Berkshire Imperial Stout

Brewed by Berkshire Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial Stout
South Deerfield, Massachusetts USA

Bottle from a trade. Pour is dark brown nearly black. Creamy beige head. Lacing present in the glass. Aroma is roasy malt and chocolate. Has just a faint metallic note, but not much. Flavor is chocolate and bitter. Decent palate. Dry Finish. Pretty nice beer...worth seeking out.

Pours black with just hints of mahogany - looks like an espresso coffee - with a light tan head that leaves a good lace. This a chewy, sweet imperial that is very smooth. Good carbonation. Nose is roasted coffee. Flavor is roasted coffee and chocolate with just a hint of hops. $4.19 for a 22oz bottle from Ruggeri & Sons Greenfield, MA.

Bottle pours black with off white head. Has aroma of subtle roasted malt and dark chocolate. Medium body. Flavor is bitter chocolate, roasted malt, and some ash. Overall just a middle of the road imperial stout. Not a standout.

Bottled, aged over 1 year. The pour is a dark chestnut brown color that lets a good amount of light through when backlit. A foamy, tan colored head leaves some delicate sheet lacing behind. The aroma is heavy on roasty caramel malts, along with notes of semi-sweet chocolate and creamed coffee. The flavor follows suit exactly, sweet caramel and chocolate up front, with roasty coffee and earthy hops on the back end. It’s a bit to caramel forward for my liking. The body is not up to par for the style. While the carbonation is balanced, the palate is on the thin side of medium-full and slightly sticky towards the finish. Overall, this is a decent imperial stout, but it is lacking in many areas.

(Bottle). Aroma of sweet malt and fruits. Deep dark brown with small tan head. Flavor is roasted malt and chocolate, also some coffee, nicely balanced, good carbonation. Slightly astringent finish.

Bottle: Poured a medium black color stout with a medium light brown color head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of light roasted malt with some black chocolate notes. Taste is also dominated by some slightly bitter roasted malt with some notes of black chocolate. Body is definitely too thin for the style with some good carbonation and no apparent alcohol. Not bad overall even though body is watery and too thin for the style.

Bomber from Bob’s Discount LIquors. Pours black with a small tan head. Nice aroma of roasts, dark chocolate, and coffee. Palate is smooth, but thinner than I expected, with soft carbonation. Flavor is a creamy blend of coffee, malt, a touch of vanilla, and dark chocolate. Finishes fairly short, but a tasty mixture of sweetness, creamy chocolate, roasts, and a smidgen of alcohol. A great gateway impy stout.

Sampled from the bottle while in MA. The beer had a nice roasty malt aroma with tones of chocolate and coffee, and a bit of earthy hops too. A darker brown-black color with a smallish dark tan head that had decent cling and some retention. Pretty good sweet malty flavors, with some of the aromas being represented, and a touch of bitterness too. A thicker, creamy and full mouthfeel, with a lot of cling and lower carbonation. Definitely a good beer, and a well-contained high level of alcohol.