Stouter Limits
Reuben's Brews

Viscous, very dark brown, no light passing through the glass. Low aroma, light head. It's the taste that matters here and this beer has plenty of it. First sip is bitter without harshness gliding into dark roast coffee, licorice and smoked figs. Dry finish, not long. The stiff ABV shows up with a whiff of alcohol.

Alltogether, a good but not great Imperial stout.

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing nearly opaque black in the glass with a one finger dark khaki head with great retention and nice lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, cocoa, vanilla, fruit esters of stone fruit. Flavor is dark toasted malt with light to moderate char, bakers chocolate, molasses, and the same interesting fruit esters that are hard to identify, but lean to peach and maybe cherry, but without any fruit tartness. Excellent moderate creaminess and mouth feel. I really liked this one. The fruit esters were a bit of a surprise at first, they are very noticeable even on the pour, but they fit in with the chocolate and dark malt very well. The rich creamy body enhances the flavors. I just checked and it looks like this is gone now from the market or I would have picked up some more. It's apparently an anniversary collaboration with the Homebrewers Guild, so probably a one-off, but I really hope to see it again.

Remarkably thick and viscous. Smooth on the tongue and hot in the back of the mouth. Opaque and nearly black with a very dark sticky foam. Dark, bitter chocolate is the taste. I can see why people would think of putting cherries in Speedway Stout and things like that.

This one is rich and maybe overly sweet, in spite of being a malt liqueur with hop flavoring. Sweet, though, but bitter enough for some kind of balance. Nutty and fruity but more like dates than raisins. Overall, I think it's a better than average gigantic IS. From the 16 oz can dated 03/03/22.

 

 

 

 

On tap at the Ballard taproom. Very dark, with a good head. It's got a big cocoa smell. Plenty of roasty malts. This beer has a huge flavor, especially for a beer that hasn't been barrel aged (as I understand it). It's a big beer at 12.5% ABV, very rich and deep. Good stuff.

 

Can from Uptown Market.

Black with a dark brown head with good retention and lacing. The nose is lovely with a blend of roast, oats, chocolate and fruity esters, anise. Nice bitterness, warming alcohol, rich, bitter dark chocolate, a touch of nutty, sherry like liqueur. The palate opens bitter and quite roasty, dark caramel, bitter dark chocolate, nice fruity esters and nice yeast character. Lovely full body and soft carbonation. Delicious.