Imperial Stout Appreciation Thread (2023)

Good day troops! I finally got around to trying:



Certainly not as good as I was expecting:

KBS Chocolate Cherry from Founders. 12 oz bottle. Purchased from Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA, on 30/01/23 for $ 22.00 (Including tax) a four-pack ($ 0.458/oz). Stored on room temperature shelf at store and 34 degrees at home. Reviewed 06/02/23 (Review 3032). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Printed on back label “BOTTLED ON 12.06.22 0043 6”. Served at 56.3 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 59.5 degrees.
Appearance – 4.5
First pour – Ruby Brown (SRM 24), clear.
Body – Ruby Brown (SRM 24), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear lite, same with light penetration only at the edges, ruby.
Head – Average (Maximum 3.5 cm, aggressive center pour), fawn, high density, average retention, receding to a jagged 1.0 – 1.3 cm crown, and a rocky complete cap.
Lacing – Excellent! Multiple overlapping bands of tiny to small bubbles.
Aroma – 3.5 – Weak cocoa and coffee. No hops, no yeast, no bourbon, no barrel, no cherry.
Flavor – 4 – Begins chocolatey and slightly bitter with coffee in the background. No hops, no yeast. No ethanol (11.6 % ABV as marked on label) aroma or taste. No bourbon, no particular barrel flavors and definitely no cherry. Slow gastric warming occurs. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Ends with a slight bitterness and slight gastric warming.
Palate – 3.5 – Full, creamy, medium carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4 When the appearance is the high point of a beer, look out. While KBS is, by definition, a good beer, the variants aren’t necessarily so. To my taste, this is a watered down version of the Old Guard and lacks the advertised cherry notes (and the bourbon and barrel notes as well). Is it good? Sure. Is it great? No. Four and done.

Rating 3.86, rDev -6.8%

 

I dislike almost all fruits in stouts - especially berries (cherries, rasberries, etc). I'll be staying away from the KBS cherry

 

At this point, I'm just avoiding any beer made with Extracts/Natural Flavor(s) and/or Artificial Flavor(s). We have so many choices these days.

 

Cheers!

 

One more...



Burial Griddle - 10% ABV Imperial Espresso Milk Stout

 

Triple posting this as it fits three threads.


Home from work and a day off tomorrow so I dug this out. Canned 23 October 2013 and given to me in February 2014. Been in the back of the beer fridge since. I looked at this beer many times but never reached for it.

Pours black hole black, no light from my iPhone flashlight gets through.Milk chocolate smell and a lingering dark chocolate taste along with a slight bit of sweetness but nothing cloying or sugary. No trace of alcohol in the taste and this is thick chewy and silky at the same time. Coats my mouth in goodness. As this warms I get a bit of roast. Drinking this way too fast for what it is but it drinks more like a nice 5% porter than the 10.5 monster this is. Wow. I did rate the fresh version in 2014 a 1/4 point higher than this but there is nothing wrong with this at all. Wish I had a fresh one to compare.

Age did no wrong to this.


Enjoy

 

this was amazing.

 

Damn good beer actually!

 

not a bad beer but not my favorite from the stout box.

 

Cheers!

 

You are not! Bought a case. Gave a 4pk away. Have to drink up the rest! Dem peanutz fall off fast.

 

Christmas Morning - Hardy Park



No real head or lace, and the viscous film produces no legs.

Strong dark roasted malt is overlaid with equally rich molasses and coffee. Gingerbread and cinnamon are obvious, though lesser components. Milk chocolate makes a late entrance and warmth brings an odd, unwelcome aroma. (vanilla?)

It’s definitely sweet, mild bitterness, and easily understandable as a Milk Stout. The roasted malt is far less prominent in the flavor than the aroma suggested. Similarly the coffee is somewhat subdued. Molasses fills the gap, while ginger and cinnamon are noticeable at best. The finish elevates the spices along with a long robustness.

Full body with an oily woolen texture. Fine prickly carbonation. The alcohol is as expected, although it has more heat than most.

Ok, so I’m having dessert before dinner. It would pair well with molasses cookies or pecan pie, neither of which are at hand tonight. While it is enjoyable, there is no need to seek out more.

 

I found this bottle of Stone Xocoveza hiding in the back of my beer fridge. Bottled on 11/06/2015. Still very tasty.

 

ChicagoJ smiles….

Tenaya Creek Hauling Oats



Light and easy oatmeal milk stout, nice balance of dry bitter hops and dark roast coffee (no coffee added) / roast malt, milk sweetness in proper measure.

Tenaya Creek is 23 years strong (I’m on Year 33 for Vegas trips). At my Vegas home brewery for the first time since last August!

 

I already incorrectly posted this in the Celluary thread on accident, than just realized I posted this here incorrectly as well since it is not an imperial stout (5.7%), but I’ll leave it up because after you quoted it.

So cool you were able to try Tenaya here or via distribution. I like most of there beers, from good to great. Will be hitting a few more times before my trip is up 15 days from now.

Cheers!

 

Cigar City El Catador Club XV ‘Deo’ Imperial Stout with sweet potato, cinnamon, nutmeg & vanilla.
Bottle #194, 500 ml.
Poured at 53° into a Cigar City taster’s glass.

OK - hang with me here.,.
Take:
1 lb diced sweet potatoes
A cup of sugar
1/2 a cup of milk
2 eggs
A tsp of cinnamon
A tsp of nutmeg
A tsp vanilla extract
Boil it up & pour it in a pie crust
Bake it for an hour.,.
Cool it down, scoop it all out and put it in a kettle 3/4 full of vodka for an hour or so.,
Wring the thick sweet goo of it out, strain it, put it in a bottle and.,. Voila!.,. Deo.