Dragonmead Imperial Stout

Brewed by Dragonmead Brewery
Style: Imperial Stout
Warren, Michigan USA

sampler from the brewery. poured black with a tan head. aroma burnt molasses, dark choc. coffee and hints of alcohol. flavor smokeyand that made it hard to get anything else out of it but did get smoe malts a nice dryness. not to bad

Super black body with a thin than head. Dark malts and roasted molasses in the nose. I got a weak first impression of this beer. I would have liked more, espcially from an imperial stout. Molasses, carmel, and bitterness. There was also some smokiness in there. It was a good beer, but I want more substance from my impy stouts.

cask-conditioned; gravity: Inky chestnut. Quickly collapsing tan head. Nose is tangy and vinous with a plethora of roasted barley, minerals, and coffee. Slight chocolate fudge, oil, blackberries, and pale malt. Silky soft. Dull and lifeless on the palate. Poorly conditioned. Begins with full-blown roast assertions underpinned with chocolate, caramel, and a black/pale malt combo. Muted ink notes. Plum acidity, midway, detracts from the body and overall richness. Firm woody, black malt finish kissed with a dash of yeast, wood, and dark chocolate-covered coffee beans. Overall this was far too thin and acidic and sorely lacking any redeeming caramel richness or hop presence to offset the acridness and bolster the body.

Cask, RAF Chicago 2004: drips thickly out of the barrel. . . still. Dark coffee truffle alcohol aroma. Bitter blueberries and pine. Dark, dry coffee flavour, heavily roasted. Palate is a bit too thin, but does has some pleasant creaminess. Alcohol whiffs in the finish. There are some fruity flavours, but they lay slightly under-developed in the background: black cherries, pears, and apples. Missing the real vinous qualities that make a top notch Imperial, for me.

Dark, but not the darkest, Imperial Stout. Roasty, malty aroma with huge coffee and strong cocoa. Full and thick, but not the biggest Imperial, either. The flavors produce more roasted malt and chocolate with light smoke notes and a bit of lactic tang. Tasty, but too one-dimensional for my liking.

RERATE #2 (3.5) thanks to Ibrew2or3’s sister; Opaque with creamy huge head and great lace. The aroma has notes of fig, apple, chocolate, molasses, lacto, coffee and a tad veggie, too phenolic IMO. Sweet tasting supported by a lacto twang. Chocolate, coffee and noble hop bitterness also detected. Taste is quite different than before. App:+1 and left everything the same.

Rerate #1 (3.3) from Fresh Growler: Not nearly as good, weaker nose and palate, disappointing.

Original review (3.7): At RAF Chicago: Deep purple brown hue with oily film which coats glassware. The aroma hints of apple, fig, molasses, roasted caramel malts, coffee, zesty yeast esters, and a touch of woody phenols. The taste starts with tart fruits tones and is followed by a nice mocha malt and tradtional hop bitterness. Additional undertones of coffee, smoke and fleshy fruits found as well. The body is full with a sticky and soft feel, real smooth. A nice straight forward impy, not huge but very solid.

Poured a pitch black color with no head, just simply brown bubbles. Coffee, roasted malt, and figgy aroma. Taste of chocolate, coffee, and caramel with some alcohol as well. Very nice body and mouthfeel to this one.

2003 on cask! Well this is certainly my first cask Imp. Stout. Great chocolate-coffee brown, with some darker grey/black notes. Dark brown/beige head, mostly lasting. Has a big sweet roasted malt aroma, with some medium dry coffee notes and a decent aroma of milder hops. Has a wonderful creamy palate and up front has alot of sweet caramel malt that shifts into a mildly bitter hops flavor as the beer finishes. Along the way there is some roasted malt flavor along with a coffee flavor that tastes more like a mocha latte. It’s so different drinking one of these on cask. Lighter body than I’m used to, nowhere near the Plato level of the popular Imperials. Still, a very drinkable beer, that has few problems. Body is only medium, which is the biggest problem, and this does not hold up the bittersweet malt/hops mix as well as a fuller beer would.