Fish Tale Poseidons Imperial Stout (Batch 5 +)

Brewed by Fish Brewing Company/Leavenworth Beers
Style: Imperial Stout
Olympia, Washington USA

Whew!!! this one a killer. Its aroma is strong and harsh. The taste is booming with coffee and dark choclate. The Alcohol content screams at you.

Bottle shared with HogTownHarry & mds -- courtesy of HogTownHarry. Pours black with a small diminishing light-brown head. Wonderful aroma of roasted malt, coffee, dark fruit, chocolate, hops and alcohol. Flavour of dark fruit and roasted malt with coffee, hops and chocolate...yeah baby, that’s nice! Alcohol’s well hidden. Nice full body, syrupy mouthfeel. Wow, this is a fantastic Imperial Stout -- I need to get my hands on the barrel-aged versions!

Bottle (12oz). Shared with blankboy and mds, my bottle via trade with jerc. Opaque black with reddish highlights, small brown head. Deep roast, almost burnt malt aroma, dark fruit - nice. Taste is very bitter, solid alcohol but not overwhelming, dark, roasty, bitter finish. Thick, syrupy body, lightly astringent, not much carbonation but who cares, longish finish - excellent impy - thanks, Paul!

On Tap at Fishbowl Brewpub Olympia WA, pours out a nice black topped with a tan head. A great combo of caramel and chocolate picked up on this one.

Poured black with thin dark-tan head. Mouthfeel is a bit thin. Aroma is lightly hoppy with some roastiness to it. Flavor is lightly hoppy at the beginning and finshes bitter and roasty, but the taste doesn’t linger much. A decent IS, but not much here to separate it from the pack.

Full bodied but silky velvet mouth feel, not sticky or cloying like some impy’s. How they create such a feathery creation is a mystery to me-- they must beat the hell out of some oats. There is a clear vinous quality that seems to characterize many great stouts. Smokey, burnt coffee more than chocolate but niether note is overplayed so as to drown out the subtle fruit, spice, licorice, vanilla, tobacco notes. There is also a faint meaty note that I’m very surprised to find a nice fit. Meaty note disappears after you have drank half the bottle so the flavor sort of evolves as you drink. This would mix great with brandy-- I can’t think of any other brew that could. $3.29 single from woodmans in madison wi. cool label.

Bottle. Pitch black colour with a weak head. Lovely aroma of chocolate, roastedness, heavy malt and some hops too. Lovely flavour of roastedness, menthol and alcohol, very heavy and tasty.

Bottle poured into a goblet for a compare/contrast vs. Miller Lite in a general tasting. The reason for this is to prove once and for all that MIller Lite is the best beer ever. PHASE 1:The beers have just been poured into their appropriate glasses. Both of the beers are at about 40 degrees. The Poseidon’s stout is very opaque black with a faint semblance of a tan head. It must be a hundred shades darker than the Miller. yuk. The nose is rich of espresso, faint peppery alcohol, and burned chocolate brownies. It just can’t compete with the beautiful appearance and perfume of Miller Lite, the True Pilsner. PHASE 2: Poseidon’s impy coats my palate in a sticky, drying espresso fashion when I take a sip. It is an onslaught of dense coffee, notes of smoky hickory, loads of earth, and raisins. The finish brings out more sweetness akin to dark chocolate brownies. The hops struggle to be known beyond the huge, wash of bittersweet malts but I do notice them from time to time in a way that reminds me of pine needles. Again, no match for the ambrosia of Miller Lite. PHASE 3: Both beers will be allowed to warm up over 50 degrees so the intricacies can be more easily detected. The aroma lets a richer mocha out with some soy sauce. The flavor is even denser with more emphasis on a note that tastes like the crema layer from an espresso shot. Everything seems to finish very well balanced and savory. Caramel is there as an afterthought. So, the verdict? Miller Lite rules!