Super Duper High Gravity Imperial Stouts

Discussion in 'Cellaring / Aging Beer' started by allouez86, Sep 25, 2012.

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  1. allouez86

    allouez86 Pundit (999) Jan 24, 2009 Wisconsin

    Just had a relatively fresh Mikkeller Black the other night and have had many fresh Avery Mephistopheles before. I really love them both when they're still relatively young and full of heat and I've currently got a couple of each and am excited to see what some time will do to them. I'm interested in hearing about some of your experiences with aging these brews and others of this style.
     
    #1 allouez86, Sep 25, 2012
  2. coreyfmcdonald

    coreyfmcdonald Initiate (0) Nov 13, 2008 Georgia

    Rarely am I impressed by a beer north of 15%. I think Meph and Mikkeller Black are both too boozy with soy sauce flavors. I assume much of my dislike is from strain on the yeast (no pun intended) since I've had a few iced versions of stouts north of 15% (Double Black, Iced Oil of Aphrodite) that were remarkable, but I really know very little about the yeast they use or the characteristics of said yeast at high ABVs. Age can take away some of the heat from a big beer, but I still prefer lower ABV RIS. To me, I find age melds flavors and takes away harsh combating flavors more than it takes away booziness, though booze certainly does fade.

    Either way, I certainly prefer RIS in the 10%-13% range.

    Note: I did like Avery Uncle Jacob's Stout, but I did find the booze distracting and think I would enjoy the beer a lot more if it were more like 13%.
     
    #2 coreyfmcdonald, Sep 25, 2012
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