Pumphouse Backdraft Imperial Stout

Brewed by Pumphouse Brewery and Restaurant
Style: Imperial Stout
Longmont, Colorado USA

Very high alcohol. Thin-bodied. The aroma, palate, and taste all reveal roasted malts. Burnt brown sugar. Sweet like sherry.

Draft: Black with a beige edge. Tight tiny-bubbled tan head is broken but holds well. Diacetyl (buttered popcorn) and chocolate fudge leap from the glass. Whispers of iron, caramel, dried plums, and a seductive cherry fruitiness. Deceptively light in body. Soft pricks of carbonation. Opens with a refreshingly bright cinnamon-dusted cherry expression which curtails the slight graininess. Crunchy char and black-malt phenols contribute plenty of snap. Fruit character is notably succulent. Lack of malt depth causes the acidity to neutralize much of the fudgelike richness. Irony zing complements the sharpness of the deeply kilned malt. Roasted barley also helps to quell the graininess with its feathery softness. Finishes well-integrated with roasted barley and chalky char with a lasting afterimage of cinnamon and raisins. Phenolic burps. Not a bad effort by any means but the mouthfeel definitely suffers from being too prickly, and the diacetyl hinders what is otherwise a pleasant aroma. Also served way too cold.

Had this at Vail Beer Fest. 2-oz. sample in a snifter. The beer pours a murky dark-brown color without any head. The aroma has moderate malty notes of roasted grain and coffee and a light note of chocolate. Miscellaneous aromas include notes of wood, smoke and a trace of green olive/brine. The flavor begins lightly sweet and moderately bitter with an average-length, moderately bitter finish. The body is full, the texture is velvety and the carbonation is soft. There’s also a light alcoholic burn in the aftertaste, too.

Straight black pour, opaque, but the beige head is rather fizzy. The usual coffee and chocolate culprits are sprinted over by the vinous, very fruity (grape, date) nature of this complex bourbony stout. The liquorous texture suggests a oak barrel sojourn, but also suffer from the unfortunate thinning associated to it. Still, the alcohol level is well contained while the tartness remains under control and the high level of sweetness is adequately balanced by fair roastiness.

black pour reverse cascading brown head lacks lacing. Sweet toffee malt aroma pieces of coffee and alcohol. Medium bodied lightly creamy. Warm swallow hints of vanilla roasted malt light toffee, coffee, and brown sugar. Pretty good stuff..

Nitro draught. Very near opaque, just a small amount of light passes through, and a tall creamy tan head. Dark roasted coffee and dark chocolate maltiness. Sweet caramel roasted malt flavor with coffee and an alcohol bite with oak notes. Full bodied and fizzy palate.

Creamy rasperry aroma. Solid rocky brown head. Taste is huge and alcoholic, but backed with a solid bitter coffee punch. Still too much alcohol coming through. Hints of cherry and raspberry.

From a one-off keg at tha Falling Rock 6/2004. Called cherry backdraft, as it was a half keg with a bunch of pie cherries added to it. Sweet alcoholic aroma, merest hint of cherry. Sweet chocolatey malt up front. Not much roast. Then the cherry bomb hits and finishes long and slow. Dryish finish. Nice.