Imperial Stout Appreciation Thread (2022)

I did a barleywine last night for that thread, but tonight, Im back with an imperial stout to share here. This is Barreled Souls Dark Matter Imperial Stout aged in Single Malt / Sherry barrels for 11 months and 28 days. 14.4%.

onto my review:


Sampling a cellar temp 500 ml bottle poured into my snifter. The beer waas bottled 3-18-2021, picked up at the brewery in October 2021 and in my cellar since then.
The beer pours into my glass with a rich dark, black coffee color and no light passing through the glass when I hold it to the light.
A dense creamy beige head foams up about1 cm and fades to a sturdy edge layer with some nice clingy lattice when I swirl the glass or take a sip. This beer looks like a nice imperial stout.
Aroma on the brew is a good bit of dark chocolate, definitely some fusol alcohol, hints of sherry and dark fruit (plums). I dont get any hops anywhere.
The first sip reveals a medium body and fairly smooth texture. Carbonation is very fine and gentle on my palate. Beer drinks pretty easy for a 14.4% brew.
Flavor is rich and malty with some dark chocolate and roasted notes up front. This moves to sherry and dark fruit, plums again but also raisins. Finish is again dark chocolate and a little bit of warming booze. Hops absent.
Another winner from Barreled Souls!

4.47 in the BA DB

 

Well, my mind (and palate) have been blown. This is the highest rated stout (for me) in quite a while. Anniversary 10 from River North. A triple barrel aged stout that comes in at 22% ABV. An absolutely killer.

 

Here's my review of Anniversary 10:

Pours jet black with a slight rim of head. Not much carbonation, I don't think. Looks....powerful. The nose is insane. Very intense aromas of black licorice molasses, bourbon, roasted malts, decadent chocolate, vanilla, marshmallows, and some sweet toffee. The nose is just so smooth. Nothing sharp or off-balance here. The barrels certainly shine through and form the perfect marriage with the stout. The smell is off the charts for me.

The taste is equally as intense. Boozy? Hell yeah. This is a Black Tuesday on steroids. Right away I get that boozy burn as it goes down. There is no way to mask the 22% ABV here. That calms down after a few sips. This makes way for the big molasses, chocolate, vanilla, black licorice, blackberries, maple candy, oak, and very slight roasted malts. The latter is really hidden by the barrel influence. The taste is incredible.

The mouthfeel is big and viscous. Just insane. Overall, probably the best (or at least the top 3) stout I have had this year.

I think you would dig this. Nothing added, just massive barrel aging. However, not as roasty and bitter as you might like. I don't know, it's worth a try for anyone who likes big stouts.

 

ISO!!