Airdale Dark And Stormy
Airdale Brewing Company

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From:
Airdale Brewing Company
 
California, United States
Style:
American Imperial Stout
ABV:
9.5%
Score:
87
Avg:
3.84 | pDev: 12.5%
Reviews:
9
Ratings:
15
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Aug 23, 2012
Added:
Jan 31, 2009
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
Airdale Dark & Stormy, is an American Imperial Stout. This beer starts with a pleasant aroma of coffee and cocoa. A gourmet flavor of bittersweet chocolate surrounds the tastebuds and melds with the full-bodied beer to make this sensation last and last. Not too dry, not too sweet, Dark & Stormy blends the two into a wonderful semi-sweet taste. The high alcohol imparts a comfortable warming feel, but is perfectly balanced with the flavors and aromas. A nice coffee bitterness lingers on the finish, enticing you to take another sip.

9.5% ABV / 50 IBU's / 65 SRM
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Ratings by mjaggers:
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Rated by mjaggers from Virginia

5/5  rDev +30.2%

Nov 22, 2011
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.5 by t0rin0 from California

Aug 23, 2012
 
Rated: 4.5 by wattershed from California

Mar 10, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by redleg411 from Wisconsin

Feb 16, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by daant76 from California

Jan 05, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by tjfinkle from California

Dec 24, 2011
Photo of Halcyondays
Reviewed by Halcyondays from California

3.29/5  rDev -14.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
On-tap at Beachwood I,

A: Pours a dark brown, more than black. The colour is a problem in an Impy Stout. Soft light tan head, spotty lace.

S: Firm medium dark chocolate, hint of roast and coffee.

T: Muddled baker's chocolate with some brown sugar play. No real hop flavour, a bit awkward here.

M: Creamy, maybe even too much so, frothy, medium-bodied.

O: An average Imperial Stout for the most part, has it's problems, but a drinkable rendition of the style.
Jul 07, 2011
Photo of FosterJM
Reviewed by FosterJM from California

3.32/5  rDev -13.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
463rd review on BA
Draft

App- This was pleanty dark but just looked a bit watery in the glass. A small swirl gave a little bit of bubbles.

Smell- A bit light for a double stout with some watered down malts and some chocolate notes.

Taste- Was pretty good nice balance and some sweet with the chocolate and malts but just too light to be a double for me.

Mouth- Light/Med. This was way too light on the feel and the beer was medium carbed.

Drink- Its a good intro double stout for some people, I wanted to find a new big stout and was a little let down.
May 18, 2011
Photo of notchucknorris
Reviewed by notchucknorris from California

3.9/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
A: Completely black with a tan foam head.

S: Lots of roasted malts and a bit of coffee.

T: Pretty good representation of the style. Lots of roasted malts and coffee and a bit of milk chocolate sweetness before finishing on a pretty bitter coffee note.
Mar 13, 2011
Photo of broken22
Reviewed by broken22 from California

3.83/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
This is the first airdale beer I have had. It was a special event at a local watering hole that had this darkness paired up with bacon chocolate donuts. I got there early to make sure that I got a glass of this stuff. Now let's review this brew.

This beer is dark. It looks like motor oil coming out of the ground. A nice thick creamy head formed on the pour. The head died down pretty quickly offering up the deliciousness bubbling below. Even though the head died down it never fully left. It just knew its place was out of the way and towards the rim of the glass.This beer has that sweet smell only a nice strong dark beer has. I imagine this is also because of the higher alcohol content. This beer has a crisp bitter finish that grabs your throat. I was actually quite surprised at the sharpness the flavor had on first sip. This is definitely not a beer for those that don't really enjoy dark beers. Since this beer was on cask the carbonation was perfect. It was perfect in that there was not a lot of it. While the description of this beer says that there is coffee and cocoa nibs in this thing they are not as pronounced as other beers I have had stating the same contents. I was first kind of bummed about that but then warmed up to the idea that they just bucked my expectations of what a beer made with coffee and cocoa nibs should taste like. Their idea is more in the bitter realms.

