Iditarod Imperial Stout
Two Brothers Brewing Company + Tap House

Inky brown-black in color, with a dark tan head (rocky, with minimal lacing) of good duration. The nose speaks volumes here, practically screaming “malty goodness!” Experienced drinkers will appreciate the malt depth even without taking a sip: there’s an abundance of dark roasted malts, dark chocolate notes, tanginess, and low bitterness (45 IBU) for the style. An easy point of reference for the nose is Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout, and for the brew as a whole? Cooper’s Best Extra Food Stout from Australia – good company to keep! On first sip there’s lively (but not overly-much) carbonation, even at a year old. Smooth yet a bit astringent/chalky, with roasty toasty malt notes, chocolatey aftertaste, and wonderful lingering bitterness. Thinner bodied than some in the style, but acceptable. Alcohol is warming but very, very subtle/well-hidden if not altogether buried in this fine brew.
Backstory: Prior to their insolvency in June of 2003, All Saint’s Brands had brokered Two Brothers in Minnesota, and despite their infamy were intermittently effective at helping certain craftbrewers establish a solid local reputation, especially with retailers that wouldn’t otherwise stock specialties. Such was the case with Two Brothers before our market lost them. Certain local retailers are well-known packrats, and All Saint’s were always more than happy to dump plenty of their overstock thereabouts, creating mini-warehouses all over town, and this is how I first encountered “Iditarod” a.k.a. Northwind. A single bottle (at 7.5%) from this first two year old six pack proved more than worthy, and the remaining five bottles were promptly shared with my beer-drinking friends.
The idea of cellaring beer is alien to most folks at first, and it’s always a tough call as to whether a newly discovered brew will stand the test of time let alone actually improve, but it’s worth attempting with this particular brew, that is, if you can manage to spare a bottle: this brew is so easy drinking that you’ll soon find yourself polishing most of a six pack! Plenty of yeast on the bottom of the bottle for you yeast geeks to obsess over, approaching the Bell’s Saturation Point. With no local wholesaler signed-on with them and with Two Brothers facing lean times it’ll be a while before I see this again, so I’m savoring -and cellaring- the remainder of the last batch of this notable brew.