Imperial Stout
14th Star Brewing Co.

 

This was poured into a snifter. The appearance was a black color with a thin finger’s worth of white foamy head that dissipated at a moderate pace. Clingy lacing. The aroma had some milk chocolate, slight bittering earthy hops, subtle caramel malts. Opens up with some spruce as it continues to warm. The flavor tried to blend the sweet to the bitter but ends up bringing some roastiness here and there. Subtle licorice-ish to roasty sort of aftertaste bending into the finish. On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body with a quality controlled sort of smooth feel sort of sipping quality about it and bitterness hits my tongue but feels contained for the most part. Overall, pretty good as an imperial stout, worthy of having again.

 

 

From the growler, it pours a dark brown with a fluffy head (the second time - the first was disappointing). A bit of roast in the nose, followed by the same in the mouth. Enjoyable and Dangerous!

Dark, Inviting, Sipper, Bold

Reminiscent of the old school Impy Stouts coming out of the UK, but with an American touch of course. While only weighing in at 8.2 percent ABV, this is still a hefty brew. From roasted grain to hopping everything is in line, too. Suggestions of espresso and dark chocolate meet up with a balancing hop character and hints of dark fruit. To hell with hype, this is one beer that doesn’t need any because it’s already awesome.

Look 4.00 | Smell 4.00 | Taste 4.00 | Feel 4.25 | Overall 4.00

Review from BeerAdvocate magazine issue #106 (NOV 2015)