Imperial Stout Blind Taste Testing

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by geodonnokepyo, Oct 31, 2015.

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  1. geodonnokepyo

    geodonnokepyo Initiate (0) Oct 31, 2013 Pennsylvania

    Hello everyone,
    Last night three friends and I had a little taste testing of some Imperial Stouts that are easily accessible in our area. The goal was to see which beer tasted best in our own subjective opinions. This was purely for fun and I wanted to share it with the BA community because I figured some of you would enjoy it.

    The beer lineup was (brewery - beer - BA rating avg.):
    1. Green Flash - Double Stout - 4.09
    2. Sierra Nevada - Narwhal - 4.14
    3. Dark Horse - Plead the 5th - 4.23
    4. Founder's - Breakfast Stout - 4.47
    5. North Coast - Old Rasputin - 4.27
    6. Victory - Storm King - 4.1
    7. Great Lakes - Blackout Stout - 4.19
    8. Bell's - Expedition Stout - 4.21

    Here is what each individual person chose as their top 3 or 4 beers (I will omit the ones we liked least):

    Will:
    Liked Green Flash the most with Founder's and Great Lakes tied for 2nd.

    Paul:
    Also liked Green Flash the most, followed by Great Lakes, then Sierra Nevada.

    Kelsey:
    Liked Founder's the most, followed by Green Flash, then Bell's, then Great Lakes.

    Myself:
    I ended up choosing Great Lakes as my favorite, with Founder's second, then Dark Horse and Green Flash tied for 3rd.

    Obviously the biggest surprise was Green Flash's Double Stout. We were all surprised to find out that that beer was among all of our favorites. The kicker is that I have some of every other beer in my cellar, I guess I need to stock up on some Double Stout. :grinning:

    I hope you all enjoyed this.
     
    #1 geodonnokepyo, Oct 31, 2015
    George1005, foundersfan1, Jaycase and 3 others like this.
  2. LennyOvies

    LennyOvies Initiate (0) Jul 22, 2015 Mexico

    I'm sure you were surprised about Green Flash for the sole reason that lots of people hate them, and only because of the Alpine matter, not their actual beer. Am I wrong?

    They make great beer.
     
    #2 LennyOvies, Oct 31, 2015
    mabermud likes this.
  3. pat61

    pat61 Initiate (0) Dec 29, 2010 Minnesota

    Good list. I like them all and would have a hard time choosing which one I liked the best.
     
    #3 pat61, Oct 31, 2015
  4. MerryTapster

    MerryTapster Initiate (0) Mar 6, 2010 Pennsylvania

    Breakfast Stout probably stuck out like a sore thumb in this lineup.
     
    #4 MerryTapster, Oct 31, 2015
    core42, KingEdward and PA-Michigander like this.
  5. bluehende

    bluehende Initiate (0) Dec 10, 2010 Delaware

    Good job. I do love seeing these blind tests. Can you make a comment on how much difference there really was. Were the opinions strong or just "Damn I can only pick one of these fine beers as #1".
     
    #5 bluehende, Oct 31, 2015
  6. AugustusRex

    AugustusRex Initiate (0) Apr 12, 2013 Canada (ON)

    Great Lakes has a prominent diet coke flavour that really seems out of place for the style. Probably my least favourite RIS.
     
    #6 AugustusRex, Oct 31, 2015
  7. laketang

    laketang Grand Pooh-Bah (3,017) Mar 22, 2015 Arizona
    Pooh-Bah

    I would have thought storm king and old Rasputin would have made at least 1 out of 4 of your lists, even at #3
     
    #7 laketang, Oct 31, 2015
  8. Benish

    Benish Pooh-Bah (2,446) Mar 13, 2013 Utah
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I wonder where Ten Fidy would be if you had that lined up.
     
    #8 Benish, Oct 31, 2015
  9. geodonnokepyo

    geodonnokepyo Initiate (0) Oct 31, 2013 Pennsylvania

    Yea, it did. Blackout and Storm King were pretty easily recognizable too.
     
    #9 geodonnokepyo, Oct 31, 2015
  10. Jaycase

    Jaycase Grand Pooh-Bah (3,858) Jan 13, 2007 Illinois
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Nice OP. I'd like to see people do more blind tastings. I'm fairly certain preconceptions & expectations play a large role in normal tastings and this is a great way to combat that and keep it objective. Cheers!
     
    #10 Jaycase, Oct 31, 2015
    gatheredwaters, keithmurray, foundersfan1 and 1 other person like this.
  11. geodonnokepyo

    geodonnokepyo Initiate (0) Oct 31, 2013 Pennsylvania

    Pretty much the latter for all of us.
     
    #11 geodonnokepyo, Oct 31, 2015
  12. Urk1127

    Urk1127 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,790) Jul 2, 2014 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I really liked Storm King. Im so burnt out on sweet stouts.
     
    #12 Urk1127, Oct 31, 2015
    ThisWangsChung likes this.
  13. LordofWord

    LordofWord Crusader (455) Dec 15, 2014 Oregon

    Funny, a buddy and I split a Founders BS right after a Victory at Sea last night and were both surprised how underwhelmed we were by the Founders after having our palates guided by that skeleton pirate ship beer.

    We also did a head-to-head between Old Raspy and Narwhal last winter and both found Narwhal slightly better,

    As an earlier poster noted, Ten Fidy might have changed everything in your taste test. (Or Alesmith Speedway?)

    Whatever the case, thanks for sharing.
     
    #13 LordofWord, Oct 31, 2015
  14. EvilMidnightBomber

    EvilMidnightBomber Initiate (0) Feb 12, 2015 Wisconsin

    Founders Imperial Stout would have been a better match to the group, but probably wasn't an option unless they had enough willpower to save some from last year. Mine didn't last longer than April or May I think.
    Love to read these. If I did this I'd definitely have to include Ten Fiddy and FIS, and maybe something local like a Tyranena Carnal Knowledge.
    FTFY. I enjoy VAS, but wouldn't judge anything I drank after it. That one's always last in the line-up.
     
    #14 EvilMidnightBomber, Oct 31, 2015
  15. LordofWord

    LordofWord Crusader (455) Dec 15, 2014 Oregon

    Sure. But fact is, I realized that I'd rather drink VAS. That said, I have two four-packs of Founders BS in my fridge that I will enjoy, and I probably won't buy much more VAS until it shows up in my market in 12-ounce bottles -- which, theoretically, will be more price-friendly.
     
    #15 LordofWord, Oct 31, 2015
    EvilMidnightBomber likes this.
  16. Crim122

    Crim122 Initiate (0) Aug 4, 2014 North Carolina

    No Ten Fidy :slight_frown:

    But I just bought the Green Flash Double Stout last night, ive actually never had anything by them. So I am excited to check it out.
     
    #16 Crim122, Oct 31, 2015
  17. The_Snow_Bird

    The_Snow_Bird Grand Pooh-Bah (3,557) May 7, 2015 Michigan
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Wow sounds good, wish I was there for the test.
     
    #17 The_Snow_Bird, Oct 31, 2015
  18. evilcatfish

    evilcatfish Pooh-Bah (2,116) May 11, 2012 Missouri
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Thanks for sharing your results. It always seems like there is a beer that really surprises everyone in the blind tastings, and others that rank lower than expected!
     
    #18 evilcatfish, Oct 31, 2015
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