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XReserve Imperial Coffee Stout
Saucony Creek Brewing Company + Gastropub
- From:
- Saucony Creek Brewing Company + Gastropub
- Pennsylvania, United States
- Style:
- American Imperial Stout
- ABV:
- 11.5%
- Score:
- 89
- Avg:
- 3.99 | pDev: 7.77%
- Reviews:
- 21
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Sep 29, 2019
- Added:
- Nov 03, 2015
- Wants:
- 1
- Gots:
- 15
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by sd123:
Rated by sd123 from Georgia
4.25/5 rDev +6.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
May 11, 2016
4.25/5 rDev +6.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
May 11, 2016
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by hophugger from Virginia
3.55/5 rDev -11%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
3.55/5 rDev -11%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Pours nice and dark as it should. Hardly any head or lacing to speak of. Aroma is light coffee, but the smell seems to be way too subdued. Taste is much much better with dark, roasty malts, coffee and bitter chocolate. Mouth feel is slightly biter an oily and coating. Finish has a touch of burnet coffee bitterness. Overall, decent beer but lacking a little complexity and deepness that I would have expected.
Apr 28, 2018Reviewed by avalon07 from South Carolina
4.04/5 rDev +1.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
4.04/5 rDev +1.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
L: Poured from a bottle to a pint glass. Had a dark brown / black color and a thick, opaque consistency. There was a half inch of foamy, tan-colored, fairly long-lasting head. Very good lacing.
S: A nice aroma of coffee, roasted malt, vanilla, and some dark fruit.
T: Tasted of a tinge of vanilla, lots of roasted malt (present throughout), a good shot of coffee, a light char (mostly in the finish), light hops, and dark fruit (raisins, plums, in particular). A very solid, easy drinking kind of flavor. It's pretty top heavy with the coffee at first, but it levels out after a while. Tasty.
F: A well-carbonated beer with a smooth finish. Medium-bodied.
O: Not a flawless beer, but certainly a likable one. Worth a try.
Mar 09, 2018S: A nice aroma of coffee, roasted malt, vanilla, and some dark fruit.
T: Tasted of a tinge of vanilla, lots of roasted malt (present throughout), a good shot of coffee, a light char (mostly in the finish), light hops, and dark fruit (raisins, plums, in particular). A very solid, easy drinking kind of flavor. It's pretty top heavy with the coffee at first, but it levels out after a while. Tasty.
F: A well-carbonated beer with a smooth finish. Medium-bodied.
O: Not a flawless beer, but certainly a likable one. Worth a try.
Reviewed by jmdrpi from Pennsylvania
4.02/5 rDev +0.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4.02/5 rDev +0.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
12 oz bottle, no date
pours jet black, with tan colored head. some lacing. nice mild roasty espresso aroma. taste is on the bitter side, dry, definitely coffee flavors dominate. medium to thick bodied.
May 18, 2017pours jet black, with tan colored head. some lacing. nice mild roasty espresso aroma. taste is on the bitter side, dry, definitely coffee flavors dominate. medium to thick bodied.
Reviewed by dacrza1 from New Jersey
4.03/5 rDev +1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 4
4.03/5 rDev +1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 4
DATE: February 16, 2017... OCCASION: celebrating a pair of basketball victories for the boys, and the start of a four-day weekend... GLASSWARE: Maudite snifter... black as coal body screams stout, while its creamy, thick brown head bubbles at the glass, leaving brush strokes of arcing brown coral... chocolate mousse, medium-bodied coffee, subtle vanilla, and roasted malts that make for an inviting cold evening sipper... big, bountiful and full of late-swallow burn, this brings the heat and states its 9.5% ABV loudly and proudly... early impact is sweet, suggestive of hops at the teeth, and long on roasted coffee and chocolate that make for a formidable dessertif... soft vanilla and some fruit suggestions--cranberry, cherry, or strawberry?--complete the BIG flavor dropped here... Saucony is making some engaging beers lately, and I am glad to have gotten my hands on this edition, one that brings heat and spark to the night... this could score higher if it was a bit more agreeable in its alcohol profile, though it does lace nicely as it finishes....
Feb 17, 2017Reviewed by RacerX5k from Pennsylvania
4.37/5 rDev +9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.37/5 rDev +9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
By far one of the best beers I've had in a looong time. Huge aroma and taste cold brew espresso and or black coffee with an tremendous fruity, bitter finish. Mouthfeel is oily slick like the once great WnB, until Terrapin ruined the beer this year. And now I have something to take it's place, doesn't have the cinnamon and vanilla presence that WnB had, but more than makes up for that with the dark fruit bitterness. Tremendous.
Jan 29, 2017Reviewed by NeroFiddled from Pennsylvania
4.26/5 rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4.26/5 rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Saucony Creek Brewing Co. "xRéserve Imperial Coffee Stout"
12 fl. oz. brown glass bottle; I'm not sure if it's production coded, there is a number on it, "3096" that could be a Julian date for Nov. 4th 2016 but I'm not sure. Sampled on Jan. 4th 2017.
$2 @ Weis Market, Conshohocken, PA
• Apart from the dating issue, I'll need to try to clarify which beer this actually is. It's not the original release from 4-14, of that I'm sure (that would have only been available in a bigger bottle anyway, yes? 2014, I think so). Nor does it seem to be 11.5% ABV based on my tasting (and I was a professional brewer for 15 years)... 9.5% ABV is more likely, which would make it the one that's currently on their website and made with coffee from Global Libations in Kutztown. I didn't want to create a separate listing as there are already two, so I'm just noting that this is most likely 9.5% ABV and has just been mis-listed here with the alcohol content of the original (which is also still up on their website).
