Beer Valley Black Flag Imperial Stout

Brewed by Beer Valley Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Ontario, Oregon USA

Smells roasty, malty and biting. Looks great. Flavor is very roasty and hoppy, thick and sweet and quite nice.

Black. Black/brown edges. Not much carbonation, just a ring of brown bubbles. Dark chocolate, roasty malt, anise, marshmallow, huge resiny hops, light smoke, leather, subtle spicy menthol. Complex, aggressive brew. Full/medium body, balanced carbonation. Very nice.

Bottle from cbkschubert. Black pour, big ass tan head. Aroma is strong I smelled it from a foot away hoppy as shit, very leafy aroma. Taste is bitter with massive amounts of freshy green leafy hops. Burnt roasted malts, coffee, chocolate, espresso. This is an agressive imperial stout, I guess the way it should be. Mollasses and raisens in the aftertaste with espresso lingering and a caramel touch. Wow is this tough, but god it taste good and I like it. Thanks Craig, my first New Mexico beer.

22 oz bottle purchased at Beverages for Less in Santee. Pretty decent imperial.

22 oz bottle shared with padrefan98. Very dark pour with minimal head. Lots of chocolate and coffee aromas. More bitter coffee on the flavor. Some hops in there to balance everything out. Pretty good.

22 oz bottle, Batch 1, via FlacoAlto. Pours a completely pitch black body, no light passing through at all. Nice small espresso crema like head that retains as a thin covering. The nose is incredibly roasty and full of licorice and rum soaked dark fruits. No alcohol, light yeast, chalk, some coffee, and light hops. The roast comes on a little strong on the flavor, leaning towards burnt, with a chalky and ashy finish. Still lots of sweet fruitiness and pretty minimal alcohol taste for being 11% at first, though as I made my way through the bottle it did become more and more apparent. Quite warming on the throat. Mouthfeel is thick and full bodied with a oily slick texture and clingy finish. Low soft carbonation is quite pleasant. Overall, pretty nice, but very intense. I could go for a little bit more subtle malt complexity.

Bottle: Black, black and more black.   I was somewhat surprised to see how dark this one poured.   Why?   I have no friggen idea, other than its darker than most other "Imperial Stouts".   The head is actually minor to non-existant.   Lacing is spotty at best. &nbps Hey, at least its black as all hell.   Rich malty nose, roasty, slight soy and hop bitterness.   While not appearing to be overly bitter in its hop grandure, its quite malty with a heavy dose of soy and soft dark pitted fruit.   I think this one actually lives up to its name.   The backside does appear to have a healthy dose of hop bitterness.   While appearing to feel somewhat flat, or at least unlively, it does come across as robust with quite a big body.   Who woulda thunk Santa Fe could do an Imperial Stout like this?   This is based on past bottled beers I have had.   Overall I would say this Imperial Stout is quite nice, fairly big, and quite a pleasant surprise from what I was expecting.   Young, yet not overly green.   Strong, yet not too brash.   This is one big beer, and certainly one that cannot be downed quickly.   Moderate to full body and mouthfeel.   This one is better than expected,   Overall this one is quite big and well balanced.

Date: 02/03/2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Cellar Party

black, scant head, roasted and dry chocolate aroma that eventually comes up with some licorice sweetness, chewey chocolate flavor with lots of sweet roasted and a hint of alcohol, strong sweet licorice, after warming the body this out and the alcohol comes to the front along with a bit too much hop flavor and bitterness,
-------- /> Date: 11/24/2007
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting

sweet citrus hops along with the rich roasted and dark chocolate aroma, lots of citrus character in the flavor as well,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 3.3/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4