Imperial Maple Stout
F-Town Brewing Co.

Bomber acquired from a friend who said it was in his cellar and about 3 years old, poured aggressive in a custom glass mug. Look was pitch black motor oil with a finger of tan/khaki head leaving lots of lacing behind. Smell was rich roasted malts, chocolate, dark fruit, vanilla, and maple syrup. The taste matched the smell but not in that order, and as it warmed more maple and vanilla came through. Feel was full, slick and delicious. Overall this was super delicious and I would love to try a barrel aged version. Cheers.

 

 

 

 

my first beer from these guys, and boy am i glad i brought this back from a recent minnesota trip. the beer is awesome, really intense and enormous. viscosity like fryer oil, almost jet black brown, with a microbubble head only a half inch high or so, thick and rich and the color of crema on good espresso. so think, its a little intimidating, long legs like old red wine, impressive for sure. smells bitter more than sweet, odd for a maple beer, but i smell very little of that. instead, i get bitter roast, coffee, and even a hint of smoke to it, milk chocolate and brown sugar there behind it. the flavor shows the maple right up front, not as heavy as i like, but i am a sucker for all things maple, it cant be overdone to me, so its always light, but here it seems more to provide some body and some earthiness with the big malty flavors. i do get a little sweetness, but more brown sugar than maple, and a ton of bitterness trouncing that in the finish. coffee and char, smoke again, long cacao nib type finish, pleasant for sure, smooth, but majorly boozy as well, especially when it gets up to room temperature, downright hot. sensational smoothness though even still, and i love the enormous body. this is very different kind of beer, not like other maple beers and absolutely not like other imperial stouts. i think a rye whiskey barrel treatment would flatter this, but its pretty regal beer as it is now. worth picking up.

edit: just had a rum barrel aged edition of this beauty at a festival and oh my goodness was it good! heavy old dirty wood on it, smoke and spice, a little vanilla, it really adds a lot and rounds this right out with some really neat flavors. they should bottle the rum barrel edition!

Roasted but not much fruit. Black with dark head that goes to a ring in short order. Still tastes raw & fresh. Dries out quite a bit leaving a mix of hoppy flavor & bitterness lingering a good long time. Some maple flavor but not strong. Some fruit with the roast and the intermingling hops. Decent complexity and not out of balance. Moderate feel so a bit on the lighter side for style. A nice little sweetness from the maple. This is not that bad. I'd like a little more age on it but that's me. Some richness that seems like too much in time.