Left Hand Imperial Stout

Brewed by Left Hand Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial Stout
Longmont, Colorado USA

It’s a nearly opaque black with a pleasantly creamy head. The aroma is nice roasted malts with a sweet chocolate presence. The flavor starts off chocolaty and finishes with a surprising hops presence. Not much of an alcohol bite either. The mouthfeel is nice and thick as one would expect for an imperial stout. The only strong downside to the beer really is that it takes on this medicine-like kick at times in the flavor.

Aroma: Fairly hoppy. Nice chocolately smell, but there is some sweetness mixed w/ dark fruits, which is not so nice-astringent. Flavor is a bit astringent, otherwise it may be 9 worthy. Starts chocolaty and roasty, and finishes with some semi-dark fruit, but then the a nice burnt malt & chocolate character returns. Palate is silky and full. Borderline sticky, but still very nice. Finishes with a hint of warming alcohol. Lots of hops in the palate. Can’t tell if this would do well with some age or if the hops are covering up something, like the astringency.

Pours a deep, dark red - a bit light for an imperial stout - with virtually no head. With the heavy carbonation, this beer looks kind of like a coke in the glass. The aroma is a little bit odd. It smells sort of sanitary - the malt sweetness is there, the roasted notes are there, there is even a bit of hoppy spice, but all of this seems to get covered up by a kind of dull soapy, rubbing alcohol scent. Still though, the aroma is very tolerable. The flavor is a bit better, nice toasted malts hit the tongue first, followed by a wave of peppery hop/alcohol bitterness. These competing flavors aren’t perfectly balanced, but still fit together well enough. The mouthfeel is a bit deceptive. The beer is definitely thicker and hardier than it looks in the glass, but is still not quite as full bodied as I would have hoped. Overall an interesting, but not amazing beer. Definitely worth a try though.

Walnut brown pour, moderate brief head. Aroma is rich and malty with figs, molasses and earth. Flavor of coffee, roasted malts, and rye bread. Finish is lingering with licorice and hops. Alcohol is noticeable, it’s a little sticky and it just doesn’t have enough complexity to be really great but still not bad.

Bottle from Utobeer. This is a big beast of a beer. Aroma of roasted malts, some coffee, sweetness, smoke and cream. Pours a pitch black oily beer with a trace of carbonation at the surface. Taste is sweet, chocoalte, liquorice, lots of alcohol (too much?), hops, some alcohol burn. You defintiely taste the 10%!!! Some carbonation on the tongue and a long moderate sweet finish make this a formidable beer but I think the alcohol could have been toned down.

Bottle. Pitch black, no head. Aroma of leather and tar. Sweet palate, coffee and milky flavour. Sweet finish as well. Too sweet overall.

Bottle from Utobeer, Borough, London. Pours pitch black with thin beige head. Aroma is malts and coffee, with a roasted nuttiness. The taste is creamy with a little carbonation. There is liquorice, chocolate with the alcohol hidden well. The finish is oaky and smooth, with a nice bittersweet finish. Very drinkable.

Brown with a thin tan head. Mild smell of chocolate and roasted malts with a whiff of alcohol. Medium bodied and lightly carbed. Boozy flavor is full of ripe plums and vanilla with a burnt malt bitterness to finish. Overly sweet . 21606