Look: Opaque black body beneath a deep tan cap. Good to very-good head retention and lacing - the oils from the coffee beans tend to damage head retention and lacing, so this is actually pretty good with that considered.
Smell: Ashen roastiness with a thread of fruitiness. Whole, oily coffee beans. A hint of char.
Taste: As the aroma suggests. The coffee definitely comes across more as a bean than brewed coffee, and it's also nutty. The fruitiness is like that of a dark red berry. It's distinctly roasty, and very firmly bitter. It finishes dry with residual caramel and nutty notes, as well as soft fruit. Underlying notes of distant coconut and anise. Focused, and very clean. One might say that it's a bit one-sided, but there's some great depth to what's there.
Feel: Medium-light body with a moderate carbonation that lends a gentle zest at first and then softens to become smooth once warmed.
Overall: Very much like an espresso with intense coffee bean nuttiness, roastiness, and fruitiness, and a correspondingly appropriate bitterness. In fact, I feel it would be much better labeled an 'espresso stout' than an "Imperial Coffee Stout". For coffee connoisseurs this one is not to be missed as the character of the bean is so distinct and bright, but for the "everyday Joe" drinker I fear that might be lost.
Jan 04, 201712 fl. oz. brown glass bottle; I'm not sure if it's production coded, there is a number on it, "3096" that could be a Julian date for Nov. 4th 2016 but I'm not sure. Sampled on Jan. 4th 2017.
$2 @ Weis Market, Conshohocken, PA
• Apart from the dating issue, I'll need to try to clarify which beer this actually is. It's not the original release from 4-14, of that I'm sure (that would have only been available in a bigger bottle anyway, yes? 2014, I think so). Nor does it seem to be 11.5% ABV based on my tasting (and I was a professional brewer for 15 years)... 9.5% ABV is more likely, which would make it the one that's currently on their website and made with coffee from Global Libations in Kutztown. I didn't want to create a separate listing as there are already two, so I'm just noting that this is most likely 9.5% ABV and has just been mis-listed here with the alcohol content of the original (which is also still up on their website).
Look: Opaque black body beneath a deep tan cap. Good to very-good head retention and lacing - the oils from the coffee beans tend to damage head retention and lacing, so this is actually pretty good with that considered.
Smell: Ashen roastiness with a thread of fruitiness. Whole, oily coffee beans. A hint of char.
Taste: As the aroma suggests. The coffee definitely comes across more as a bean than brewed coffee, and it's also nutty. The fruitiness is like that of a dark red berry. It's distinctly roasty, and very firmly bitter. It finishes dry with residual caramel and nutty notes, as well as soft fruit. Underlying notes of distant coconut and anise. Focused, and very clean. One might say that it's a bit one-sided, but there's some great depth to what's there.
Feel: Medium-light body with a moderate carbonation that lends a gentle zest at first and then softens to become smooth once warmed.
Overall: Very much like an espresso with intense coffee bean nuttiness, roastiness, and fruitiness, and a correspondingly appropriate bitterness. In fact, I feel it would be much better labeled an 'espresso stout' than an "Imperial Coffee Stout". For coffee connoisseurs this one is not to be missed as the character of the bean is so distinct and bright, but for the "everyday Joe" drinker I fear that might be lost.
Reviewed by TheManiacalOne from Rhode Island
4/5 rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
On-tap 12/16/2016 at Skeff’s in Cumberland, RI, served in a tulip glass.
A: The beer is a deep dark brown color, with a short light brown head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.
S: The aroma contains coffee, chocolate, roasted malts and a faint touch of hops.
T: The taste starts out sweet with flavors of black coffee and dark chocolate that are followed by a hearty roasted malt character. The hops presence is very mild but complementary and brings a good balance. The after-taste is slightly sweet and slightly bready.
M: Crisp and smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.
O: Tasty, goes down dangerously easy, not too filling, well-hidden strong kick, very good representation of style, this is a solid big stout to drink for a while.
Dec 17, 2016A: The beer is a deep dark brown color, with a short light brown head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.
S: The aroma contains coffee, chocolate, roasted malts and a faint touch of hops.
T: The taste starts out sweet with flavors of black coffee and dark chocolate that are followed by a hearty roasted malt character. The hops presence is very mild but complementary and brings a good balance. The after-taste is slightly sweet and slightly bready.
M: Crisp and smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.
O: Tasty, goes down dangerously easy, not too filling, well-hidden strong kick, very good representation of style, this is a solid big stout to drink for a while.
Reviewed by kalosjakar from Rhode Island
4.08/5 rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
4.08/5 rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Dark black with a tan head.
Aroma: milk chocolate, cocoa, roasted, coffee is faint to me.
Taste: espresso which also lingers and becomes the aftertaste. Dark roast, you cant help but trip over coffee. Dark and bitter chocolate.
Feel: moderately carbonated, too much imo. Medium mouthfeel, silky.
The alcohol is extremely well hidden. If the carbonation was a bit less I would love this.
Jul 18, 2016Aroma: milk chocolate, cocoa, roasted, coffee is faint to me.
Taste: espresso which also lingers and becomes the aftertaste. Dark roast, you cant help but trip over coffee. Dark and bitter chocolate.
Feel: moderately carbonated, too much imo. Medium mouthfeel, silky.
The alcohol is extremely well hidden. If the carbonation was a bit less I would love this.
XReserve Imperial Coffee Stout from Saucony Creek Brewing Company + Gastropub
Beer rating:
89 out of
100 with
58 ratings
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