Kuhnhenn American Imperial Stout

Brewed by Kuhnhenn Brewing
Style: Imperial Stout
Warren, Michigan USA

On tap at the MI Brewer’s Guild Winter Festival. Probably the best looking pour I’ve ever received. Picture a beautiful looking stout with a thin, dark brown head, that cascaded upward to a white and brown swirled froth. The flavor did not disappoint. Roasted coffee and a hop bit that was impressive on the finish. Raisan and chocolate on the palate. Nice work!

Draft sampler at brewpub when I was up for Bengals game. Black color with an average light brown head that lasted and had good lacing. Complex roasted chocolate and dark fruit aroma. Full body with a smooth sticky texture. Same complex roasted and fruit flavor with a solid small bitter finish.

Bottled. Opaque dark black. Aroma of anise and licorice. Sweet and thick like oil. Very full bodied. Flavourwise it’s like chocolate cake covered in cocoa and tar with a punch of liqueur. Complex, but too covered in syrup.

My first new Kuhnhenn since they became famous. Extra thick dark brown. No carbonation and no head. Rich, fudgey, roasty and slightly soapy aroma. Ultra thick, flat body. Very unique blackberry accent amidst all the big malts and subtle roast. Fun beer. Wish I took better notes - there was much more going on I haven’t written about.

This imperial stout pours a dark black color. Small to no head. Aroma is chocolate, sweet and floral. A full bodied Imperial Stout. Malts are chocolate and coffee. Touch of floral hops. Very smooth. Touch of alcohol oiliness at 13.5%. Very complex and full bodied. Nice beer. It does hide the alcohol very well. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.

Deep blackish pour with a 2-finger brown head. Great appearance for this one. The aroma was big molasses, black cherry, dark chocolate, some toffee nuts, brown sugar, and oats. I didn’t get any coffee from this one, but I got tons of chocolate, molasses, and fruit. The flavor was roasty dark chocolatey, with a big oaty cherry molasses mid-palate and finish. Dense and complex, this is an another elite entry into an already stacked category. "Yes, let the darkness flow through you and your anger consume you. Your transformation to the dark side is almost complete!"

Poured a pitch black color with a medium sized, dark tan head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of anise, roasty malt, chocolate, and nuts. Taste was roasty, with lots of sweet chocolate, tobacco, intense coffee bitterness, rhum, and sharp alcohol in the finish. Solid mouthfeel. Thanks cquiroga!

Jet black liquid silently hits the glass. Abundance of tiny rich-cinnamon bubbles. Very subdued aroma of butter, doughy yeast, and vanilla taffy. Light swirl releases a hint of cookie malt, but little else. Prickly carbonation becomes creamier as it sits on the palate. Initially bittersweet with an odd display of rum balls, brash wool, and soy sauce. Overly beefy for its own good, with a reckless abandonment toward finesse. Somewhat slick in body, with a buttery popcorn edge to go along with the excessive huskiness and overstated metallic notes. Defined malt richness is short lived and becomes secondary to the inordinate level of graininess. Finishes with tar and tongue-numbing black licorice notes, with whispers of espresso, but more disharmoniously than anything else, as harsh, muddled yeast, chestnuts, and bittersweet chocolate compound the trainwreck of flavors. Given the brutish strength that this possesses, it’s remarkably dull, aromatically. And although the alcohol is well masked, saying the flavor needs to be more polished, would be the understatement of the year. 4 oz. was very difficult to stomach. Thanks for the gift, cquiroga.