Lady M Imperial Lavender Chocolate Stout
Bear Island Brewing Company

Review: 2403
Name: Lady M
Brewery: Bear Island Brewing
Location: Boise, ID
Style: Imperial Milk Stout
ABV: 9.7%
Canned: 2021
Date: 20 May 2025.
I tried this on tap at the brewery, decided to buy a bottle, and age it. I look forward to sipping on Lady M as Idaho has had a case of storms for the last two weeks. I am serving it at 50 degrees in a tulip glass. The pour created a frothy, foamy, airy, two-fingered, tan head with above-average retention. The slow dissipation left a beautiful lacing on the glass. The color is black with dark rusty mahogany hues. It is opaque and charting at SRM 36. Overall, it has an above-average appearance for a stout.
Nosing the glass, I smell dark chocolate, lavender, dark roasted malts, cream, caramel, molasses, malty sweetness, raisins, caramel, vanilla, grassy, and a light floral note.
Sipping the glass, I taste lavender, chocolate, grass, dark roasted malts, light char, caramel, vanilla, malty sweetness, dark toasted bread crust, raisins, and floral.
The mouthfeel is chewy and coating, finishing soft. The body is medium-plus and has low carbonation.
My, this is such a delightful beer. It held up well. I have read reviews saying this beer was so sweet, but I did not find that to be the case. I have sipped beer that is dripping with sugar. I love the chocolate and lavender combination. It is so well done. I bet in a barrel, this would be special. Lady M is delightful to sip on this chilly, stormy spring night in Idaho after a long day at work.

Has a deep rich flavor. Packs a punch but is smooth while not overly (syrupy) sweet. fresh lavender dominates but has a decent amount of chocolate as well. It's expensive and hard to find but is worth it on occasion for the unique flavor!

Non-retired 2020 vintage in a 750ml bottle, poured into a pint nonic; definitely a dark pour, mostly opaque black, large khaki head fades at a medium speed; rich chocolate is definitely present on the nose, as well as a floral character that permeates without being overwhelming...not sure I’d pick it out of a lineup as lavender, it can almost lean hoppy at times in its presence. Smooth mouthfeel and body, with a mild lingering dryness from the lavender. Overall not a bad brew, and the lavender is well executed; it never leans soapy or detergent-y, which is always my fear with a brew like this. This beer does a good job of blending the floral and the sweet.

this one is an absolute banger. im always a little wary of lavender turning my beer into perfume, and even more suspicious of a brewery with a couple of lavender beers, sometimes one can seem like too many, so i was a little skeptical to try this one, but its awesome, one of their best beers to date, not too much lavender at all, and all the bitter and earthy cocoa nibs in here as well balances out the lavender nicely. its shiny and black with a pretty high head on it, no light coming in at all. aroma of dried lavender of course, which almost makes this delicate, a lotion element, but not because its overdosed, but because its sexy, a valentines thing, getting lucky, some milk chocolate sweetness there too but not much, lots of roast, some java, its complex and unique and it works. the flavor works just as well, with the lavender obvious but not over the top thankfully, the chocolate dipped vibe making it luxurious and fancy, and a lot of smooth silky malt body to draw it out all mellow. some good roast, a light smoke note, and more carbonation than these usually have. almost an aphrodisiac thing going on here, this is really smartly built and good. bear island is making some of the best beers in boise, but never seem to get the credit i think they deserve. unique and awesome stout here!

edit: i like this more and more every time i have it, the lavender is just perfectly dosed, the dark chocolate element is lovely, and the base stout is rich and complex on its own, even almost woody to me, mellow in the right way, silky feeling, this comes together so well. easily among their best beers...

edit: again impressed, perfect amount of natural lavender, dried and honest, not perfume-like somehow, and the chocolate has such richness, elegand dark chocolate, melted and molten to me, they may change this element batch to batch with new cocoa origins, but its glorious once again in whatever vintage is floating around here in february 2026. i wish all bear island beer was this good, love the smoothness of this, the relative lack of sweetness, and the complexity and cohesiveness of the extra ingredients, just sensational!

Draft at Bardenay. Dark ebony, tiny ring of head. Chocolate big in aroma, flowery around the edges. Taste is mostly semi-sweet chocolate, consistency and texture are wonderful. Lavender adds some savory notes, accenting the chocolate. Mostly sweet. But not bad.