Clipper City Heavy Seas Peg Leg

Brewed by Clipper City Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial Stout
Baltimore, Maryland USA

One the pour, pitch black, little to no head. Mild carbonation. Tastes pretty good. I can’t really tell it’s an 8% at all. Normally imperial anything can be a little strong, but this beer hides the alc% pretty well. Tastes of burnt malt, hops, wood, sweet dark chocolate, mild coffee, and.. almonds maybe? Very light for imperial stout. Reminds me of Sam Adams Black Lager, only not as good. Normally I like mild stouts, but with this one I wouldnt mind if it had a little more punch to it. Would be good if it had more of a mocha flavor. Overall, pretty good, but average.

Pour is black with a large tan head that fades leaving a a quarter inch of lace. Nose is bitter with fruity and piney hops, not much chocolate or coffee upon initial sniffs. Comes through a bit more as it warms. Flavor is pretty boring, hardly any malt flavor (chocolate, roasted, coffee, caramel) picked up upon. Body is very light for the style. Missing the thickness and roastiness I enjoy in a stout. Flavor is very one demensional and simple. This is one of the weirdest imperial stouts i have ever tasted. I doubt I would be able to pick it as an imperial stout in a blind tasting. Slightly medicinal and cloying towards the end.

This by far is one of my favorite stout offerings that I’ve had the pleasure of putting down. Very roasty and pours very dark.

12 oz. bottle. Poured jet black with just a ring of lace. Roasty flavor. Very thin and water-like. Where’s the malts? Alcohol definitely (too) noticeable at 8%.

12 oz. bottle in a snifter...jet black body with a creamy 1/2 –inch head; head leaves small but strong lacing…hints of milk and roasted something, with a little bread rolled in…surprisingly, no alcohol tints...smooth palate, warm roll over the tongue, coating the whole mouth with a hops/malt/yeast balance that succeeds in its distribution...I’ve been a little critical of the more far-reaching Heavy Seas attempts at Weyerbachering already drinker-friendly styles, but this imperial stout is working…smooth and engaging, I look forward to pairing my next glass with a Maduro Churchill to celebrate the Browns’ first win…maybe in two weeks? A beer that has September-to-May possibilities…not quite scotch, but a few will put me in a nice place tonight…

Hmmm. I actually don’t find this particularly dry at all, despite the commercial description. Rather, it’s a fairly thin and mostly anonymous imperial stout that comes across more like an imperial brown than anything else. Medium to light body seems to cut against the grain of the inky pour. There’s only a trace of hops, and most of the flavor consists of fairly syrupy malts. Decent but no more.

From bottle: pours a decent dark brown with no head to speak of. Smell of coffee and molasses dominate the nose. It has a smooth feel on the tongue with a slightly smokey coffee taste and a hint of hopps in the finish. It’s an okay beer.

From bottle : Pours a very dark brown as it should being a stout, with thin tan head that dies quickly. Aroma is hops, with chocolate and coffee. A little thin of the palate for a stout, goes down smooth. Flavors of chocolate with roasted malts and hints of coffee. Not the best imperial stout.