Simple Malt Impériale Stout
Brasseurs Illimités

Simple Malt Impériale StoutSimple Malt Impériale Stout
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From:
Brasseurs Illimités
 
Quebec, Canada
Style:
American Imperial Stout
ABV:
8.1%
Score:
88
Avg:
3.93 | pDev: 12.72%
Reviews:
64
Ratings:
97
Status:
Active
Rated:
Dec 10, 2015
Added:
Nov 24, 2009
Wants:
  16
Gots:
  13
Classique anglais riche et onctueux, velouté et noir comme la nuit. Arômes de chocolat noir, saveurs de chocolat mi-amer et finale de café. Un instant à savourer.

61 IBU
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Ratings by 4ster:
Photo of 4ster
Reviewed by 4ster from Canada (ON)

4.15/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Poured into a large red wine glass. No brewed date on bottle. Drank from cold to about the prescribed temp of 12-14C. This one drinks better warm for sure.

A: Dark, no transparency at all, no apparent carbonation, but is actually a bit more reddish brown than black, with a dark brown/mocha coloured head that doesn't build up too much before dying down to a thin whisp. As you drink, there is almost no retention.

S: Heavy on the roasted malts and as it warms lots of coffee/espresso aromas... the chocolate doesn't come through as much here, and when warm you even get a whiff of alcohol...

T: Roasted malts following the smell, with again lots of coffee flavours here....also getting the mollasses that others get, along with a burnt sugar/caramel type of flavour as it goes down. Light on the chocolate for a stout but there is a bit of bitter cocoa taste, but overall this is not a really bitter style stout, and also light on any sense of alcohol. Not overly complex, but complex enough to not mess with the mouth feel.

M: Light to no carbonation, very smooth and rich, very well balanced with the flavours and alcohol. Strong enough to be called an Imperial, but unlike some of the high ABV Imperials, you could easily drink more than one of these at night, which is a good thing!

O: For the explosion of stouts out there, this one does it very nicely. As others have mentioned, it is not overpriced, comes in a convenient 341ml bottle which is great because this has to be one of the more easy drinking stouts I've had, so you don't feel obliged to drink a whole 650, but if you want more, just crack another. This isn't to say that it sacrifices the beer style though for this drink-ability, it has a lot of nice balanced flavours going on and enough complexity to keep you interested. While perhaps a bit coffee forward, it's not exactly what I would call a coffee stout. A great beer that is worth having around or trying.
Dec 12, 2012
More User Ratings:
Photo of CanadianBacon
Reviewed by CanadianBacon from Canada (QC)

3.61/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Appearance - Poured from a 341 ml bottle into a tulip glass, Pours a jet black with half a finger of mocha head, The head fades fairly quick leaving a light lacing, I wont dock an imperial stout for not having a lot of head as they dont usually have it anyways.

Aroma - Dark chocolate and coffee hit your nose first followed raisins and a rum alcohol smell.

Taste - The flavor profile is more complex, you get the same chocolate and coffee up front followed by raisin and plum then the runny alcohol, followed by a nutty finish. Very neat flavors.

Overall - as neat as this beer is at times it lacks in the ability to stand out. Its a rather good beer but it is just that, good. I would drink it again but its not up there in my favorites list,

Feel - Full bodied beer with a sticky almost nectary feel and light pricks from the carbonation.
Dec 10, 2015
Photo of ChrisCage
Reviewed by ChrisCage from Canada (AB)

3.17/5  rDev -19.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
A- This pours tar black and is thick in appearance. The head is caramel colored and isn't very thick but it is creamy looking and it does retain well, eventually settling into a film over the brew. The lacing is quite thick and somewhat sticky, and it takes a little while before it eventually settles back into the beer.

S- Heavy cocoa aromas, with blends of black coffee, black forest cake, rummy notes, burnt molasses and/or brown sugar, char, vanilla and Earthy tones. A real variety of smells coming through.....the finish is slightly spicy and catches my nose a particular way as to make it slightly itchy.

T- Hmmmm....the flavors don't mesh as closely to the aromas as I would have thought.....there is a slightly alcoholic tang to this beer that I didn't expect....it becomes somewhat metallic as it warms. There are still flavors of coffee, fruity flavors, some cocoa and sweeter caramel flavors happening. Definitely burnt/heavily roasted malt is noticed and the finish is leafy to a point....almost refreshing!

