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Imperial Stout
Samuel Smith Old Brewery (Tadcaster)
- From:
- Samuel Smith Old Brewery (Tadcaster)
- England, United Kingdom
- Style:
- Russian Imperial Stout
Ranked #224 - ABV:
- 7%
- Score:
- 93
Ranked #3,951 - Avg:
- 4.16 | pDev: 11.3%
- Reviews:
- 1,870
- Ratings:
- 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 BEERchitect:
Reviewed by BEERchitect from Kentucky
4.25/5 rDev +2.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.25/5 rDev +2.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
This is the best balanced stout that I have ever had. i used to drink this beer regularly, but then was lured away by many stouts that have bolder flavors. Recently revisiting this brew makes me wonder why I have been away for so long. The stout has a very bold roasted quality with a light bitterness due to the black malts and light hopping. Has a layered cocoa, coffee, and milk flavors for added complexity. The beer, though bold and strong, is never intimidating, domineering, or aggressive. Moderately sweet with a rich and complex robustness. Properly brewed and well aged. Full and rich to the texture with a silky, creamy flow. Finishes extremely clean for such sweetness, texture, and roastedness. A slight hint of lactose sugars and a minty note adds a delicacy to the finish. A beautiful beer.
Feb 12, 2006More User Ratings:
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
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, 2024Reviewed 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
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, 2024Reviewed by MNJR from Illinois
5/5 rDev +20.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
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, 2024Reviewed 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
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, 2023Has 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.
Imperial Stout from Samuel Smith Old Brewery (Tadcaster)
Beer rating:
93 out of
100 with
4048 ratings
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