Imperial Stout Appreciation Thread (2022)

Well its Wednesday, not normally a drinking night, but no more work for the week, so here we are! After doing the spatchcocking of the turkey...which is just fun to say...or type. I believe Ive earned a beer or two tonight! This is Front Porch Brewing from Wallingford CT and their Imperial Stout with donuts, Neil's Donut French toast Style Imp Stout. At 10% its pretty serious, and I expect it to be seriously sweet. So cover your eyes @Resistance88 this is gonna be a doozy I believe! Cross posted in the what Northeast beer are you drinking thread.

onto my review:

I am sampling a cold 16 oz can poured into my trusty snifter. Ive had this beer in the fridge for a while and had forgotten about it to be honest. Date stamp is 4/1/2022. 10% ABV so should be fine. Its been in fridge too not just cellar.
The beer pours a rich deep brown color sort of like a cola. a dense tan head of 1 cm foams up and fades to a sturdy edge layer soon after the pour. a few small islands of foam also float around the surface.
The aroma on this one is sweet! I get baked donut dough, maple syrup, cinnamon and brown sugar on the nose. No hop character and I dont get any booziness either. Big sweet beer from the nose, fits the expectations from the can.
First sip reveals a medium body with very fine and almost sharp prickly carbonation. The texture is smooth and not sticky at all. Drinks very easy on physical traits.
Flavor is similar to the nose. I get some light milk chocolate notes here though, then other similar flavors. Cinnamon, maple syrup, brown sugar. The cinnamon lingers after each swallow. I dont get hops at all, but do get a bit of warming on the swallow.
Solid pastry stout, but I would be overwhelmed with sweetness if I had more than two cans at best.
4.22 in the BA DB

 

Séance, a rye imperial stout aged in bourbon and peated whiskey barrels. 12% ABV. Collaboration between Bottleworks, Ravenna, and Full Throttle. Great stout! Tons of tobacco, peat, dark chocolate, roasted malts, vanilla, and bourbon. Nice layer of rye spice as well.

 

Shared a beer at Thanksgiving. Had a few others, but wasnt focused on notes or taking pictures after this one. This is Bananas Foster Dark Matter aged in Rum barrels. 15.7%!

onto my reivew:


Had this beer at the end of Thanksgiving Dinner. Shared with mother in law who enjoyed it. I picked up the bottle at the brewery in October 2021 and its been in my cellar since then.
Im pouring cellar temp into my trusty snifter. The beer pours a jet black color into my glass and I get minimal tan head that is dense, but doesnt stick around long.
Aroma is boozy, not rum but general hot booze, a good amount of ripe banana and some dark chocolate too. No hop notes on the nose.
First sip reveals a lighter body than expected and gentle carbonation with an almost slick texture. The beer drinks very easy and that is dangerous at 15%!! Its almost a little too thin for a big imperial stout.
Flavor is much less boozy and is dark chocolate some ripe banana, a bit of caramel and roasted malts. No hops show up here either. There is still some warmth on the finish.
This beer is fine, its a bit boozy which makes sense, the rum barrel doesnt come through to me too much, which is fine as I dont love rum. I dont think I would buy this variant again if given the chance.

3.87 in the BA DB