Full Sail Imperial Stout

Brewed by Full Sail Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Hood River, Oregon USA

2008-05-17. Black body with a small tan head. (3+) Moderately roasty aroma, mild coffee notes. Flavour is quite bitter, muddled coffee roast, lightly burnt, malt base. Average to medium bodied palate. (3+) Something about the roast character that I do not care for on this day. At Rudolf’s, shared by Blankboy

Bottle, shared at the May 2008 tasting. Thanks Paul. Black, tan head. Nose is cocoa, milky malt, cherries, dark fruit. Flavor is cocoa, burnt malt, plum, a good amount of dark fruit. Milky cocoa in the finish.

Bottle at Rudy’s tasting May ’08. Boozy, tar, sticky aroma. Pitch black, small bubbly white head. Good taste - strong sharp roast, alcohol, some sweetness. Quite good, with surprisingly coherent (albeit brief)notes from the last beer I had at Rudy’s 7 hour tasting.

Bottled. Black center with clear dark brown edges. Fading head that ends in brown swirls across the surface. Simple aroma of oats and chocolate malts with medium coffee. Flavor is one-dimensional; ashy coffee grounds with cocoa powder and a bitter and astringent tannin finish. Ends quite dry with some lingering presence of smoke. Way too thin for an imperial stout, and lacking character to boot. Worth a try.

Draft at Toronado: Black color, decent lacing and retention. Chocolate and caramel dominate, lightly roasted, pretty light with the dark fruit. Medium bodied, very drinkable. Lacks complexity.

Poured dark dark brown - just this side of black, completely opaque, with a one-figer brown head - as dark as any head I’ve seen. Chocolate is stronger than coffee on the nose, but both are strong. Also picked up some cherries and plums. Wonderful coffee and cappuccino flavors with dark fruit that lingers in the aftertaste. Rich, creamy, full bodied, just a great experience.

Bottle. Pours a dark black with medium creamy brown head. Aroma has chocolate and quite a bit of roastiness with maybe some hints of dark fruits. Flavor is on the lighter side, some chocolate and coffee, some prune/plum, and maybe a hint of anise. Roasty all the way through to a rather short dry finish. Mouthfeel is creamy and medium to lightly carbonated. Not bad, but not as big a gnarly as I prefer my imperial stouts.

Pours opaque black with a medium beige head and very nice lacings. Light sweetness with a strong bitterness. Aromas of coffee and roasted malts. Lots of resiny hops aromas. Some alcohol aromas with a pit of prunes and a hint of pear. Full bodied with a creamy mouthfeel. Medium carbonation. Long bitter finish. Yummy.