Narwhal Imperial Stout | Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

3.94/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Date: Bottled on 08/23/18, shared on 10/20/18.

Appearance: Total blackout with a finger and a half of tightly compacted khaki head.

Aroma: Chocolate malts, vanilla, a touch of sugary marshmallow, fudge, wood smoke, and a very light grassy hop aroma.

Taste: Dark chocolate up front, bitter roasted malts, espresso, with a sweet sugary dessert like finish. Well made and resonably complex, but I like the more bitter roast of Even More Jesus, Old Rasputin, or Expedition Stout a bit more.

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4.69/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

4.58/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.5

4.23/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Solid go to!

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3.8/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

3.94/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

4.18/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Syrup

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4.31/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

I am drinking the 2018 Narwhal Imperial Stout. I notice there is a bottled on date. I am tasting some hops similar to the Old Rasputin I guess this is a west coast thing because they just throw hops into everything. Man the West Coast Sucks at brewing beer that's why the east coast is kicking your tail. It looks & tastes like your typical RIS. I am getting dark baker's chocolate, slight dark fruit, roasted malts. I like the old bottle design more than the new bottle design by the way. It's really good but probably not as good as some other RIS that I have had before. Cheers! A-

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4.35/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Look is a wonderful dark chocolate color. Smell is that of a rich imperial stout, chocolate and toffee and caramel. Taste improves on all these things as well as being even more flavorful. Tons of malted chocolate and caramel and sweetness. I love this beer! Amazing value as well at 12.99 a six pack for 10.3%!!

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3.89/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

2018 vintage - 12oz bottled on 8-30-18
1 1/2" dense tan head on a black stout that has the faintest brown tint at the edges. Great retention at 1/2" and thick foamy lace. Looks great.
Sweet, dark roasted malts. Coffee with cream aroma. Spicy hops are in the mix as well.
Bitter dark chocolate. Strong espresso flavor, roasted malt bitterness. Charred flavor. Piney hops are present currently.
Medium body (??) not as full/velvety as expected. By no means thin but on the RIS scale it's medium bodied in my opinion. Not medium flavored though as this packs a LONG lasting finish of bitter roasted malts and hops. Tannic, chalky mouthfeel.
Really good especially so early on. Bottled only 5 weeks ago.

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3.86/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Polished black marble with a creamy dark tan film and collar.

Smell has a brighter note to it than you'd expect, like pungent, sweaty peach, paired with the more expected elements of smoked almond, baker's cocoa and tobacco.

Taste is nutty licorice, cedar that nears a piney bitterness, almond paste and cocoa liqueur that's a bit warming with a slight sting on the swallow.

The round body has a crisp fizz that leads into a semi-dry, woody exhale.

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3.25/5  rDev -21.9%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

meh

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4.35/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Beige head, low carbonation, some sticky lacing.

Coffee, chocolate, licorice aromas.

Sweet chocolate, coffee, licorice, roasted malts.

Chewy mouthfeel, sticky, dense, full. A bit weird 'meaty' aftertaste O've also found in other Imp Stouts.

Really good one.

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4.57/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

3.47/5  rDev -16.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

4.19/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4.5/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Super black color and rich thick aroma and coffee chocolate flavor.. one of the best imperial stouts I've had..

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3.88/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

4.37/5  rDev +5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4.43/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.18/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | 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

4.55/5  rDev +9.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Been waiting all year for this one. Pours pitch black like old motor oil, smell is big burly malts, dark chocolate and coffee. Taste is similar, but the chocolate flavors are sweeter on the tongue. Feels thick and chewy, but not cloyingly so. Overall it has exceeded my expectations. Now if only I could get the barrel aged version...

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4.77/5  rDev +14.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

3.83/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a bottle into a Stout glass. As dark as it gets; no light shines through. 3-finger thick tan head dissipates rather quickly, lacing also slides right down. This is a heavy beer. Like drinking liquid licorice. Not for the faint at heart. I generally enjoy dark beers but this one is just too much.

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