PASTE: Best (Non-Barrel Aged) Imperial Stouts

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by M-Fox24, Jan 19, 2017.

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  1. M-Fox24

    M-Fox24 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,941) Mar 17, 2013 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Trader

  2. TonyLema1

    TonyLema1 Pooh-Bah (2,890) Nov 19, 2008 South Carolina
    Pooh-Bah

    God, I love lists, can't get enough of them. That said, I've only had 15 of the Top 40 and I'd have put Yeti and Stone's RIS above several of them
     
  3. M-Fox24

    M-Fox24 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,941) Mar 17, 2013 New Jersey
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    Perhaps they fell into this category:

    There was no limit of entries per brewery, but I did disallow the occasional beer for being too similar to another entry. The beers were separated into daily blind tastings that approximated a sample size of the entire field.​
     
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  4. SeanBond

    SeanBond Pooh-Bah (2,904) Jul 30, 2013 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Founders at 23, Spiteful at 11, Darkness at 2? I'm in.

    Any time you put Darkness in your top 3, you gain some points in my book. :grinning:

    edit: The only thing I'll say as a demerit is that their #1 pick almost sounds too generic to interest me. Almost.
     
  5. Harrison8

    Harrison8 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,285) Dec 6, 2015 Missouri
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    Man, I still really want to try Darkness. Especially if it's that much "better" then Founder's. Founder's is one of my all-time favorite beers.
     
  6. NCMonte

    NCMonte Initiate (0) Jan 28, 2014 North Carolina

    Oh, I know and love some of these beers! In fact, had BA #17 last night.
     
  7. SeanBond

    SeanBond Pooh-Bah (2,904) Jul 30, 2013 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I'll have to re-try FIS soon, to compare to Darkness again. I haven't had it in a year, and it's a fave of mine, also. Had a bottle of Darkness last night, and it seemed thinner than I remembered (not too thin, but not as thick as I hoped). Darkness in the past has reminded me of an "amped up" version of FIS--More complexity, more sweetness. Both have a hoppy profile I really like.
     
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  8. SFACRKnight

    SFACRKnight Grand Pooh-Bah (3,348) Jan 20, 2012 Colorado
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    Woo Colorado holdin it down
     
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  9. Harrison8

    Harrison8 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,285) Dec 6, 2015 Missouri
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    Darkness sounds great! I have just had FIS from last year, and I drank it fresh. I have a few bottles in my cellar and I'm excited to see how they have aged.

    Was the thinner Darkness beer you tried a different version from before?
     
  10. SeanBond

    SeanBond Pooh-Bah (2,904) Jul 30, 2013 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    The first time I had Darkness was 2013, and it was love at first sip. 2014 was okay, but was that weird half-barrel-aged version. 2015 (non-BA) seemed like a return to form, but both times I've had 2016, I thought it was a little thinner. It's entirely possible my expectations have gotten too high thanks to all the BA stouts (especially BCS) I'm drinking more and more these days, so take the thinness with a grain of salt. It's still delicious.
     
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  11. dennis3951

    dennis3951 Initiate (0) Mar 6, 2008 New Jersey

    I would have preferred if they had not included Imperial Stouts with added flavors.
     
  12. M-Fox24

    M-Fox24 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,941) Mar 17, 2013 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I believe they did that on purpose in an effort to make a point: “best pure beers rise to the top”

    What I did note was that, as expected, the cream of the “best-made” stouts rose to the top, regardless of whether they had various adjuncts. There were coffee stouts, vanilla stouts, coconut stouts, fruited stouts, etc., that all ended up in the field, and plenty of regular old “Russian imperial stouts” that made the ranked portion. I’m a big believer that the best pure beers rise to the top.

    However, there’s an element in the subconscious that’s often hard to suppress; biases love to intrude
     
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  13. The_Snow_Bird

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

    I'm surprised to see Plead the 5th at only 19
     
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  14. zid

    zid Grand Pooh-Bah (3,132) Feb 15, 2010 New York
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    If you think about it in a different way, it's good when something generic rises to the top of a style tasting. That means it succeeds in embodying the style.
     
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  15. SeanBond

    SeanBond Pooh-Bah (2,904) Jul 30, 2013 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Oh no, I agree, which is why I said it almost doesn't interest me. If it's generic to me in the same way that Heady Topper tastes generic to me (because there's so much else similar or that has aped HT), that's fine, because Heady Topper tastes like a fully-realized version of that particular IPA. When I think about a generic stout, though, I think about something that isn't too hoppy, isn't too roasty, isn't too sweet, isn't too full, etc., and that just sounds boring to me (but I tend to like my stouts to play up the sugar and hops).

    Hopefully I'll give it a try sometime, and see which version of generic I think it is.
     
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  16. DeweyCheatem-n-Howe

    DeweyCheatem-n-Howe Initiate (0) May 23, 2015 Massachusetts

    Unfortunately a lot of my favorites weren't available for the testing... no Dusk Trill Dawn, no Outside the Lines, no Triple Shot, no Perennial 17 (although they had Sump and Abraxas, so limit of 2 entries, I get it), no Yellow Belly... liked seeing 4 Hands get in on the contest, even if they didn't make the rankings. I'm a little surprised Stone didn't send W00tstout as one of their entries.

    I also wish Pretty Things were still around and could send a bottle of Fumapapa.

    How DARE Paste Magazine not drink literally every Imperial stout in the world? How dare they? I mean, they could always recruit more testers to drink them all. I'd be willing to make the sacrifice.
     
  17. StoutAtTheDevil

    StoutAtTheDevil Maven (1,434) Nov 17, 2013 Alabama
    Trader

    Isn't that one partially barrel-aged, which would render it ineligible for this particular tasting?
     
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  18. Sabtos

    Sabtos Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,920) Dec 15, 2015 Ohio
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    What an undertaking, love what they do. Really good list IMO, some old classics finally getting recognition they deserve, and some new ones to try.
     
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  19. Crim122

    Crim122 Initiate (0) Aug 4, 2014 North Carolina

    Wow, I've seen that Westbrook 6th Anniversary around. I guess I need to try it.
     
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  20. raynmoon

    raynmoon Initiate (0) Aug 13, 2011 Colorado

    Now let's see a list that is only traditional to style: no spices/ flavor additives.
     
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