Ballast Point Sea Monster Imperial Stout

Brewed by Ballast Point Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
San Diego, California USA

Molasses, some overpowered roasted malts, chocolate, deep, dark fruit, licorice. I thought the sweet molasses was a bit too much and killed off the roasty notes I like in an imperial. Still, it was a mighty fine beer and would drink it again. (Draught at The Aldgate, Tokyo)

Bottle. Opaque black body below a short, tan, quickly diminishing head. Pleasant, inviting aroma of roasted malts, molasses, resin, dark chocolate and a light note of licorice. The flavor is moderately sweet, lightly bitter and lightly acidic. It finishes lightly to moderately sweet, moderately bitter and moderately acidic. Nice taste starting with reminders of sweet licorice above a roasted bitterness that lingers or bitter coffee with a little cream. My first impression was that the beer is too sweet, but that changed the more I sipped. Medium to full body, velvety texture, moderate carbonation.

Bottle into goblet. Black body pours with about two fingers of tan head that lasts for a bit then dissipates into a spotty film. Aroma is nice bittersweet chocolate, a touch of raspberry, roasted malt, bourbon vanilla extract, pine and a little alcohol. Flavor is burnt sugar and caramel, bittersweet chocolate, burnt malt, smoke, and earth. The finish isn’t overpowering with some mild bitterness and burnt notes. Low carbonation with a smooth, full, and lightly oily mouthfeel. Not an obliterating impy which I definitely prefer. Good.

22oz bomber into snifter. Courtesy of wavers1.

Pours a deep brown, almost black with a heafty, thick tan head that settles down quickly and leaves some spotty lacing. Aroma is huge ripe Bosc pear, brown sugar Cream of Wheat. Taste is dark chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate cheesecake, tangy raspberries. Big bittering hops in the background. Dry aftertaste. Big oily mouthfeel. This is just a massive beer with such massive barley/oat and hop notes that the 10% is completely hidden. Dangerously drinkable.

Bottle, cellared for 8 months, age unknown. Pitch black, looks thick, the minimal ring of head bubbled up from the black body and eventually vanished. The aroma is rich, heavily malted, and fairly complex, including: molasses, chocolate, hazelnut, bourbonesque vanilla and booze, anise, oats, and a bouquet of dark fruits. Mouth is medium-full with little carbonation, more wet than dry, a bit sticky. Flavor is dark, rich, and semi-complex: big molasses, chocolate, coffee notes, lots of dark fruits, vanilla, oats, alcoholic warmth. It’s really pretty tasty. Smells about like a big oat stout, tastes similar but a bit more complex. Flavor and aroma are very good, the carbonation just sucks.

Many thanks to Chad for sending this my way! Poured medium-viscosity, deep brown with a great initial cap of tan head that settled down rather quickly. The aroma picked up a bright array of floral and earthy hoppage over well-toasted dark chocolate, black patent, and lesser coffee malts.. this was good, but the malts just didn’t come together that well. The flavor found more of the black patent at the core paired with some coffee.. slight lactic sourness and smooth rolled oats around.. the hops were again the best part, with citrus, floral, and earthy notes dancing around and joining coffee to provide bitterness.. finished long with roasty black malts, the aforementioned bitterness, and oaty sweetness. Medium-plus bodied and dry on the palate.. warm and bitter, especially on the latter half.. only flowed decently.. solid and very drinkable impy stout.

Pours pitch black and completely opaque without even the slightest hint of lighter color when held to a light source. Frothy 1.5 finger chocolate coffee colored head that quickly settles into a lasting ring. Roasted malty aroma with hints of bitter sweet dark chocolate, toffee, roasted coffee, oatmeal, alcohol and subtle hops. Slightly toasty with some subtle dark fruit notes. Pretty carbonated up front with a chewy viscous mouthfeel. Very roasty with lots of silky chocolate malts, roasted coffee bean, oatmeal, licorice, toffee and alcohol. A bit too hoppy for my preference with a very strong alcohol warmth. This beer is kind of all over the place and the high ABV is not very well masked. Decent but not what I was expecting.

Bomber picked up at a random Whole Foods in CT earlier this year. Smooth chocolate malt aroma. Taste is chocolate and significant dark fruit. Drinks more like a 7% stout than a 10% impy. A little coffee. Balanced. Almost a little thin.