Samuel Smiths Imperial Stout

Brewed by Samuel Smith
Style: Imperial Stout
Tadcaster, England

Terrific near black pour with solid brown head. Nose of roast and chocolate with some alcohol. Flavors of oak, anise, raisin, molasses, bitter chocolate, roast malt, smoke, toffee. Medium chewy body has an appropriate amount of carbonation, but needs to be just a little creamier and fuller bodied to push it over the top.

Pours black with a huge tan head from my aggressive pour. The aroma is of molasses, malts, coffee, and roast - excellent. The flavor has peat, roast, licorice, coffee, bitter chocolate, bourbon, and caramel notes with a lingering roast aftertaste. The palate is smooth, creamy, and warming, but is not ultra thick. This is an excellent imperial stout.

good brew, decent on the nose . Good flavour (chocolate, coffee, black liqourice flavour gives it somewhat unique character) A little thinner than I would like for an imperial. Overall a relatively easy drinking and good tasting imperial stout

$2.29 12 oz. (355 ml) single at Total Wine & More in Kennesaw, Georgia. Appearance: Pours a decidedly black body with an expansive, light khaki-colored head. Smell: Lightly chocolaty, roasted malt nose with notes of soy sauce, aged, though basic port wine, apples, and black licorice. Taste: Roasted barley grains with touches of unsweetened chocolate and caramel with an earthy, soy sauce-esque taste running through the flavor. Hint of licorice and ripe red apples. Bits of sweetness pick up here and there. Splash of spiced prune juice. Very, very distant buttery hint. Small hints of yeast and alcohol. Finishes fruity, with a very slight metallic hint creeping into the aftertaste. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Slight, oat-esque creaminess to the mouthfeel. Drinkability: Still a fine, decent RIS, even with those dirty nickels. But, if I had my druthers, I’d reach for a Taddy Porter instead.

Dark brown pour into thick tan creamy head that slowly fades into a pool of malty foam and melting lacings. Carbonated bubbles are barely visible as they rise like distant stars in a sea of blackness. Aroma of roasted chocolate malt, coffee, and slightly hoppy bitterness. Initial flavor of sweet chocolate malt fading into a slightly hoppy full bodied creamy finish. A bit too sweet for the style, but still a very drinkable Stout.

Poured black, opaque, with no light shining through. Thick two finger tan head dissipated to a solid film and left nice lacing. Chocolate malts dominate the smell, with some roasted coffee and a bit of dark fruit as well. Flavors mirror the aromas, with the chocolate, reminiscent of dark Wilbur cocoa, strongest up front and the coffee lingering at the end. Full bodied, rich chocolate and licorice aftertaste, and silky smooth mouthfeel. Always a wonderful drinking experience, especially on a cold winter evening. For me, this is the benchmark for what a stout should be.

12 oz bottle-pours a cascading rich brown head and black color with red tint. Aroma is dark malt-chocolate, some fruit notes. Taste is dark malt-chocolate, licorice/busty/powdery mouth feel, some fruit notes, some earthy hops bite. Not my taste but nice. Thanks jwc215 for picking this out.

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...