Heavyweight Catherine the Great Imperial Stout

Great imperial stout. Pours very dark with a great tight knit head that lasted. Aroma is coffee and hops, but the roastiness is what stands out most in this one. Very smooth overall- with just a touch of astringency in the mouthfeel due to the huge amounts of roasted malts/barley. Flavor is chocolate with caramel, molasses, and cofee. A good hop bitterness in the end balances it out nicely and gives it a great finish.

2005 on tap in beantown. Deep black color (although in dark bar). Nice aroma with hints of roasted chocolate and carmel malts. Flavor confirms aroma with similar flavors combined to yeasty overtones. Very low carbonation with smooth finish. High Alcohol content was detectable in after taste. Good experience nontheless.

Draft at the Blind Tiger in NYC. Little thin for an Impy but still a good beer. Nice oil black look and taste. Another Heavyweight beer were the alcohol is hidden.

On draught @ Bukowski’s Tavern, Cambridge MA, January 2005. Served in a very broad chalice. Quite a deep black, the head has almost completely disipated by the time the beer even makes it to my table. Smells of lightly salty chocolate and caramel. Some dryish toffee notes in there, and just a soft subtle roast lying in the background. Flavor begins quite sweet, but balanced immediately by a strong yeast presence, some lightly oily, dry roast and a touch of hops. Through the body, it is mainly caramel and chocolate malt, with the sweet vanilla and slight oak notes others have mentioned. Ends chocolatey, yeasty and with a hint of light mocha. Very low carbonation, medium body, especially relative to style, but still a very flavorful rendition. Many similarities to Old Rasputin.

01.15.05 @Heavyweight open house. Dark, not black; rocky head that sticks. Very roasty, burnt nose, sweetish (vanilla, woody) but not sweet. Lots of cocoa and burnt stuff in flavor, sharp and spicy. Coating but not quite unctuous, full. Coffee finish and smokey.

Poured a dark brown, root beer color with a large tan head that left nice lacing on the glass. Spicy aroma, lightly burnt malts, roast, oak, and vanilla as well. More chocolate roast, and smoked malts in the taste. Alcohol was well hidden, nice round mouthfeel.

Darft @ Blind Tiger. One of Toms better beers (IMHO). This one has a nice roasty aroma and pours without much head. I think the bartenders at BT gotta learn how to pour beer. Anyway the taste is a nice balance of malt and hops with a roasted flavor in the malt. Better than B.O.R.I.S. (again, IMHO).

quite a contrast to some other imperials. Not sweet at all, pours with a mid sized frothy brown head. Notes of smoke, pumpernickle, bitter coffee, and some hops in the nose. A little thin in body for an imperial. Roasty, bitter, tangy flavors the hops definately come through. Not bad.