Happy Ending Imperial Stout
SweetWater Brewing Company

Happy Ending Imperial StoutHappy Ending Imperial Stout
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From:
SweetWater Brewing Company
 
Georgia, United States
Style:
American Imperial Stout
ABV:
9%
Score:
88
Avg:
3.92 | pDev: 11.73%
Reviews:
429
Ratings:
1,134
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Dec 09, 2019
Added:
Aug 26, 2004
Wants:
  123
Gots:
  254
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by scottyshades:
Photo of scottyshades
Reviewed by scottyshades from Florida

4.22/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
A: Pours a completely opaque black with a small fizzly khaki colored head. Retention is decent, and leaves nice sheets of lacing along the glass. From the look of the poor, the body seems a little light, but we shall see.

S: What?! Aside from the color that the chocolate malt induces- and a few notes I get, I cannot see how Sweetwater could call this a stout! The nose is very similar to Sweetwater's IPA; fruity hops that give notes of pineapple, sweet grapefruit, apple, and a hint of cocoa and lactose. This nose has effectively stumped me because there are very few qualities that have *stout* written all over it. I do not detect any of the "traditional" stout characteristics i.e. chocolate, fudge, coffee, etc., instead I see many IPA/DIPA qualities. Oh well, still a nice nose.

T: This beer is definitely two-faced, I am convinced that this is a black & tan of some sort; a stout mixed with Sweetwater IPA. If you blind tasted this, you would guess that this was an IPA. On one side I get sweet grapefruit, pineapple, apricot, apple, and a delicate bready malt backing. On the other side I find cocoa powder, a touch of lactose, cardamom, milk chocolate, a touch of coffee, and a delicate chocolate malt backing. A slightly bitter twang is evident, especially as it warms.

MF/D: Definitely light in body for the style (which I am not convinced is the correct style for this beer- even though SW bottled this as such). The feel is slightly dry, and even a bit sour mid-palate and finish, perhaps from the bitterness. Alcohol is very well hidden, but despite that, still highly drinkable.

*General thoughts for those (like myself 2 days ago) that are wondering if they want to buy this/what to expect:

I do not know exactly what makes this a stout (maybe the color and slight notes of chocolate, coffee, lactose), but this beer definitely resembles more of an IPA or even a well-hopped black & tan than it does a stout.

If you are hoping for an amazing, viscous, traditional style stout, you will not find it here. If you are looking for a delicious beer in general, you might and probably will. But hey, breweries are constantly reinventing beer and pushing styles to new limits, or even creating new ones, so I am no judge.

Either way, for the style this beer should score semi-low; (malt backing is too delicate, traditional ingredients are missing), but in terms of general ratings, this is a delicious beer- definitely recommended.
Mar 16, 2010
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 2.62 by WickedBeer from Alabama

Dec 09, 2019
 
Rated: 4.34 by Juno106 from Florida

May 01, 2019
Photo of GuyFawkes
Reviewed by GuyFawkes from Illinois

3.95/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Unknown vintage; drank 7/21/15 @ Village Inn.

Brown/black appearance.

Tan nitro head; frothy lace. Peanut butter & milk chocolate notes in the nose. Smooth, medium thick mouthfeel. Peanut butter & milk chocolate flavors; no booze heat. A drinkable Reese's Peanut Butter Cup; not subtle but enjoyable.
Apr 01, 2019
Photo of tobelerone
Reviewed by tobelerone from New Jersey

3.94/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
2016 vintage, surprisingly satisfying imperial stout with an assertively hoppy character. Never had this fresh but this three year old bottle coalesces very well, bitterness buffered by a faint sweetness and a robust malt flavor.
Feb 22, 2019
 
Rated: 3.5 by emottram from Massachusetts

Dec 16, 2018
Photo of rodbeermunch
Reviewed by rodbeermunch from Nevada

3.6/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Black pour, thick, light does not penetrate this one, good 3/4" brown head on top of the black liquid. Aroma was of chocolate heavily roasted malt. Appears to be no adjunct going into this judging from the smell.

