016
Photo of rodbeermunch
Reviewed by rodbeermunch from Nevada

3.68/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Pours a big ass black, its as dark as can be pretty much. Almost a full inch of tan head. There is some yeast or sediment floating around on this one though. Aroma has a significant amount of alcohol noticeable, some dark fruit bitterness notes. Coffee and chocolate to a lesser extent.

Taste is a big 100ibu like bitterness, huge roastiness, striaght up west coast Dark Lord without the sweetness and a little less big. Its not as good as Dark Lord, but it really goes in that direction. Big no adjunct imperial stout. Bomber only format keeps it from being a repeat purchase.
Apr 24, 2016
 
Rated: 3.75 by bgold86 from New York

Oct 22, 2015
 
Rated: 4.61 by tommyg71 from Washington

Oct 16, 2015
 
Rated: 3.81 by TheWiltChamberlainofipas from Oregon

Aug 15, 2015
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

4.18/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Growler from Albertsons. CO2 fill pours out with a fast rising, creamy beige head that stays fluffy throughout. Dark roast grains and bitter chocolate dominate the aroma. Taste follows with tons of roast grain bitterness. A hint of alcohol warmth at the finish, but mostly bitter. Top notch RIS.
Jun 28, 2015
 
Rated: 4.22 by KarmicSkrambl8 from California

Jun 28, 2015
 
Rated: 3.81 by Piglet_rulz_da_yard from California

Jun 25, 2015
Black Flag Imperial Stout from Beer Valley Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 243 ratings