Flossmoor Station Dark Star Imperial Stout

Formerly brewed at Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery
Style: Imperial Stout
Flossmoor, Illinois USA

Draft. First rated 4/29/03. This is one of the great ones in a category that inspires a lot of great beers. Compared to, say, a Guinness, which you can still see a little daylight through, this one is solid black. Almost tastes like a bourbon-barrel-aged stout, though it isn’t. Great bang of roasted coffee and dark malt flavor, alcohol warmth and a bitter tang that stays behind after the swallow. Even leaves a sticky juice-like coating on your lip. Only a slight medicinal smell--the bane of any strong beer-- kept me from giving this a 20/20! Yum!
Re-rated May 28, 03. I do not detect any of that medicinal taste from last time. Waiter assures me this is barrel-aged stout, but that doesn’t show in the nose. I’m moving the rating up a notch as this is one of those beers that makes a visit to Flossmoor Station involve uttering the words "Oh... My... Freakin’... God!"
New batch, 2/1/05. Gotta bump it up just another notch. The first iteration of this nectar by brewmaster Matt is just so freakin’ smooooth! Black as the Bush Administratio’s souls, but creamy like oatmeal, with none of the astringency of black roast malts. Still nicely alcoholic, and only after some digging around do I find a nice hop nose. Even though this isn’t the barrel-aged stuff, there are still some nice bourbon notes in here.

Summer Gathering 2003: Black, with a pillowy tan head. Tar/chocolate/plum/coffee nose. Sweet, simibitter flavor with chocolate, plums, and a hint of coffee. Surprised that it wasn't thicker in mouthfeel (though it was plenty thick).

RateBeer Summer 2003: Black body with tan head. Sweet malty aroma with lots of chocolate. Smooth creamy and thick. Starts sweet ends lightly bitter. The barrel aged version was also very good with the whiskey taste dominating the brew. It also seemed to be less creamy than the regular version. (8/5/8/4/16)

This brew pours a large head of small to large bubbles that left a good lacing. It had a oipaque black body and a stroing coffee aroma. The flavor was a very smooth coffee one that matched my taste almost perfectly. A very good brew from the folks at Flossmoor Station!

On draft at brewpub Don’t let the people who rated from a third-hand bottling fool you, this is an excellent beer. Dark, thick black pour, with a creamy brown head. Lots of aromas, dried fruits, chocolate, coffee, caramel. The roastiy taste hits you then devles into chocolates, and black coffee. There is some hop flavor as well, which is a pleasant surprise. I don’t often enjoy stouts, but this one is excellent.

There is a lot going on in a glass of this brew. Thick black liquid. Dark brown, frothy head. Aromas: anise, coffee, chocolate, caramel - - - HEAVILY ROASTED THINGS!!! After each cycle of sniffing, swallowing, absorbing, the tastes and aromas kept changing. Dark dried fruits, chocolate, roasted malts, burnt toffee and caramel, coffee, licorice... all of these and more made themselves known. AND, a BITTER and HOPPY finish!!! Egads. If this drink had a woman’s name, I might consider getting married again. As it is, I guess I’ll have to settle for drinking this beer seasonally.

<font size=-4><a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Station, Flossmoor, IL<font size=-1>

New creation from FS...and it demonstrates their willingness to experiment. Great rich chocolate mouthfeel. Roasted malt sweetness and an usually hoppy aftertaste. I think they call it Dark Star because, midway through my third pint, not only did the lights go out, but the stars in the night sky, one by one, began to silently blink out (thank you Issac Asimov)

Draft: Black, but permeable. Thick beige foam settles to a creamy collar. Enormously estery nose of rum-soaked berries and cinnamon. Fudge, smoke, and toffee lay buried beneath the richness. Oily, delicately carbonated body. Opens with a gritty cocoa edge which adds sturdiness to the body. Quite yeasty. Myriads of assorted-berry esters beautifully frame a rich fusion of bittersweet chocolate and full-blown roast. Presence of alcohol is next to nil. Roastiness generates a flash of acidity. The center reveals loads of coarse char intensity with burnt matchsticks accompanying a huge black malt snap, which also dries out the beefy body. Decadence of espresso and fudge never fully blossom due to the regnant “unspent” roasted malt flavor. Fresh dried plums relinquish their ripeness to the intense grainy-dry, tar-drenched roast finish and mild huskiness. Notwithstanding the yeastiness, this is extremely nice.