Berkshire Imperial Stout

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

22 oz bottle

Thanks to jjpm for sending this in a recent trade. I’m trying to narrow down my collection of imperial stouts starting with those less likely to hold up well over time. That means the Expedition Stout and Old Rasputins get a break while I sample others from around the country. This wasn’t bad though as far as imperial stouts go it was pretty average. It’s still an excellent beer and well worth trying if you run across it in your travels.

Aroma / Appearance - The carbonated black body did not yield much of a head despite a fairly aggressive pour. It did however yield coffee, anise, plum, raspberry and chocolate brownie notes. While not the richest imperial stout it does have all the core ingredients.

Flavor / Palate - Raspberry, coffee and plum hit the throat first before the second wave of raisins asserts itself. For the style it is fairly light on the palate; it was not hard to finish off the bottle. If such a thing as a sessionable imperial stout existed this might fall into that category.

Bottle. Pours a deep dark black with a thick chocolatey head. The bubbles really stick to the glass. The aroma is coffee and roasted malt with underlying sugars. In the taste the sweetness comes through first followed by the coffee and roasted malt. Its a thick beer even if a little bubbly.

Pours a dark brown with some translucence and a light tan head. The nose is pretty typical. Raisiny Old Rasputin sort. A bit of creaminess, perhaps a bit past the expiry, with some chocolate, roast, and some hops in there. The mouthfeel is about par for the course for the style. Rich and full and creamy. The flavor is in line with the nose. Sweet, rasin-like Old Raspy. There’s soem creaminess. The lingering roast cuts out quickly. Okay for the style

Nose is a lighter mix of various chocolates,primarily bitter, and some hop sneaking through, Pleasing milk chocolate,roast, taste, not very complex, not to much alcohol, a very satifying roasted bitterness in finish, a little thin to be ranked with the big boys, but still delicious

22 oz bomber. Pours a dark brown with reddish highlights when held up to light. Fluffy tan head with marginal lacing. Medium mouthfeel, not oily, but not dry either. Flavors of some molasses, bakers chocolate, roasted malt & mild coffee. I consider this to be an excellent stout for the $$. About $5.50 for a 22 oz.

Quite possibly my favorite Imperial Stout. Pours very dark with a dark, creamy head. Smells sweet with a hint of malt and alcohol. That alcohol also lingers in the aftertaste; however, the sweetness manages to balance it out. This is a really well balanced brew.

Doesn’t look like an imperial stout, with a murky brown colour and puffy beige head. The nose is very muted and more porter-like than stout-like, with weak roasted malts, chocolate and berries. The flavour is coffee like with wooden notes and some chcolate on the finish. The mouthfeel is creamy, but ends watery and muted. If I were to rate this as a porter, I would give it higher marks, but this is supposed to be an imperial stout. Weak offering from Berkshire that share’s too many similarities to with the Drayman’s Porter.

Pours a murky brown colour with a medium creamy tan head. Nose of roasted malts, dark fruits and light chocolate. Initial taste is light bodied. Roasted malts and coffee are the majority flavor. This seems more like a porter than a stout. Alcohol is well masked. Chocolate settles in for the finish but is again mild and very dry. Lacing of the glass and head retention is awesome. Palate duration is average.