Bièropholie Impériale Stout

Formerly brewed at Bièropholie
Style: Imperial Stout
, Canada

Bière de couleur noire, comme la mélasse. Texture sirupeuse au service. Pas de mousse, sauf un léger cerne brun foncé, et une effervescence minimale et lente. Une bière vraiment épaisse. Ses parfums comptent le café, le cacao, la mélasse et le blé grillé. Le goût est un mélange de café moulu et de chocolat, le tout plutôt sucré. C’est un vrai dessert. On note aussi les céréales grillées, les noix, l’huile de lin ou le sésame grillé. L’arrière-goût ramène une douce amertume de café. La bouche est parfaite : crémeuse, onctueuse, mais malgré tout légère et assez pétillante. C’est une superbe bière, je serai un abonné!

Pours a pitch black with a flash-in-the-pan tan head. Aroma is delicious - sweet and oaty, chocolate cake. Taste is very satisfying - nice and roasty, but balanced with chocolaty sweetness. Nice hoppy aftertaste, lots of alcohol but not burningly so. Thick oaty body, very little carb but ok for style. A real after-dinner treat. Thanks to CapFlu for the trade!

This beautiful liquid pours as thick and viscous as just about anything I have previously encountered. Thoughts of Dark Lord or Ten FIDY are not far off when looking at the goopy, motor oil black body. Sugary legs cling to the glass, leaving trace spots of lacing behind. The aroma is nothing short of outstanding. Malted dark chocolate syrup and nougat meet sweet, toasted caramel, vanilla, brown sugar, and smoked, savory dark fruits. The scent is intoxicating. Unfortunately, the nose writes a check that the flavor cannot cash. I have never before experienced such a significant disparity between aroma and flavor. Weak, muddled chocolate and coffee are all I can extract. Gone are the sweet caramel and fruity notes. The vanilla and the smokiness are nowhere to be found. Likewise, the mouthfeel is average at best, and certainly far thinner than it appears. This one starts out with a bang, but falls on its face shortly thereafter. Disappointing.

12 ounce bottle from the Festivous Guy. Looks like its a 2007 bottle. Pour black. Black as it could be. No head. No lace. Very nice viscosity when swirled. Nose revels black currant, pipe smoke, bitter chocolate, Heath Bar. The flavor is a bit less impressive. A little chocolatey, pretty bitter, and very good. Full body. Silky and oily mouthfeel. Average carbonation. Pretty dry finish. Yeah, this is some day good stuff. The lower abv mean you can drink 10 or 12!

Pitch black, thick and oily pour-- not even holding this directly in front of the kitchen light reveals the tint of it’s actual colour. Massive dark brown chunky head. Rich chocolate, coffee, and prune aroma. Heavy mouthfeel with rich chocolate and Marmite flavours dominating, also coffee and prune/raisin/fig jam elements. Very heavy and satisfying, creamy mouthfeel, mildly acidic finish. Absolutely delicious.

<b>In short: </b>Above average smooth and chocolaty imperial stout
<b>How: </b>Bottle 341ml. Score is for end of 2007 batch.
<b>The look: </b>Black motor oil topped by a short-lived tan head
<b>In long: </b>Creamy body with plenty of chocolate maltiness. Roastiness level is on the light side relative to the genre, a little burnt toast sensation and that’s it. A tad grainy and floury. A lick of vanilla and a distant lactic sensation gives the impression of a chocolate ice-cream. All that makes for a rather silky body, again relative to the style. Could have used a little more bite in the hops department. Surprisingly smooth and drinkable in large quantities. I think the 2006 batch was the weakest, lacking a bit of punch. I remember the batches of 2005 and before as my favourite batches with more roastiness, a tobacco sensation and more punch in the hops department. These batches were 4+ level. And I’ve drank a lot of that stuff because for many years the choices of quality bottled imperial stouts in quebec was about as limited as the choices of quality all-you-can-eat steakhouses in Ethiopia.

341 ml bottle - pretty sure it’s the 2006 vintage, based on date purchased and ABV.....pours an incredibly dark brown, with only the faintest hint of red at the very bottom of the glass, and one of the darkest caps I’ve witnessed. This also coats the entire glass. Nice hopping, I guess. Immense chocolatey aroma, along with some oak and subtle coffee and black licorice. A touch of alcohol present in the nose as well. Very soft and thick in the mouth, with milk chocolate notes taking precedence and a background of lactic sourness as well. Nice soft carbonation. Slightly burnt malt finish as well as some faint bittering hops. This is one smooth beer, and the alcohol is masterfully hidden. I need to make another trip to Quebec soon.....chocolatey....chocolatey.....

Brassin de 2006. Bouteille brune de 341 ml. Vieille de plus d’un an. Arômes puissants de fruits rouges, rappelant le vin rouge. Robe noire opaque avec une fine mousse brune. La bière est très onctueuse, presque visqueuse. En bouche, le chocolat et les fruits dominent. Elle est d’une très belle rondeur. Arrière-goût de cacao et d’alcool. Peut-être à cause de son âge, l’alcool était très discret. 7/4/8/3/16=3.8 Brassin 2007. Arômes puissants de café, de fumée et de chocolat. Bière très onctueuse, produisant très peu de mousse. Goût prononcé de torréfaction (café, chocolat). Légère touche de cerises. Petite pointe de houblon en arrière-goût. L’alcool est très discret. 8/4/8/3/17=4.0