Taste, more roasted malt, not acrid or super bitter, around 70 ibu that has melded well with the rest of the beer after a few years in the cellar. Still finished dry. The alcohol was hid ok, close to average. Any chocolate feels are from the barley and of the unsweetened impression set. Feels like they went with chinook and cascade hops here for the bitterness. Its a decent beer and I don't think someone who is big into stouts is going to hate on this one. Middle of the road to slightly better consistently when I've had this a few times.
Apr 10, 2018
Photo of KensWorld
Rated by KensWorld from Florida

4.18/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
2015 collared bottle.
Feb 03, 2018
 
Rated: 4.14 by IRAhopbomb from Georgia

Jan 09, 2018
 
Rated: 3.71 by Pinginn from Georgia

Dec 01, 2017
 
Rated: 3.98 by Jason_cs from Florida

Nov 24, 2017
Photo of rkarimi
Rated by rkarimi from Colorado

4.04/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
11-7-17
Nov 08, 2017
 
Rated: 3.79 by Dactrius from Netherlands Antilles

Jul 06, 2017
 
Rated: 3.7 by JintheHam from Alabama

Jun 14, 2017
Photo of woodychandler
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
I am really starting to see progress in the eradication of The Bottle Backlog here at Chez Woody, plus as an unexpected bonus, I am able to do a number of brewery horizontals, some more extensive than others. This beer marks the beginning of one such occasion with three more of SweetWater's beers to follow.

From the bottle: "Bottle Conditioned for Fresher Taste"; "Put a Smile on Your Face!"; "Don't Float the Mainstream!"; "An impressive thick-headed specimen of an Imperial Stout."; "This stiffy is dry hopped to the rim with centennial [sic] and cascade [sic] hops, delivering a face full of 69 IBU's, resulting in an explosive finish."; "It put a smile on Kirfabulous's face!"

I was not smiling since this is the kind of adolescent nonsense that led to the Brewers' Association calling for censorship, which I do not agree with either. I bought this a while back, but I might not be so quick to do so now. If the flip side of free speech is censorship, I would prefer to vote with my wallet & pass up this beer in favor of others in the style.

I Pop!ped the cap & I have to cop to needing to hold myself in check in order to perform a gentle pour. It was marked as bottle-conditioned, which really required such a pour, no matter how angry I might be. Once sufficiently decanted, a vigorous in-glass swirl raised two fingers of dense, rocky, deep-brown head with decent retention, leaving behind nice lacing in its wake. Color was solidly Black/Opaque (SRM = 44), allowing ZERO light penetration. Nose had a sharpness of treacle and Geritol along with coffee, smoke, baker's chocolate & a light mintiness. Hmmm. Mouthfeel was big, thick, dense & simply a dollop having been dropped onto my tongue. I allowed it to roll around and warm slightly to better gauge its flavor. It had a medicinal sharpness that was very reminiscent of the time that I tasted my grandparents' Geritol as a kid. It was not helped by that taste of treacle which only compounded the sharpness. Phew. I looked at this site's style description, but this was neither infused with anything nor cleaner in flavor. In fact, this struck me as not clean at all. There were a lot of clashing, discordant tastes that added up to less than a good time. Finish was dry, but that was more a result of its ABV than anything else. I'm sorry, but I am doomed to be an outlier on this one.
May 02, 2017
 
Rated: 4.16 by GregBarleycorn13 from New York

Apr 02, 2017
 
Rated: 4.1 by ItsBeer4Me from Pennsylvania

Jan 30, 2017
 
Rated: 4.06 by travelguy from Ohio

Jan 26, 2017
 
Rated: 4 by BeerTest from Florida

Jan 14, 2017
 
Rated: 3.87 by Timtac from New Jersey

Jan 06, 2017