Imperial Stout Appreciation Thread (2023)

This isn't the same as your scenario @BMBCLT (cause your logic with that warning feels sound), so this is just a side note, but I realized that you can't take such warnings too literally when I saw a beer label that stated "contains: wheat" on a beer that didn't have wheat in it. The brewer put that warning on the label because it was produced at a brewery that also brews beers with wheat. I don't know why "contains: wheat" would be preferable to "may contain traces of: wheat"... but what do I know?

 

I can’t remember the last time I had this beer, but I was surprised by how hoppy this beer seemed and how much coffee flavor it had (for a beer w/o coffee). I wouldn’t say the head was red, but it was probably the reddest head I’ve seen on a non-fruit beer.

 

Founders Chocolate Cherry KBS BBA Imperial Stout, 11.6% ABV. Pours black with a nice 2+ finger light brown head that left great lacing. Nose is bourbon, roasty coffee, chocolate, and sweet cherry. Taste follows, slightly bitter, roasty, slightly sweet, with coffee on the close. Excellent mouthfeel, overall outstanding to world-class adjacent. I really didn't expect to like this, but I do.

4.52/5 rDev +8.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

I rated this .02 less than my favorite KBS, Mackinac Fudge and .03 ahead of Cinnamon Vanilla Cocoa and Espresso. In a side-by-side with Mackinac, this could win. The cherry isn't even slightly medicinal, and the roasted coffee is more present than the cherry. I could be biased, since this is my first real beer after dry-February.

 

There's no problems getting BA stout over here just this one is a bit harder to find.

I did enjoy it, it's very subtle with the bourbon but I thought it was very well balanced. I can see why people say it's a great BA to start your journey off on.

 

Dry Dock Signature Imperial Stout
Free can pour from the bartender to let me try it.
Quite good! Great nose. Taste is just a hair behind top notch BA stouts. But still very enjoyable! And they switched to cans so gots to give them props for following the trend of taking care of the customer with these big beers going into 12oz cans!

 

FiftyFifty Eclipse - George Dickel Barrel (2021)



God stuff!

 

Nooner or Naaner from Cycle… not certain on the name. not bad but far from the best cycle i’ve had. usually love their stuff but this is just kind of okay. cheers!!

 

Not biased, this is a killer mf'er.

 

i halfway redact my last statement. as this warms and opens up, it’s not bad at all. more of a chocolate banana nut bread thing going on.

 

This is the most well rounded coffee stout I've had in quite some time. Head to head with Cafe Deth, Willetized, and Reiniso; I say it wins by a quarter point anyways. Sweet milk chocolate, black coffee grounds that are strong in both aroma and taste but not overpowering. Some vanilla and burnt barrel but primarily chocolate and coffee highlights have won me over here. 4.75/5 and possibly my favorite BA coffee stout of all time. Cheers.

 

Trying to finish these...



Three cans left...






Cheers!

 

I saw this a couple days ago but went with the Clown Shoes BA coffee stout I posted in here. Wishing I went with this one now. Will have to go get some

 

How is it? I’ve had a few Jackie-Os stouts and was underwhelmed. I had my hopes pretty high though. They were definitely quality, but I could tell I just wasn’t into their “signature flavor” if you understand what I mean. I’m still hoping to try their barleywines though.

 

2008 Darkness. Full review in the Cellar Review Thread.

 

Brewing Projekt Hazelnut Ssslurppp Imperial Stout, 7.9% ABV. Pours black with a half-finger light-brown head that left slight lacing. Nose is hazelnut, chocolate, and vanilla. Taste follows with hazelnut and chocolate right up front, slightly sweet, slightly bitter, with chocolate lingering. Excellent mouthfeel overall outstanding. Would be world-class for me with more sweetness.

4.38/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

One of the most chocolaty stouts I've ever had, it really brings it.

 

This is a "good" beer, rated it a 4.04. Kind of a typical Clown Shoes stout as i learned from my days in PHX, solid but not spectacular.
Cheers!
Tom