Clipper City Heavy Seas Peg Leg

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

12oz bottle. Doesnt really come off as an imperial Stout. 8% doesnt seem like that at all. Not bad, medium bodied, slight chocolate flavor. Expect more oomph from an imperial

Appearance: Pours a dark brown body with a large, foamy, finely-bubbled brown head. Smell: While not the most mind-blowing aroma around, there’s some sugary, dark malts, grassy hops, and a splash of cocoa to be found in the scent. Taste: Starts with light, sweet chocolate and roasted malts. There’s also just a slight trace of molasses in there. Faint grassy hops. The alcohol peaks through in the partly dry, partly sour finish. Mouthfeel: Just barely medium-bodied; somewhat watery for the style. Drinkability: This beer comes across as simple and unassuming when compared to some of the more intense premier examples of the style. In fact, I wouldn’t really consider it deserving of the ’imperial’ designation, though it certainly was the best beer in the Heavy Seas Sampler!

Rated 5/18/07: Mild Impy, but still a good stout. Roasted aroma, nutty with a noticeable scent of molasses and caramel. Dark pour, thin compared to many of it’s peers. Good tan head, splotchy lacing. Creamy compared to the appearance, very drinkable for this style almost scary how easy it finishes. Flavor is slightly off balance but calm relative to all of the flavors. Light chocolate, minimal coffee, some caramel and brown sugar. A tinge of English style hops seem to be present. Rather sweet gets to be a bit too much. Not too impressed with what is offered here, but it’s respectable.

Very black beer with a thick brown head. Aroma is lightly salty with nice bitter chocolate aroma. There is also a chewy/leathery character. Smells like a winner, but the initial flavour underperforms the early promising impression. Soft bittersweet chocolate, cocoa, leather and a bit of hoppiness on the back. Warming improves the beer significantly showing cocoa, light licorice and a hint of cherry fruitiness. Not nearly as much roasty bitterness as I’d like in here, but the fruitiness makes it fairly distinctive. Not a bad beer really with cherry and berry flavours behind the chocolate. Lightly herbal bitter flavour on the back.

Different for an imperial stout. No overpowering mocha or chocolate taste. Dark color, not much head to it. Thin, carbinated. Actually this beer is a little fruitish. Not bad for a darker beer. But imperial stout people must hate this beer.

Pretty solid stout, should be rated higher IMO. Some good flavors throughout, and very drinkable. Can’t feel the 8% ABV at all, really.

Pours an opaque dark brown with some ruby highlights around the edges. Nice tan head that quickly recedes to a thin layer but hangs around for a while and is easily regenerated by swirling the glass. Decent lacing. First thing on the aroma is assertive dry hops followed by some sweet milk chocolate and lightly roasted coffee beans and a bit of smoke on the finish. The flavor is quite pleasant, heavy on the roasted malts but also sweet with a bit of a cream soda character to it. The finish is fairly dry, but not overly bitter. As it warms, a bit more of a bourbony character come out in the aroma and flavor. Mouthfeel is medium, but nice and creamy with a moderate and lasting carbonation. This is a somewhat odd imperial stout; definitely on the "light" side of the style in many regards, including the 8% alcohol, and as such it doesn’t match up favorably with other more classic impy stouts. Like most Clipper City beers, it is assertively hopped (not a bad thing in my book) and very drinkable.

12 oz bottle. Pours black with a small tan head so fizzy that it looks almost like soda. Smells very roasty... lots of chocolate. Kind of thin. And the aftertaste is kind of off... coppery? Weird but I can’t put my finger on it. Decent, somewhat drinkable... but among the worst imperial stouts I’ve had.