Imperial Chai Stout
Angel City Brewery
- From:
- Angel City Brewery
- California, United States
- Style:
- American Imperial Stout
- ABV:
- 11%
- Score:
- 88
- Avg:
- 3.92 | pDev: 12.24%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 4
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Jun 13, 2016
- Added:
- Jan 26, 2014
- Wants:
- 4
- Gots:
- 5
SCORE
88
Very Good
88
Very Good
Imperial Chai Stout is a bold, lightly spicy and sweet, full bodied stout. Initial aroma indulges with strong notes of star anise, cardamom, and allspice balanced by light clove and roasted characters derived from the yeast and specialty malts. The beer then opens up to a rich, lightly sweet, deep chocolatey body and finishes slightly warming, boasting a robust 11% ABV.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by tweke from California
4.75/5 rDev +21.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
4.75/5 rDev +21.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
A: Dark, held good foam from the bottle, brown/black
S: The lighter side of chai spices, vanilla, sweet. Hints of coffee and chocolate.
T: Sweet upfront taste, lingers with hints of malts. Tastes more like vanilla and cinnamon to me, than chai flavors.
F: Light mouth feel, flavors do not linger long
O: I enjoyed this beer a lot. When I came across it at Total Wine priced at $5.99 I purchased 3 just to try them. I have been to Angel City Brewery a handful of times and was never wowed by the beers, more so the atmosphere. This is by far the best beer I have tasted out of this brewery and ended up purchasing a half dozen more. I highly recommend it.
Jun 17, 2015S: The lighter side of chai spices, vanilla, sweet. Hints of coffee and chocolate.
T: Sweet upfront taste, lingers with hints of malts. Tastes more like vanilla and cinnamon to me, than chai flavors.
F: Light mouth feel, flavors do not linger long
O: I enjoyed this beer a lot. When I came across it at Total Wine priced at $5.99 I purchased 3 just to try them. I have been to Angel City Brewery a handful of times and was never wowed by the beers, more so the atmosphere. This is by far the best beer I have tasted out of this brewery and ended up purchasing a half dozen more. I highly recommend it.
Reviewed by Nugganooch from California
4.09/5 rDev +4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.09/5 rDev +4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
22oz Limited Edition bottle with my FW snifter glass
Notes taken on 10/04/2014
A: Black olive body and lightly viscous with no translucence at all. Thick and sudsy mocha tan topper with some impressive hang time that leaves a bit of dotting and splashes of light lace left sticking to the glass wall.
S: Smells of rich coffee aromas complimented with dark roasted malts, molasses, light alcohol, and some licorice or star anise type spices. Not distinguishably Chai spice here but still nice none the less.
T: Sweet and lactose like with some brown sugar-molasses notes and a smooth chocolaty goodness all throughout. Dark malts bring on a roasted character of coffee dusted with cocoa that leads into an earthy bitterness and spice like finish. I get mostly star anise or licorice with some warming spice of perhaps cinnamon and cardamom. Albeit rather faint and well incorporated with the base Stout flavors. The beer has a touch of hop bitterness across the palate and some emerging alcohol in the finish. Very nice brew overall.
M: Full bodied and thick on the palate but not really syrupy. Has that earthy spice bitterness that cuts across all the sweetness and lends to a drier finish. Touch of alcohol warmth on exhalation.
D: A great Imperial Stout for sippin’ fireside and recommended. While I could have used more of the Chai influence as advertised I can also appreciate the restrained use of the adjunct spices. This one works well in that the base brew is solid and the fact that they didn’t go overboard with the add ons.
Now I only Wish I had grabbed a few more of these.
Dec 29, 2014Notes taken on 10/04/2014
A: Black olive body and lightly viscous with no translucence at all. Thick and sudsy mocha tan topper with some impressive hang time that leaves a bit of dotting and splashes of light lace left sticking to the glass wall.
S: Smells of rich coffee aromas complimented with dark roasted malts, molasses, light alcohol, and some licorice or star anise type spices. Not distinguishably Chai spice here but still nice none the less.
T: Sweet and lactose like with some brown sugar-molasses notes and a smooth chocolaty goodness all throughout. Dark malts bring on a roasted character of coffee dusted with cocoa that leads into an earthy bitterness and spice like finish. I get mostly star anise or licorice with some warming spice of perhaps cinnamon and cardamom. Albeit rather faint and well incorporated with the base Stout flavors. The beer has a touch of hop bitterness across the palate and some emerging alcohol in the finish. Very nice brew overall.
M: Full bodied and thick on the palate but not really syrupy. Has that earthy spice bitterness that cuts across all the sweetness and lends to a drier finish. Touch of alcohol warmth on exhalation.
D: A great Imperial Stout for sippin’ fireside and recommended. While I could have used more of the Chai influence as advertised I can also appreciate the restrained use of the adjunct spices. This one works well in that the base brew is solid and the fact that they didn’t go overboard with the add ons.
Now I only Wish I had grabbed a few more of these.
Reviewed by UCLABrewN84 from California
3.73/5 rDev -4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.73/5 rDev -4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Best enjoyed by 4/30/14.
Pours an opaque black with a foamy dark khaki head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Foamy swaths of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malt, cocoa, char, and slight vanilla and cinnamon aromas. Taste is much the same with cocoa, char, and cinnamon flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of roast and spice bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer with a chai presence that comes through better in the flavor and gets much more noticeable as the beer warms up.
May 03, 2014Pours an opaque black with a foamy dark khaki head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Foamy swaths of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malt, cocoa, char, and slight vanilla and cinnamon aromas. Taste is much the same with cocoa, char, and cinnamon flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of roast and spice bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer with a chai presence that comes through better in the flavor and gets much more noticeable as the beer warms up.
Reviewed by fuhnoo from California
4.05/5 rDev +3.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
4.05/5 rDev +3.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
From a bottle.
A: Dark brown, nearly black. Love when my stouts look like this. Small to moderate amount of head that retreats quickly, leaving a little lacing behind.
S: Almost exclusively chai on the nose. Smells interesting.
T: A rush of chai up front. Malt is still detectable, but the balance lies more heavily on the chai. Tasty.
M: Mouth feel is a little light for my taste. Fairly carbonated, almost like a lager. This part put me off a little.
O: I wouldn't drink this every day, but I certainly enjoyed this as a novelty beer. Worth a try.
Jan 28, 2014A: Dark brown, nearly black. Love when my stouts look like this. Small to moderate amount of head that retreats quickly, leaving a little lacing behind.
S: Almost exclusively chai on the nose. Smells interesting.
T: A rush of chai up front. Malt is still detectable, but the balance lies more heavily on the chai. Tasty.
M: Mouth feel is a little light for my taste. Fairly carbonated, almost like a lager. This part put me off a little.
O: I wouldn't drink this every day, but I certainly enjoyed this as a novelty beer. Worth a try.
We love reviews (150 characters or more)! Check out: How to Review a Beer. You don't need to get fancy. Drop some thoughts on the beer's attributes (look, smell, taste, feel) plus your overall impression. Something that backs up your rating and helps others. Thanks!