Samuel Smiths Imperial Stout

Brewed by Samuel Smith
Style: Imperial Stout
Tadcaster, England

(Bottle at Tuulensuu, Tampere, on 2008-10-04) Almost black. Large tan coloured long lasting head. Roasted malts and metallic earthy aromas in nose. Full bodied and a bit watery palate with lots of carbonation. Metallic flavours, roasted malts, coffee and liquorice in taste. Long lasting aftertaste with bitter and roasty flavours.

550ml bottle. Black with a thick tan head that leaves some foam behind. Acidic roasted barley, wood, alcohol, and caramelized sugars in the aroma. The flavor has good balance of roast, sweet malt, and bitterness. Not incredibly robust, but very drinkable for the style. Nice dark chocolate flavors. Medium bodied with a lighter feel. Solid flavors, good balance. An impy that you could throw back more than one pint of.

Pour is a thick black with a lasting tan head. Some chocolate, coffee, ripe dark fruit. A slight dry alcoholic finish.

Yum, it has a distinct licorish taste, dark, with head. It is a good Imperial ale.

Poured this at room temperature, which is right now near freezing anyway here in Bunbury. Appears a moonless midnight, just hankering a darkest brown looking upwards thru the glass towards its thin tan hued creamy head. A thin lace lathers the glass before an oily release causes it to drop back into the beer. It’s got a woody, topsoil, balsamic vinegar and Bovril nose with an overtone of rich 85% cocoa chocolate melted in butter. The buttery chocolate blend continues into the mouth adjoining some burnt toast and caramel, tar and leather, a little marzipan if you dig deep and milder muscatel notes. It is long and robust even in the swallow with a soft malt bitterness melding well with the chocolaty, leathery trail. It is silky to slightly oily on the palate, though the drier, dusty malt characters give it a really pleasant mouthfeel. The alcohol is well masked, consumed by the weight of the malts. This is really nice to drink, or to sup for use of a better word. It’s calming and warming, full bodied and flavoursome. A nice old-fashioned Imperial stout, that’s not too overbearing. (355mL, BBE 02/09, Frankie’s Liquor, Bunbury)

Pours dark brown with a large, light brown head that lasts a while. Aroma contains hints of yeast, soy and chocolate. Drinks pleasantly dry and is full of roasted coffee, dark chocolate in front. A hint of oak flavor to start followed by cream that stays to the end. Finishes dry in the mouth with lingering malt flavor. Very easy to drink.

Bottle. Small creamy light brown diminishing head with fair lacing. Flat black body. Aroma of chocolate, coffee and roasted malt, smoke and liquorice. Medium body oily texture. Moderate sweet and very light bitter. Good beer, not rather complex, but warming and easy to drink.

Pours completely black with a very brown head that lasts longer than any other imperial stout that I have encountered (perhaps the lower level of alcohol?). Aroma is very deep,complex, and full of roast as is typical of other noteworthy impy stouts. Great full-flavored taste. Deep raost, coffee, and butterscotch, with some licorice and cream on the edges. Very well balanced; as balanced or moreso than the "big boy" imperial stouts. Has the trademark diacetyl character present in all other Samuel Smith’s beers, and just as in the rest they somehow make it work really well. Long term tasting, it feels a bit thin, likely due to being of a lower gravity. Overall, a very nice surprise for 7% alcohol.