How do you like your Imperial Stouts

like my name.....

(go FIS!)

 

Come to find I can live without Imperial Stouts. I accidentally grabbed and poured a PT5, and it just taste burnt, didn't really like it , and to be honest I poured out 4-5 oz's. Really love Bourbon influences, just doesn't seem complete without it, and even FBS doesn't excite me much.

 

Note: for the sake of accuracy and simplicity, I always lump imperial stouts and "imperial porters" into the same category (but not Baltic porters). So every time I mention stout below, read it as "stout and porter."




Unlike with food, I am not a picky drinker. I can find a time and place for just about every type or style of beer I've had---not bad representations of them. Though I have preferences, I like a wide spectrum of beers.

This extends to imperial stouts as well. I can find the right occasion for roasty stouts, sweeter chocolate-esque stouts, cream stouts, hoppy stouts, barrel-aged stouts, spicy stouts, smoked stouts, stouts brewed with fruit and stouts brewed with coffee and all other manner of spices or adjuncts. As with beer in general, however, I do have my preferences.

I prefer that really roasty stouts not also be really hoppy, or vice versa. I prefer that in neither case---a really hoppy stout or a really roasty stout---the beer also be extremely boozy. And while I can understand and appreciate that I should expect barrel-aged stouts to be quite a bit boozier than regular ones, I prefer when they have a less pronounced whiskey flavor (and also vastly prefer when the wood flavors are stronger than the whiskey flavors). I also prefer to drink stouts brewed with something other than coffee, especially if the beer is also really roasty or hoppy.

In none of these cases, however, am I going to completely hate the beer or give it a low score should it violate my preferences. Unless it is just bad or unbalanced.

 

Big, black and aggressive.

 

There are some very good Imperial Stouts that represent each of those you listed, so I like any of those.

 

I like them all but preference has to got to BA stouts.

 

I'm not a big stout drinker, but had some '10 Stone BBA IRS not too long ago along with some Silva Stout. That was really, smooth and tasty. I go through phases, so I'm sure my attention will turn to stouts at some point.

 

2 Words that say how I want my Impy Stouts: "right now"

 

end thread

 

I like my stouts on New Beer Sunday and all of the above

 

BARREL AGED

 

I like them big, thick, and rich. Sweet, but with a big roast profile and ample hop bitterness to back it up. Marshal Zhukov, Yeti, Expedition Stout, and Ten Fidy are some of my favorites. I do love all the other options, but at the end of the day I think I prefer these unadulterated imperial stouts.

 

Thick chocolate and roast

 

I certainly enjoy all of them if they are well done. But I do particularly enjoy a good coffee stout.

 

Good way of putting it, and I agree. I like all of the styles listed, but don't seek any of them out specifically. I'm really looking for the qualities you talk about.

BTW if you have not had Oatmeal Yeti, it is by far the craziest, thickest, richest thing I have had from the series. Fantastic.

 

Thick and black like old oil. Ten Fidy is a good example.