M/O- Medium/Full bodied and zingy yet fine carbonation define the overall mouthfeel. The leafy tang kind of bothers me a bit and the alcoholic content shows itself on the palate more than I'd like. It's definitely flavorful but I don't find it to be the most well balanced Imperial Stout out there. It's good but not great....i probably wouldn't go out of my way to buy this again, but it isn't available in my area and I may reconsider and give it a second go around.
Jul 25, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by Electros from Canada (ON)

Jul 01, 2015
 
Rated: 4.11 by f3el from Canada (QC)

Jun 05, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by rugene from Canada (QC)

Apr 26, 2015
Photo of TheDoctor
Reviewed by TheDoctor from Canada (QC)

3.8/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Serving: On tap

A:
Pours pitch black with a good 2-3 fingers of effervescent, rusty brown head that settles to a fat film. Good retention; curved specks of lacing. (4)

S:
Cinammon and raisins. Raisins, baking spices, cocoa, brown sugar. (4)

T:
Rich flat coffee bitterness with some chocolate. Dark fruits, baker's chocolate, some woody character, some cola. (3.75)

M:
Thinnish, unobtrusive and pretty bubbly with a medium body and quick finish. (3.5)

O:
Good enough for government work.
I find that these guys tend to make very accessible stylistically good beers. This one is not different. It is a tasty Imperial Stout but is far from being as imposing as some.
Pours nice with a strange cinammon roll character to it. Good and interesting. The flavor is the same but with more bitter dark fruit notes. Sweet spicy smell, dark roasty flavor, fairly easy drinking. Neither cloying nor sticky. A bit too carbonated for my tastes, but not terrible.
Might have again; neither the best nor the worst. (3.75)
Mar 26, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by dfhhead25 from Pennsylvania

Mar 03, 2015
 
Rated: 4.22 by Ultrarunner100 from Canada (ON)

Feb 09, 2015
 
Rated: 3.9 by Benesi88 from Massachusetts

Dec 26, 2014
Photo of Haydn-Juby
Reviewed by Haydn-Juby from Vermont

3.89/5  rDev -1%
Absolutely pitch black. When I moved my snifter around I got some very slight dark ruby highlights , but it's about as black as black gets. A mocha colored head. On the nose I get a lot of chocolate. A bit of roast and very sweet smelling. Initially I got a touch of alcohol but it's very well masked both on the nose and the palate. Very sweet. I get lots of chocolate once again, and we're talking sweet milk chocolate. You could easily convince me into believing this was a chocolate stout. The sip ends just a touch of bitter coffee roast. Body is thick and creamy. The carbonation was on the lower end, but i find that helps with slow sipping.A bit too sweet in my opinion and the chocolate could be backed down somewhat, but it's pretty good. Tastes very similar to thier "Vin D'orge" honestly, just far more chocolaty.
Dec 14, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by tom10101 from Canada (QC)

Nov 13, 2014
Photo of 2_Shaynez
Reviewed by 2_Shaynez from Canada (QC)

1/5  rDev -74.6%
I would list stouts as my second favorite style after IPA....and I had to pour this down the drain after 2 sips.

I've tried almost everything from this brewer and think they do a good job at putting out some decent stuff. They're not the be all end all of Quebecois brewers, but I expected a lot more out of this.

I know it's an imperial stout but it was just SOOO STRONG and OVERWHELMING. Nothing came together nicely at all. It's like chocolate flavored motor oil at 61 IBU

It was litteraly undrinkable...If you're looking for a Quebecois stout, I highly recommend sticking to Dieu Du Ciel, Microbrasserie de l'Île d'Orleans, and Charlevoix Vache Folle.
Oct 21, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Kelp from New Hampshire

Oct 06, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by Urik from Canada (QC)

Sep 20, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by boszormeny from Canada (ON)

Apr 11, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by sirsteve42 from New York

Feb 01, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by LarryAppleton from Canada (QC)

Jan 18, 2014
 
Rated: 2.5 by mattmarka1 from Minnesota

Jan 13, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by byronic from Canada (ON)

Dec 05, 2013
Simple Malt Impériale Stout from Brasseurs Illimités
Beer rating: 88 out of 100 with 97 ratings