Overall this was a good beer. While not my favorite I still really enjoyed it. I said earlier that this is not a beer for those that don't normally drink dark beers. Case and point my friend that accompanied me ended up giving me his beer to finish after only the first sip. I was only too happy to help him out. This beer was going fast and it did pair well with the bacon chocolate donuts.
Jan 28, 2011
Photo of srandycarter
Reviewed by srandycarter from California

3.6/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
A - Near black 1/4 inch tan head. Tight bubble cling lace.

S - Chocolate/cocoa mostly with some coffee element in there.

T - Taste matches smell, though much lighter than smell would imply.

M - Creamy, low carb, good balance, lighter body.

D - A very easy to drink beer, especially considering the apparent ABV.
May 20, 2010
Photo of Dijeriduster
Reviewed by Dijeriduster from California

4.25/5  rDev +10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Surprising that this is scoring so low here??

A - Very dark brown to black with solid thick head. Lacing present as well.

S - Nice and dark with lots of the roasted grains coming thru. Some hops present but you can tell already its the grains staring here.

T - Quite good. Some RIS's can be syrupy and is anything but with a nice full profile holding up the grains. A hint of booze is also present - true to style.

M - Great, nice and smooth so you can taste the full profile.

D - Pretty good for an RIS. I wouldn't sit down over a pint of Rasputins or Stone RIS without first warming the palate on a "smaller" beer - but the Airdale holds up well and is wonderful paired with food...
Dec 02, 2009
Photo of magictrokini
Reviewed by magictrokini from California

3.1/5  rDev -19.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
Tap @ Toronado SD. Poured black with a ring of tan bubbles. Not much lacing. Weak aroma of toasted malt, dark chocolate, cocoa, and earthy hops. Loose mouthfeel, especially for the style. Watered-down coffee and dark chocolate flavors. Some roasted malt, but it leaned into the burnt cereal grain variety. The hop bitterness was lost in the coffee. When I had this, I initially thought it was a regular stout. If it WAS an American Stout, it would be decent. However, as a RIS, its not even close.
Sep 10, 2009
Photo of jgap
Reviewed by jgap from California

3.77/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
At Coronado Brewery (it was a tough call not to get a Coronado brew but I had a bunch earlier in the week so that I could try this one and not feel like I was missing out on some Islander or Mermaid and they were out of Idiot). Sorry, I thougt the explanation was warranted...

Poured black with a nice, grey lace. Smell is a mixture of coffee, chocolate, and a hint of some dark fruits. Taste is a slight coca up front fading to a coffee/hoppy bitterness that lingers for a time before turning to a hint of dark, ripe fruit. A hint of alcohol is in the finish but the aftertaste trails off quickly. Mouthfeel is a on the lighter side of medium with a good amount of carbonation but not too much (I like thick stouts, however). Pretty good beer for a young brewery- worth a try
Jul 08, 2009
Photo of seaoflament
Reviewed by seaoflament from California

3.54/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Had some of this on tap last night at La Bella, thanks Danny. After having their Homecoming Porter, which is quite good, I wanted to try their imperial stout.

Very good presentation, dark with about a half inch of fluffy foam. The head has some great retention as well.

A little too cold at first and couldn't pick up much aroma so I let it warm up for a couple of minutes. After I revisited the beer I picked up some chocolate and espresso notes right away. Then some roasted barley come through and roasted malts but I didn't find too much complexity in the aroma. Later on I started to detect a sort of grainy aroma in the background.

The taste was a little better than the aroma. With the first sip I got some roasted malts and chocolate malts upfront followed closely by some chocolate covered raisins, fruity and dark malts in the middle, and espresso in the finish. Good but not much to stand out from the pack.

Low carbonation and the body felt a tad thin in the end. The alcohol was well hidden though. Didn't impress me as much as their Homecoming Porter but would still like to revisit this one.
Apr 08, 2009
Airdale Dark And Stormy from Airdale Brewing Company
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 15 ratings