Father Theodore's Imperial Stout
Abbey Brewing Co.

 

At the brewpub.
Deep black color with a thin caramel head.
Sweet aroma with notes of coffee, lots of molasses, Cointreau liquor, grape jam and licorice.
Flavor with notes of grape sweetened juice, maybe lactic acid, molasses, candi sugar, a bit of homemade coffee, chocolate and anise. Dry aftertaste with a low bitterness.
Full body with appropriate carbonation. Alcohol of 10% is hard to believe.
Quite fruity and sugary imperial stout. As their Tripel, it was a bit overly sweet. Some roasted and hoppy notes would sure do it some good. At least get closer to style.

 

super different than any imperial stout i have ever had. for one, it seems to leave out some of the darkest grains, the real bitter roasted ones. it also makes no attempt at all to hide its booze, although like a good cognac or something, the edges are very smooth even though its really strong. soft on the palate, a lot less body than most of these have, not quite watered down feeling, but almost a texture to it that is apart from beer, very unique there. i get fantastic dark chocolate notes to this, some sweetness, baking chocolate too, but almost more like carob or something, like chewy and sweet rather than as earthy as chocolate when its dark and pure. raisin and date notes in the middle, generic dried fruit, with an almost wood aged profile to it as well, even though it is not wood aged. quite smooth, but somehow unfinished. i dont know if i miss a yeast element, darker grains, its hard to compare this to most big stouts, as its really something else entirely. hard to tell if its amateur or genius, but i know i like it, and i also know i shouldnt have had as much of it as i did...

 

 

 

 

 

Poured from tap at The Abbey Brewing Co. in Miami. Very good look with a nice thin mocha head. Very nice smell of an imperial stout w chocolate and coffee. Taste was good and strong but not a strong personality lot of smoke and bitterness. Slight taste of alcohol which I didn't like that much but could still feel the imperial stout taste. Thin body.

 

 

 

 

 

Pint on tap at brewpub.
Clear but very dark brown, with a fine tan head that did not last as long as I hoped.
Plenty of chocolate in the nose plus coffee.still not as highly aromatic as one might hope.

The flavor is richer and better, albeit a shade towards the light side, and toward sweet, for this style.

M: medium-full body with low carbonation. Slightly more astringent than ideal.

O: very pleasant stout although on the light and sweet side.