McNeills Imperial Stout

Formerly brewed at McNeills Brewery
Style: Imperial Stout
Brattleboro, Vermont USA

Simply popping the bottle instantly releases succulent aromas nearly compromising my ability to pour steadily. A moderate and dense creamy brown head builds slowly over the viciously black viscous body. Waves of dark roasted coffee, unsweetened chocolate, dark and spicy breads, single malt scotch (Islay) and anise fill the air. Forceful tones of molasses, soy and brown sugar counter and bring balance by way of their inherent sweetness. A few darker fruits—raisins and plums—find their way into the mix but are heavily outgunned. Woody, oakish, notes make their way in the flavor along with pitch—minus any sulfurous compounds. Despite the massive amounts sugary sweetness conjured by the translated aromas and a seemingly high final gravity, there is just enough roasty bitterness in the finish for the beer to stay clear of becoming cloying. The body is thick, incredibly so for 7.8% ABV, and along with the oily and coating texture reveals a masterful control of the mashing process to achieve more from far less than many utilize. Carbonation is restrained but enough to prevent the beer from feeling like motor oil. Perhaps a bit overly pungent (soy, molasses) and a little shy on bitterness for my particular tastes, but wonderful all-around nonetheless. 22 oz bottle, courtesy of muzzlehatch, snifter.

Bottle from Kramer17801. Pours rather viscous, impenetrable black color with a moderately dense brown head that lingers for a decent bit. Aroma is roasted and acrid. Modest coffee notes. Full bodied and coating, very nice mouthfeel. Acrid burnt grains seem to dominate but a suprisingly assertive hop bitterness kicks in about halfway. Light pine presence. A pretty nice Imperial Stout.

Just found my notes for this terrific brew that I had tasted over a year or so ago. Huge deep dark brown more or less black pour leaving thin layer for a head. Nose is full of chocolate, a nice malt as well with some hints of coffee as well. Flavor explodes with that big chocolateness, some a hint of smoke which I usually dislike, but found somewhat pleasent in the small dose it comes in on this particular brew. Finishes well, leaving a nice imperial stout taste in my mouth for a while.

Thanks Phil (Philip)! This beer offers an aroma consisting of grains, raisins, floral scents, and a mild rye scent. It is black in color with a thick cocoa colored head. This heavy beer produces a bitter coffee taste that lingers well after swallowing.

Decent Imperial Stout; However, having had quite a few Brooklyn Imp Stouts recently, this falls short on complexity. That said, quite drinkable.

Courtesy of jjpm74 <P> Very intense roasted coffee and cocoa aroma with notes of dark cherries and plums. Highly aromatic beer. Deep black body and I was able to tease up a firm creamy mocha head that starts out two fingers thick and settles slowly to thumb thickness. Fore is very acidic from tons of coffee flavors. Mild chocolate/cocoa notes and very mild dark fruit notes, but mostly it is just the coffee flavors. A dissapointment after such a wonderful aroma. The body is also thinnish for the style, but the feel is still creamy so I feel I can put the palate at 4, but it is a low 4. It’s still a flavorful beer, but quite narrow with little of the rarer (In a lot of Impys) fruit notes I smelled in the aroma.

Bomber shared by gputty. Pours inky black, tiny brown head. Nose is bitter coffee, slightly metallic. Flavor is outrageously bitter coffee & chocolate. Some smokiness is detectable, but I find this so bitter it drowns out almost everything else. Body is a bit watery. Maybe I just don’t like McNeill’s. Maybe I seem to get bad ones. Dunno.

From bottle. Pours black with a frothy tan head. Smokiness, liquorish and grape in the nose. Smoked flavor, followed by bitter with a good hops presence. Not my cup of tea, but a pretty good job.