Carolina Imperial Stout

Brewed by Carolina Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Holly Springs, North Carolina USA

Bottled, 1/30/08. This was surprisingly nice. Chocolatey, rich, bitter black malts in the nose, with some notes of hearts of palm. Full bodied, lightly sweet, with a mild carbonation, a touch of carbonation acid, and a fair bit of milkiness. Easy drinking and balanced, well aged and well integrated.

bottle via trade, sampled 3/23/07. Pours a deep dark brown with amber highlights around the edges.Small amount of light tan foam that clears quick. Aromas of burnt toasty sweetness, some dark fruit and healthy amount of booze heat. Flavor follows the nose, with healthy amounts of deep dark fruit, some pronounced bitterness on the front and back, roasted grainy malts. Booze from the nose hardly shows up in the flavor- carried superbly. Great balance. Very smooth and even on the palate, stays smooth throughout. Clean finish. Interesting, if odd for the style.

07 bottle shared by Magjayran. Very impressive for this brewery. Fruity chocolate notes, some bitterness and smoke. Maybe it was the lateness of the taste, but I enjoyed the thinner palate. Wish I saw more of this beer around.

Bottle shared by Magjayran - thanks, Jamey! Slightly thin pour here, but it’s held up pretty damn well. Crisp body, still some carb remaining. Palate needs to be thicker, but it’s not bad. Starts off somewhat chocolatey, ends with some bitters and smoke. Definitely enjoyable, and if they bottle it again I’ll seek out a fresh one for comparison.

In a Beerworld populated by many good RIS, this one held its own. Pours black and thick with a head, good roasting, good balance between bitter and malt, and very drinkable-I was sorry to have finished it but not sorry to have had it at the end of my dinner. I would have this on a regular basis if available, thank you Captain Cougar.

Bottle from alexsdad06 in trade. Thanks! Pours a light black color with a relatively short lived light tan head. Smell is some semi sweet, dark, and lightly tart chocolate with maybe a touch of soy sauce and dark fruitiness. Taste is semi bitter dark chocolate like malt with some light soy sauce. Light Body is slightly thick, but about average for the style and has about average carbonation for an imperial stout. Overall, pretty enjoyable and alcohol is not noticeable.

12 oz bottle, bottled 1/30/08, via CaptainCougar. Pours a very dark brown, almost black body, with a small tight bubbled light brown head that faded to a wispy film quickly. The nose is nicely roasty with a little too much burnt malt astringency. It really obscures anything else that may be going on here. A little alcohol flavor on the finish. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with an oily texture and a moderate soft carbonation level. A little clingy sweetness on the back end. Just your average Imperial Stout here, not a whole lot special about this one.

Bottle from ucusty. Thanks man! Dark brown pour with a thin beige head. The aroma has notes of roast, chocolate, caramel, and some strong hoppiness. Flavors start sweet and malty. Bitterness in the form of roast and earthy hops followed, but an off flavor makes its presence felt at all that I might describe as somewhat acrid. As it warms, some sweetness comes through and caramel malts soften the acrid bitterness. Somewhat hot too. Body seems a little thin.