Imperial Stout
Double Wing Brewing Co.

From the 12 oz can in a snifter via the Little Lady's daughter and Jamie! Cheers!
This solid little imperial pours a dark muddled brownish black with tea highlights
and a decent head of khaki foam that settles to a thick ring, subtle dusty layer,
and displays subtle lacing. Nose of dark chocolate, anise, subtle char, light smoke,
dark malts, and subtle dark fruits. Flavors surpass the nose with dark berry notes
to the fore with blackberry and blueberry, dark cocoa, moderate char, subtle smoke,
dark cocoa, light vanilla, subtle toffee. Mouth feel is medium full leaning towards full,
smooth, rich, lightly warming, light carbonation, and finishing with a lightly bitter malt
note that is teetering on a nice balance.

Overall, a solid little brew!

Cheers

The pour is jet black with a tan & frothy head of foam. The taste is dark roasted malt, dark chocolate, coffee, cola, & molasses. Cheers! A-

12 ounce can, no dating that I noticed on the can or label but FILTHY ANIMAL is stamped on the bottom. Served in a snifter, the beer pours dark brown/black with not quite an inch tan head that stuck around a while. Good amount of lacing. Aroma is nice but light, the brew smells like dark chocolate, coffee, roasted malt and some dark fruit. Taste luckily has some more kick, with dark chocolate, burnt/charred malt, dark bread, dark fruit, licorice, coffee, earthy, nutty and a bit of smokiness in the flavor. Mouthfeel/body is medium/full, it's creamy and coating with a good amount of carbonation. I liked this brew, nice to see a regular imperial stout that doesn't have a ton of adjuncts. Worth a try if you get the chance!

12 ounce can into snifter, canned in 2017. Pours fairly murky/cloudy nearly opaque dark brown/black color with a 1 finger fairly dense and rocky khaki head with great retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, vanilla, cream, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, and dark/brown bread/crusts; with lighter notes of licorice, raisin, plum, prune, fig, date, smoke, char, wood, grass, herbal, pepper, pine, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/black/roast/bready malts and light-moderate fruity yeast/earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, vanilla, cream, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, and dark/brown bread/crusts; with lighter notes of licorice, raisin, plum, prune, fig, date, smoke, char, wood, grass, herbal, pepper, pine, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Light pine, herbal, woody, grassy, peppery hops; and roast/char bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, vanilla, cream, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, dark/brown bread/crusts, licorice, dark fruit, smoke, char, wood, grass, herbal, pepper, pine, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/black/roast/bready malts and light-moderate fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; with an awesome roast/hop bitter/sweet balance; and no cloying, acrid, astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering hop/char bitterness. Medium carbonation and fairly full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/velvety/bready, and lightly slick/sticky/chalky mouthfeel that is fantastic. Mild increasing warmth of 9.2% after the finish. Overall this is an excellent Russian imperial stout! All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/black/roast/bready malts and light-moderate fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to drink for the big ABV, with the mildly bitter/charred/drying finish. Awesomely rich and well rounded malt complexity; with solid earthy hop presence/balance, and restrained yeast fruitiness. A very enjoyable offering, and impressive spot on style example. Likely very mellowed out on hops from age, not overly bitter/charred at all.

 

 

This is supposed to be the same as Cellar Rats' big stout (per my vendor), but I don't think it is quite as good.

It pours thin black with a head consisting of tiny bubbles. The aroma is faint and sweet. The taste is thin yet malty and fairly well balanced. The aftertaste is easy going.

I expect more than just alcohol for a local brew that cost $2.75 a can.

Not recommended.

Double Wing Brewing Company is the old Cellar Rats. Their current Imperial Stout is the same recipe as Cellar Rats' Black Rat Imperial Stout.

12oz can poured into a tulip. Pours almost black with a small khaki head that quickly fades leaving okay retention and lacing. The aromas are malt forward. Some cocoa and milk chocolate notes. The flavors are bold, rich and on the sweeter side. The Irish coffee cream vibe is still well and alive. Lots of sugar. More milk chocolate. There's a subtle roastiness going on. Solid malt backbone. Subtle warmth, but the alcohol is well hidden. Mouthfeel is nice. It's full-bodied with moderate carbonation. It's fluffy and slightly creamy. Very smooth.

This is a great stout. It's consistent with the previous brand. It's sweet without being cloying. Really nice flavors. Well crafted and very enjoyable. Recommended.