Time Traveller Imperial Stout
Silver City Brewery & Taproom

4-4

 

 

2017 bottle into a tulip glass. Pretty pour of dark blackish mahogany with thicker head than I expected. Though that dissipated. Nothing really "wrong" with the other aspects of this beer--it's tasty--but it didn't have a lot of complexity. One of those where the bourbon overpowered the beer, and it was fairly smooth bourbon flavor anyway. I just didn't pick up a lot from the underlying stout. Still good, smooth, just a little one-note.

 

 

Very dark appearance with slight tan head that desipates quickly and some carbonation. Light bourbon aroma. Taste is very mild bourbon some bitterness with more carbination than originally expected and no alcohol aftertaste. Aging should not have an effect on the overall rating.

 

 

 

22oz with no bottling date except 2017 edition (served fresh). Pours oil slick black and completely opaque, topped with a nice brown head. Not a lot in the way of aroma except maybe a little booze / bourbon. Upon the first sip I can immediately tell this beer wants to warm from fridge temperature for proper serving. But even as this beer warms, it really is pretty two dimensional. There's some unbalanced alcohol, and there's roasted barley malt. I love me some Russian Imperial Stout, but this beer just isn't genius.

2022-03-12 update: after cellaring this 2017 bottle until 2022 I'm finally trying it again. I did remember to allow it to come up to temperature a bit this time. The aroma is better than I remember and takes on woody and malty notes, though that could just be that it's not so cold. However the body has developed some flavors which to my palate are sour. There's just not enough complexity in this beer for sour flavors to be anything other than a defect, unfortunately. The alcohol may have mellowed out, but the flavor, not so much. Oh well.

Look: Two finger brown head, with a body so black that not even my 500 lumen flashlight could pierce it's depths.

Smell : See below.

Taste : Coffee, dark chocolate, oats, and a little bit of dried dark fruits.

Feel : Medium carbonation, medium-full body. Moderate roasty bitterness.

Poured into a Pint Defiance tulip. The bidy is pitch black, with a finger brown head. Aromas consist of huge roasted coffee and bitter chocolate, dark fruits, vanilla, and toasted bread. Flavors are the same, and there is a deep roasted intensity and black coffee-like bitterness. This reminds me of a Russian Imperial Stout or strong Baltic porter. The feel is heavy bodied with medium carbonation.