Fish Tale Poseidons Imperial Stout (Batch 5 +)

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

On tap at brewpub. Dark black with a light brown head. Sweet vanilla aroma. Big taste of roasted malts. A little bit of smoke is a nice touch. Chocolate and vanilla. Awesome. Big fan of this brewpub.

2006 vintage in 22oz bottle. It looks and smells a bit like a porter. Pours dark with light brown head. Aroma of burnt malts, lots of vanilla, dark chocolate, black patent malt and alcohol. The taste has sweet and burnt malt notes along with a sizable smoky component. Nice rich malts and a bit of alcohol stay with you and help you to your next sip. Excellent Imperial Stout.

(05.02.06) 12 oz brown bottle from trade with Acertain. 10% ABV. Batch No. 5, Bottled November 2004. Poured opaque brown black with small tan head. Prune and roasted malt aroma. Full bodied stout that starts with light malt sweetness. Burnt roasted malt, expresso coffee, and prune flavors. Finished with lingering smoke and roasted malt bitterness. Smooth and rich in the mouth with intense smoky complex character. This is an excellent stout. Thanks Acertain!

Batch 5, 2004; rated 2006; Deep blackness in the glass. absorbs light in a way that would amuse stephen hawkins. Nose is licorise and chickory, rum, roast (small smoke), light salty soy. Flavor is hot, deep crystal malts or black patent. Agin, very hot. Cherry and nots of coco, lead to a finish of bitter hops. Somewhat earth with a bready taste on the finish. The tougne remains astringent tot he point of watering the eyes. Enjoyable, yet off balanced. Share with a friend (or two).

Aroma very reminiscent of the finest American imperial stouts. Sweet, fruity, red ropes, hops, dark roasted malt, milk chocolate. Opaque, black body and light brown head. Lasting head and excellent lace. Strong alcohol profile. Rich. Tastes like it smells. Reminds me a little of Avery Mephistopheles. As my palate adjusts and the honeymoon ends, the alcohol becomes a little overbearing and the semi-sweet dark chocolate becomes a little cloyingly harsh. The differences between this brew and the higher rated Imp Stouts are subtle. The end product just doesn’t flow as well. Engine oil consistency. Ashtray finish.

Bomber, ’06. Pours absolutely obsidian black and absolutely still--there are just a few wavy lines of teensy little bubbles drifting around on the top. Big coffee and roast malty sweetness on the nose. Soft, sweet, easy-drinking malty goodness on the attack, followed by a lightly bitter, clean finish. The body is thick and creamy without being gloppy, and the light carbonation is just enough to keep it from behaving like wort on the palate. Definitely a powerhouse, definitely fantastic.

2004 batch 5 bottle shared with SuIIy on 5/24/06.
Seemingly quite filtered in that there is no sediment on the bottom and I left the bottle in my fridge for about a year. Dark tan head settles out to cover, eventually fading to a ring, with minimal lacing. Body is deep black with strong magenta highlights.
Extremely darkly malted nose delivers an elegant dose of deep fudge, mixed with dry, black baker’s chocolate. Growing ashiness on the end keeps things dry, but yet it dosent go too far and certainly never gets bitter. Swirling the glass and sniffing produces a very vinous mix of prunes and concord grapes that liven the smooth, slow-going chocolate graininess. Medium-high strength on the aroma, with, unfortunately, a definite alcohol note on the very end, after warming. However, it never gets overpowering, just sort of lingers lightly on the end. After letting the beer settle out after swirling, a definite smokiness arises. Charred wood-like and complementary to the salty toffee and deep raisin-chocolate semi-sweetness. The columbus hops definitely leave a hard, bitter, acidic edge, but with this bottle being 18 months old, it does not seem to create a problem or influence the nose much. The aroma character from the cascades has faded heavily as well, leaving just a touch of green, leafy, lightly citric notes after warming. But it’s few and far between, thankfully.
First sip and I’m extremely surprised by the mouthfeel. I’d be lying if I said it didnt remind me of Expedition. Gritty, extremely thick and almost chalky. Like there is a ton of dextrin or protein or something in there. Definitely above average, even for the style. Not quite as thick and chewy as Expedition, of course, but what surprises me the most, is the fact that it’s seemingly filtered and still has this strong a mouthfeel. The bitter chocolate malt notes are well contrasted to a sweet, caramelly-toffee-like sugariness that seems to add body as well. Not much in the way of "roast", in the classic sense, but the prunes and light bakers chocolate, with the bittering from the columbus is more than enough to balance the residual sweetness. Bitterness and smokiness (bitterness from hops, and some from chocolate malt) spar with each other, but a soft, vanilla-cream and chocolate covered raisin sweetness keeps things comfortable on the palate. Very low carbonation, which plays little role in the beer, just keeping it from getting too overbearing in the mouthfeel department. Alcohol was quite reserved in the flavor, especially for 10%. I see a lot of the mediocre reviews, and my only guess is that maybe it needed more aging? Because as it is now, it’s in fine condition without all of the heavy bitterness, pine resin, astringent roast or deadening black patent malt of so many in this style.

12oz bottle dated november 2004 and consumed on 5/24/06 with ClarkVV. Pours a black color with a small brown head. Head receedes to a small ring leaving sporatic lacing. Nose is smokey and salty with some light alcohol notes, and bits of wood. Palate is rich and creamy smooth, very chewy. Flavors of earthiness, a fresh almost spearmint feel to it. Nice dark malt character, rich milk chocolate notes. Leaves the mouth sticky and filmy.