Indulgence
White Birch Brewing

From an undated 16oz can, snagged from my place of work.... "Belgian Imperial Stout " marked on the label. Enjoying out in The 'Zebo on a warm Sunday afternoon....

Pours a dense, rich, opaque dark brown. Has minimal head, just some dark beige foam at the rim. Has some fine carbo steadily rising within. Lacing, like the head, is on the sparse side. Aroma is of roasty malts, dark choco and mild floral hopping. Body is medium, and it has a fairly smooth feel on the tongue.


The roasty notes in the aroma suggest a bitter brew, but it's actually somewhat on the sweeter side. Choco is the main flavor coming forth, with notes of cocoa powder. Still has a hint of roasty action, with some charring. Also has subtle intimations of dark fruit. The flavors tail off in a somewhat weak finish. Not bad.... Prosit !

3.85/5 rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

2311

I... think this is the right entry for this beer. The label calls it a "Belgian Imperial Stout," but the ABV is right and I'm going to assume that calling this a BSDA is because there's no BIS style entry, because it isn't a style so that makes sense. Anyway, moving right along.

Pours from the can into my glass as an unfathomably-dark liquid building up with three fingers of bubbly, mocha-colored head with a slight ruby appearance. Kinda menacing looking, there, guys, but definitely apropos of what I expected this to look like, I guess. Retention is decent, as the head sits at about a finger or so after settling down. No lace and not much in the way of legs. Slight bubbly carbonation activity keeping the foam (or what's left of it) afloat after about five minutes. Looks like a BSDA, yeah.

The nose is also pretty much BSDA-like, with a helping of roasted grains, raisin/prune, and some nice, smooth milk chocolate-like elements that actually feel quite balanced and well-represented. I don't honestly think I've had a White Birch beer since they moved to Nashua, though I used to drink their stuff ages ago (you know, when they were in Hooksett, and before they mostly just switched to making fruited Berliners of batchy, inconsistent quality), but this could get me to drink more of it if it tastes as good as it smells. There is a light note of dark fruit and maybe even a whiff of earthy smokiness and spice, though that's probably more like phenols from what I assume is a Belgian yeast.

My first sip is heavy-duty with a big, bold mouthfeel and heaps of chocolate and roasty malts all piled on top of a rather dense, chewy body built up by a lot of Belgian esters, notes of dark fruit, and candy sugar. A bit more ethanol to this one than I would prefer... though it doesn't smell as strong as it is, I definitely think the 10.5% comes across almost brutally on the palate. Charred husky grains, clove, some smoke, roast, and semi-sweet cocoa powder... if you like the sound of that, you'll like this beer. It's definitely a sipper, definitely an after-dinner treat, and definitely not something I really want more than one of, at least not any time soon. But, I'd revisit it every now and again probably, as it's tough to find stronger dark Belgian beer being made locally these days.