Samuel Smiths Imperial Stout

550ml bottle. Pours an opaque black body with a big, two finger-width, brown, creamy head that lingers for awhile and remains very lacy and swirly on the surface. Delicious looking stout. The aroma is very unique and just has that "english" smell to it. Lots of sharp licorice, deep berry fruits (plums and raisons), and a creamy banana hint. More sweet than roasty, but there is a very mild roasty bitterness. Light boozy and chocolate aroma too. Taste is interesting as well. A real light sweetness throughout and a tart berry taste too. I would describe it as delicate. It’s instantly acidic but very quickly finishes lightly bitter and extremely dry. This may be the driest stout I’ve ever experienced. Extremely sticky. Lots of licorice again and some balanced deep chocolate and roasted barley. A subtle bitter finish that doesn’t linger. The body is full and very chewy, almost gummy bear chewy, but very fast. Overall, there is something that just isn’t rubbing me the right way about this. It’s balanced and pretty tasty, but really leaves me caught in between loving this and hating it. It’s a beer unlike anything I’ve ever had, which I can definitely applaud, but it may be a little too acidic to put at the top of my list. Interesting to say the least...

One of the best stouts available right now in my opinion. Pours thick and deep, dark brown, almost black. Short dull tan head. Flavors of bittersweet chocolate and coffee. Not for the weak of heart!

Pours pitch black with a thick brown head. Maybe it is just my palate today, but this tastes awful -- almost sour. Also very thin. Not at all what I expected.

A wonderful stout. Pitch black with a rocky, dense tan head. Tons of roasted malt in the flavor with a nice creaminess to the body. Finishes dry with just a touch of bitterness. Lovely.

A thin, somewhat disappointing Russian Imperial Stout with a flavor profile that is not bad but merely average for the category. I was really expecting more from Samuel Smith with this one. The Taddy Porter knocked my socks off and their other beers are generally, at least, excellent values. This offering is basically RIS light. It lacks the depth and complexity of flavor that is nearly commonplace amongst its competition. The feel is somewhat watery and really fails to bring the required breadth. That said, it is not bad, at all. This rating is very much a product of its place relative to some truly great competition, and with Old Rasputin sharing its shelf space, it is not even a very good value in this neck of the woods. I imagine other areas have better Imp Stouts and RISs as well. At any rate, the beer pours opaquely black with good lacing from a nice beige mocha head. There are notes of toasted malt and English, minerally hops. The flavors just are not big and strong enough. Also, while I usually like a thick, viscous feel on my Imperial Stouts, this one manages it while still being too watery, which turns out to be not altogether pleasant. Not a bad beer but far below the heights of the style.

Pours deep black with a generous head for an imperial. Smells like chocolate mixed with nuts, almost like nutella. Coffee and caramel with malty undertones, feels sticky and a bit thinner than other imperials. Finishes nice, sweet with a slight anise undertone. Good beer, very drinkable, well balanced.

From the LCBO. 550ml bottle. Served at room temperature. Pretty damn good. Lots of chocolate, coffee, a little bit of burnt flavors that are enjoyable. I will buy this again!

Seemed a little thin for an imperial. Has good taste and easily drinkable. Nice color and head