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Stillwater Artisanal Ales

Draft at Diablo & Sons. Black pour with a silky ring of beige head. Aroma is grapes and chocolate. Taste is sweet and chocolaty with some grape jelly, light roasty notes behind. Sweet, dry, mouth coating.

 

 

 

 

 

 

i absolutely love the label on this one, and when i saw that such an ambitious beer was in the can, i had to buy it. an oak aged imperial stout with sangiovese grapes, super heady! a big dose for one person? sure, but i didnt mind, this is delicious and indulgent and a nice one to sip on and let warm up, it certainly rewards the patient drinker, and with its size and complexity, it almost mandates that patience for you, a win win if ever there was one! its inky black and thick is old motor oil, a nice shine to it, a short mocha head, and seriously leggy in my snifter. at first it just sort of smells like a huge stout, lots of dark roasted barley and specialty dark grain in here, complex like a lot of theirs have been over the years, boozy too, and hits of cigar and licorice are in play, but it takes some time to open up into something special. after warming some, i get the vinous elements of wood and grape, but i also get a blackberry jam thing, some dark cocoa, and light vanilla, its not desserty or sweet the way it seems like it should be, and there is a lot of balance between the sweet fruit and the bitter malt. coffee character in the taste, light smoke, dried fig and black cherry, blackberry again, dark chocolate espresso beans, burnt oak, rich red wine, even a root beer or cola note, just awesome. more and more wood as it warms, which is nice to offset some of the heavy alcohol which comes out, enough bitterness too to keep this from ever being sugary. i love the grape, its not overdone but makes this rather unique. fall and winter flavors and textures, this is rich and as viscous and palate coating as they come, but its somehow elegant, not a bruiser in the normal sense, despite its size and strength. an awesome beer, one of my favorites from these guys in some time!

 

 

 

I got a late start on NBS (Week 774) & I did not finish up my DelMarVa (+ DC) adventure as planned. 8=( Further, I promised that NBS (Week 775) would be dedicated to the wonderful beers sent to me by @jkblr who seems to have a real handle on my drinking habits. CANsparency is key in these things! As a result, I am going to CANcentrate over the next few days on eradicating everything that would have CANbined to form the finale of the DelMarVa (+ DC) adventure. Sit down, strap in & hang on. It's gonna be a wild ride!

From the CAN: "Imperial Stout brewed with Sangiovese Grapes and aged on Oak".

Oh, yeah, play time is OVER! I'm delving into the RISs as this Stillwater odyssey comes to an end. Wow, I have a MUCH greater appreciation for the gypsy brewer now. You CAN bet that I will be snapping up new CANs as they become available!

I decided to CANmemorate this (temporary) finale with a nice, loud Crack! of the vent, followed by a moderate C-Line Glug to really get things started. It foamed up to form just under two fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, deep-brown head with very good retention. Color was obsidian (thanks, @Brutaltruth) Black/Opaque (SRM = 44), allowing ZERO light penetration. Nose was ridiculously jammy and grape-y, very vinous. I felt like I was getting ready to sit down to a lunch of a PB & Grape Jelly sammich! 8=O Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, light for they style & something that the brewer may want to examine in the future. Taste was no peanut butter, but chocolate milk to wash down my grape jelly sammich! 8=O I just wanted to laugh out loud at this one! It was absolutely the sum of its CANtents in a really amusing way. The base chocolate malts definitely led the way, but the addition of the grapes in CANjunction with the oak aging gave it a heavy red wine vinousness. How CAN you quantify something like this? I would think that it would be appealing to both beer (& especially Stout) drinkers & oenophiles alike. Whew! I loved that it allowed for all of its aspects - chocolate, light smoke, red grapes & oak - to have a turn & a say in its taste. Yum! Finish was like a dry red wine, quite vinous & very lingering. 8=O I was reminded of the 1988 Zin that the late-Jack Fleiner, maternal-Uncle Steve & I made & which we did not allow to age properly before drinking it all! 8=( This was a beer worth savoring! YMMV.

 

 

From the great brew mind of Stillwater comes this fine imperial
in the tall boy can and placed in a snifter that pours a rich obsidian
with a nice head of light brown foam that settles to a thick fine
beaded bubbled ring, thin clumping wafting layer, and sports some
subtle lacing. Nose of dark chocolate syrup, light coffee, subtle
grape notes, and light touches of char. Flavors knock it out of the
park with rich grape and dark bakers cocoa over a bed of char and
bitter coffee notes with a hint of cream and muscat wine notes
that blend well with the imperial stout elements. Warmth shows
notes of cream and muscat wine amongst brulee and earthy
malts.....astounding really....something I have not had before
in the brewing world of same old same old. Nice mouth feel;
full body, smooth, rich, creamy, light carbonation that is just
enough to give some most needed lift, and a lightly dry and
subtly tart finish.

Searching for....hmmm.....done found it!
NICE! This needs to be entered into contests....it is
complex and moves in very nice directions with warmth!

Cheers

Sangoivese grapes sold me. I mean, it’s probably going to be a cool Southampton era saison or something. I didn’t read the stout part till I got home.

Short 10oz pint glass. Matte black with a light brown, filmy head.

I want to smell grapes, but can only envision them. Smell mellow roast, brown sugar & a little smoke. Maybe a little pith in there.

Taste is velvety, bitter charred malt. Lingering & oily, like good coffee dying for a splash of milk to help open it up. There’s this so faint dark cherry note, but that’s the only fruit I really get.

Too bitter for me, but a good stout.

From a tall aluminum can....I first thought that this brew was titled 'Something Meaningful'. The beer itself is incredibly dark...black and thick. The head id dense and lasting. The aroma is intense...chocolate and over-ripe berries. I get a little musty wood and lots of coffee as well. Interesting and very intense. The taste is warming and flavorful. Some bitterness and lots of roasted notes. I found this one very engaging and well-conceived.

L: Nice syrupy pour with a decent sized chestnut head.

S: Wonderful aroma. Roasted malt and chocolate upfront, with brightly acidic grape notes following. Wonderful aroma.

T: Dark chocolate bar with grape jam. Roasted coffee undertones. Very nice.

F: Syrupy and sticky, but not overwhelmingly so.

O: First stout I’ve had since winter, and definitely a good one. The grapes make it unique and set it apart, otherwise it would have been pretty run-of-the-mill.

Creates a nice balance between the sangiovese grapes and oak.

A - Pitch black pour with a nice, dense toffee colored lacing ring hanging out on top (with a slight red tint).

S - Nice dark roasted chocolate malt aroma with light char along with delicate sweet purple grapes.

T - Dark chocolate roast with some smokey char hits the front of the tongue with some tang/acidity of ripe purple grapes on the back end. After several sips in everything equalizes and remains even front start to finish. Ends with a nice lingering char with some sweet grape. Some alcohol does start to surface eventually.

M - Thick, viscous, & lip smacking sticky. Finishes very wet along with a little coagulation from the grapes.

O - This works extremely well => recommended.