Left Hand Oak Aged Imperial Stout

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

Bottle. Black pour with just a touch of dark brown at the edges. Very little head. Smell of black licorice and dark chocolate right off the bat. Dark roasted barley flavor, along with the licorice and chocolate, with the oak aging having mellowed out some of the bitterness and harshness of their standard Imperial stout. My principal complaint of this beer is that it is much less full-bodied than what I look for in an Imperial Stout. Like a tree with a huge canopy of leaves sitting atop the trunk of a sapling, all of the wonderful dark flavors of this beer lack the full-bodied backbone to support them.

Note: I had this from a cask at the Ginger Man, NYC on 3/2/09. Amazing. Great stout. Aroma had notes of chocolate, a little roasty, slight alcohol smell. The appearance was typical brown/black, modest head. The mouthfeel was thicker than expected, a little oily. Good flavor overall, typical of the imperial stout. The cask conditioned ale is chock full of the oak flavoring. VEry boozy as well. Lots of roastines, licorice, chocolate. Beautiful.

Dark tootsie roll brown in color, somewhat dissapointing for a Double stout. A very large tan head with great retention leaves a thick layer of lace behind that also retains itself quite impressively. Nose is of black currant, as well as some red currant, other black fruits as well, but the aromas lend more towards the feminine side considering again its a Double Stout. Milk chocolate, vanilla, and some slight anise. Hmmm...well this beer is pretty tastey and quite drinkable but again it’s lacking from the Double stout standpoint. More like a porter too me. Thin overall mouthfeel and a nice alcohol burn in the chest. Melted milk chocolate, and tootsie roll flavors lead into hints of vanilla, sassafrass, anise, and red currant. The finish is again milk chocolate, with a toasted oak flavor that is laid back and nicely integrated. A good beer from a beer standpoint just not from a Double Stout standpoint.

2007 Bottle
Aroma Soft creamy roast with gentle hint of vanilla , sweet brown malts covered main base.
Appearance dark brown imperial with tanned creamy top.
Flavour, thoughts Slightly sour, roasty character at front. Cleaner, smoother – roasty dark character in the middle. Smooth roasty finish. Warm , strong presence of alcohol. A bit this as of malt base .

The corked and caged brown bomber packaging was typical of special releases from Left Hand. The opaque and pitch black appearance was very substantial and did not budge when held up against strong light. The head atop the beer was two finger thick, and lasted a lot longer than I first anticipated. The smell was clearly indicative of the oak barrel aging, and also showed the presence of a good deal of hops. Besides the wood and citrus, I was also able to detect chocolate and toffee. The smell suggested that this was likely to be a sweet rather than roasty stout, and the taste confirmed this. The barrel aging seemed to have mellowed out the bitter and astringent qualities, thus accentuating the sweetness beyond typical. A lot of berries, vanilla, anise, orange marmalade, and cocoa were present in this one. There was some presence of spicy hops, but most of counterbalance came in the form of the warm alcohol presence. The body was sticky but not quite chewy, and could have used a little more thickness. Striking a good balance between aggression and mellowness made this release a drinkable nightcap, but held it short of the greatness it could have achieved with some minor tweaks.

Rating #300. Great bottle I poured with theisti. Dark as night with tan head. Initially very hot, but that blew off as time went by. Typical Imp. Stout flavors with a realy nice chocolate and roasted grains flavor. Very tasty indeed.

750 ml bottle graciously shared by Zinister. Pour is all back with a smallish tan head. Aroma is almost all booze, really hot. Initial taste is sharp licorice and hotness, followed by roastiness. As this warmed, it was odd, the hotness in the aroma disappeared and the alcohol in the taste really softened. At the finish, this was a nicely drinkable Impy stout. Opened very much like a wine.

This is a good Imperial Stout. Malty, coffee, and oak flavors. Finishes creamy, smooth, and clean.