Lagunitas Imperial Stout

Not a terribly good imperial stout, but a pretty good stout/porter. Its a bit dry and thin on the mouth, but it does have some complex flavors to it. Nothing over the top, but subtle and there. A little smokey and nutty, a little bit roasted, light chocolate and molasses. Its pretty enjoyable, and it could almost make a good session.

Ok, I am a little torn on this one. At first, I was a little let down. The aroma is great, nice mix of chocolate and molasses and brown sugar. But, the flavor lacks the power and wallop that I expected. However, the more I sipped on this one, the more I started to enjoy it’s subtle complexity. This is more of a Stout than an Impy, it lacks the punch of an Impy, but it has a lot of nice subtle flavors in there; nuts, grains, and yeast go along with the previous mentioned flavors. Very nice stout that looks to be a little underrated.

As far as imperial stouts go, this one is lacking. It isn’t too strong of an aroma, it has a very mild smooth mouthfeel and only wakes up the palate a little. That being said, its a pretty solid stout, but not for an imperial. And at under $4 a bomber, not a bad deal. If it wasn’t 8.2% it would make a good session. Aw hell, it still would make a good session beer.

Bottle at Volo in Toronto, August 2008. No strong aroma, faint chocolate perhaps. This has thin body, and the head disappears quickly. There is little of the complex roasted flavours I associate with the style: it starts watery, skips right to the finish, which has nice chocolate and dark cherry. One dimensional.

Nearly black appearance with a large beige head that fades quickly and leaves little lacing. Aroma is roasted malt, molassas and dark fruit overlapping pine nuts. Flavor is also roasty, with an earthy, slightly sweet, maltiness. Medium-bodied with a lingering finish that is more harsh than smooth. Kind of laid back for the style.