Birra del Borgo Impirial Staut

Brewed by Birra del Borgo
Style: Imperial Stout
Borgorose, Italy

(Bottled, 10% ABV, BBE 09/2010) Almost black with a very small, beige head. Strong aroma of molasses, sweet and roasted malt, oatmeal, alcohol. Flavor is roasty, very malty, slightly sweet and sourish, and moderately bitter with a dryish finish. Medium to full body, lowish carbonation. A malt- and licorice-accented impy, getting close to Imperial Porter stylewise. More sour than bitter, but remains balanced. Reminds me of Slottskällans Imperial Stout, which is always a good thing.

Almost black with a small thick beige head that leaves a lot of lacings. Looks good. A balanced and pleasant smell, but it’s not very powerful nor extraordinary. Roasted malts, prominent notes of milk chocolate, tannins and a hint of coffee. If I had done a blind tasting on this one, I would have guessed the style to be milk stout. The taste is slightly above ok, no more. It’s quite tasty and pleasant, but neither fantastic or interesting. No surprises. Roasted malts, chocolate and coffee in a balanced mix. The milky notes aren’t as prominent as in the smell. A well suited sweetness is balanced by the roasted aromas. Lighter notes of dark fruits. The finish is somewhat bitter with notes of brown sugar, wood and well hidden lightly spicy alcohol. The finish is slightly too short and bland. After a while, the alcohol gets slightly more prominent. Rather light body considering the style and ABV. Boring mouthfeel. This drags the overall impression of the beer down quite a bit. An ok imperial stout. Balanced and pleasant in a laid-back kind of way. But it’s rather modest and slightly too mundane. Serving type: bottle (Copy of old Beer Advocate review)