Free State Owd Macs Imperial Stout

Brewed by Free State Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Lawrence, Kansas USA

Re rated on 2/25/07: Wow, what a difference. I tried the 2005 version. The bourbon barrel character was still big, but this beer had a velvety body. Lots of dark chocolate and roasted character. Even a bit of hops. This is really nice and worth its acclaim.

I have got to stop reading reviews before I try a beer. I was all built up for this one, and it was a major let down. Serve in a 6 ounce snifter. Onyx black with what looked like soap bubbles on top. Alcohol dominates. No way around that. Chocolate, roast, wood, toffee. Nice full body with an oily slickness. Surprisingly easy drinking. I had two servings. At $3.50 a glass, I thought that was a good deal. I have a feeling that this batch is on the down slope. I’ll be on the lookout for a fresher batch.

Growler (fairly old though). Poured into a snifter sticky opaque obsidian with a small brown head. Aroma was of roasted barley, sweet caramel, and molasses with a tinge of sherryish/woody oxidation. Flavor is cloyingly brown sugar/molasses sweet and roasty with caramel and oats making their way through. Minimal hop bitterness and flavor making its way through the malt and sugars. A decent fruity ester profile and woody/earthiness is present though masked by the sweetness. Fairly unbalanced lending an uncomplex taste to it. Body is syrupy smooth and full. Less than great imperial stout I have to say though I’d like to try it again when it is fresh.

This was a hand bottled 2004 from BBB63 Mike, and I can only hope to try this someday fresh from the tap. This is a very dark beer with a dusting of beige bubbles on the top and a huge aroma that included ripe plums, raisens, molassas, chocolate covered cherries and some charcol. As I swirled this in my snifter it coated the sides the way a good, thick imperial should. Lots of flavors too, with dark, dried fruit, fruitcake, molasses, vanilla and an oak woodiness. The whiskey comes out in the finish. This is a very nice beer and equal to the hype. Thanks so much to Mike for hooking me up.

[GABF 2004 first beer!!!!] A pitch black beer with no head. The aroma is sweet roasty with notes of alcohol, chocolate, and coffee. The flavor is also very sweet with notes of prunes, alcohol, coffee, and chocolate, leading to a very dry, woody finish.

Pitch black pour with no carbonation. Prolly lost the carbonation because it went from tap to growler to bottle and then got shipped half way across the county. All chocolate aroma with a little hint of alcohol. Oil smooth body. Bitter chocolate flavor.

2000 vintage, hand bottled-from growler thanks to csbosox shared with jeffin7: Dark black with ruby highlights when held directly up to light, with the smallest tan head. Aroma: chocolate cake, roasted malts, grapes, plum, grains, a hint of alcohol comes through towards the middle with some pepper notes, then a bit of dark chocolate, wood, port, smoke. Full bodied, light carbonation (due to being hand bottled), slick mouthfeel.

2000: Hand bottle from a growler - Pours black with a thin layer of bubbles. Aroma is roast malt, some syrupy sweetness, some chocolate, and biscuit, slight some slight oxidized caramel/cardboard notes. Flavor is chocolate, biscuit, very slight alcoholic warmth, very subtle smoke. Very nice balance. 2005: Pours black with a thin layer of bubbles. Aroma load of citric hops, chocolate, roast malts. Flavor is fairly bitter citrus hops, chocolate, slight ash, roast malts. Nice and interesting but I think I prefer the aged version. The huge hops in this one are very good but drowned out the exquisite malt profile that the 2000 showed. Still a top notch beer.

Growler sent from a friend in KC. Extremely sweet imperial stout. Almost too much so. Alcohol is well hidden, but the residual sugars mask the complexity too much. It’s hard to get into or drink much of, but still a great beer.