Imperial Belgian Stout
Trinity Brewhouse

Thank you to bruachan for doing the research on this beer. This review was previously entered under the wrong beer.

On-cask at Trinity Brewhouse in Providence, RI, poured into a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a deep dark black with a short but thick tan head that refuses to fade and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The smell is very yeasty and very chocolaty, with some malt and a touch of dark fruit.

T: You taste the Belgian yeast right away, which for me is a different twist for a stout. The yeasty, bready flavor is accompanied by chocolate malt and a little bit of hops.

M: Silky & slick, heavy body, light carbonation, very clean finish.

D: This one is a sipper, but worth sipping a lot of and for a long time, which fits the atmosphere of the place. It’s got a good kick to it and a lot of flavor.

talked to the brewer over the phone (wasn't there when i visited) to get a better feel about this brew. says it was a project to keep his abbey yeast (530) viable while offering something a little unusual, so he used something pretty close to the RIS grainbill. unusual indeed

the head is creamy and sudsy with little ringlets, and the beer itself looks mostly like a RIS: black with some unexpected red highlights

i had initially decided it was a saison yeast, but grew increasingly unhappy with that diagnosis (particularly because of how sweet the beer was). now i see the light. bitter, roasty, spicy (those last two don't often occur together), earthy

cool. i've wondered in the past what a stout would tast like with a belgian yeast. some combination in there put me off slightly, however. perhaps it was too sweet to effectively match the spice, perhaps it was something else

oh yeah, forgive me if my style selection is poor; i felt it was more belgian than stout b/c of the yeast strain