Berkshire Imperial Stout

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

100th rating of this beer. Bomber purchased at Otis Poultry Farm in the Berkshires and flew it back with me to Cali. Pours black with a big light brown head (2.5 fingers). Nose is light sweet, malty with a bit of lacto kick. Taste is sweet, full of coffee and chocolate and a nice rolling light bitterness. Its a bit thin on the palate, but thats expected at 8.5% abv. Overall tasty and very drinkable, on the lighter side of impys but than again without the light ones how would we know the dark ones.

Bomber, Pours opaque blackish brown with a substantial tan head. Aroma of chocolate and light coffee. Full, chewy body and moderate carbonation. I think this one should be renamed to "Berkshire Imperial Milk Stout." It has that sweet and creamy milk chocolate taste wrapped around 8.5% alcohol, along with a very subdued bitterness, subdued roasty flavor, but nothing resembling espresso, tar, burnt toast, etc.

Had at the Nashville tasting last spring; thanks to whoever brought it. Opaque black in the glass, fluffy tan head, thick dusting on top after it diminishes. Smells: hollow chocolate, some roastiness pricking the nose. Sweet chocolate at first in the mouth, but not milk chocolate; I’d say that it was like baker’s chocolate and sugar, but it was more integrated than that in the sweetness, and didn’t have the dry qualities of that chocolate. In fact, this seemed more like a sweet stout than an imperial; I didn’t get a lot of the roasty, hoppy, coffee type flavors I would have expected (does that mean this is more of a traditional British impy?). Thinish on the feel too.

Pours opaque blackwith a dark tan head. Nose is not very exciting. Mild malt tones. Flavor has no great show-y quality to it, but it has well defined mature deep malts. The reason I give it a high score is that the flavor pattern stays consistent through the entire bottle and never waivers. Now that is brewing prowess. Typical feel. Very worth trying I say.

The beer poured a clear veey dark brown color with a thin beige head. The aroma is roasty with dark fruity notes. Notes of dough, yeast, and a touch of coffee were detected. The flavor was roasty but light. Some cocoa with small amounts of dark fruit. Medium bodied with nice warmth.

Bottle: Black in color, large fizzly light beige head, sparce lacing.   I can almost hear this beer snap, crackle, and pop as the head seems to burst continuously.   Soft roasted malts on the nose.   Lots of semi-sweet pale fruit skin as well.   Moderate roasty on the tongue, both dark and light skinned fruit.   A touch of soy, but overall a lighter than expected hop aspect.   Actually I am somewhat happy its not overly bitter, but instead perhaps more malt accentuated.   Moderate to full body and mouthfeel.   Fairly fruity finish, soft soy and roasted malts.   This one was rather pleasant, and a welcomed change from most over the top Imperial Stouts.   Thanks to bmartin08 for this one!

Date: February 08, 2007
Mode: Draft
Source: Sunset, Boston
Appearance: black, beige head, thick lace
Aroma: light sweet chocolate aroma
Body: creamy body
Flavor: creamy roasted flavor with a touch of sweet vanilla, dry chocolate that has a chalky edge

Date: February 10, 2007
Mode: draft
Source: extreme beer fest
Score: 3.1 to 3.4
picking up some fruity sweetness in the aroma and flavor, the chocolate is rich and sweet but not chalky,

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.4/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4

Date: May 15, 2009
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting
Appearance: black, wispy beige head, bits of lace
Aroma: sweet roasted aroma, touch of milky sweetness
Flavor: rich chocolate and caramel flavor, balancing roasted

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 3.1/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4

THOUGHTS: A gift from a co-worker. It seemed more like a sweet stout than an Imp., but still a great beer. I’m really behind on my rating. Had this in the middle of June and noted that it would probably be the last Imp I’d have until the summer heat was over. I was right. It wasn’t the most complex Imp. A little one-sided, but when it’s flavors like this that I love, I don’t mind much. Hid alcohol well. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a dark brown that appeared opaque black in the glass with a small, tan head that mostly diminished and left fair lacing. The flavor was moderate dark chocolate, dark fruit and maybe some raspberry. It was very sweet smelling. The flavor was mostly sweet with a little hop bitterness at the finish, which was average to long. The was tons of bitter chocolate and dark fruit with just a little hop bitterness at the end, the way I prefer my stouts. But it was mostly sweet. The full body was dry and creamy, but a little sticky on the lips. The carbonation was lightly fizzy. The finish was lightly astringent and lightly alcoholic.