Samuel Smiths Imperial Stout

Bottle, Has the alcohol soaked aroma of doughy bread. Massive head almost as thick as Guinness but more rocky. The head laces all the way to the end. Pitch Black in color. Moderately bitter acidic flavor. Extremely full bodied with a syrupy texture. The finish has a major alcoholic tinge, thus the lower rating. Not a big fan of the flavor of this one.

I’m glad I let this one warm up. Picked up 12 oz bottle from World of Beer in Tampa, FL. Pours a near opaque black with a dark tan head the recedes rather quickly. Aroma is great. Not to burnt or powerful on the malt side and the hops do shine through with a bit of bitterness on the finish. Could benefit from more hopping but still.... Yummy.

Aroma: Rich, dark chocolate and deep licorice undertones. Some coffee, a bit of caramel, and a mild black cherry aroma. Alcohol is also present. Not the most complex imperial stout, but one of the most alluring I’ve smelled. Appearance: Velvety smooth and blacker than black coffee; very thick and opaque. Light brown sugar head with a texture like merengue. Gives the impression of a double chocolate cake. Flavor: Heavy licorice taste, a touch of cola. Very flavorful but also quite smooth and subtle; not overwhelmingly or aggressively bitter like some imperial stouts. Excellent chocolate finish, a great brew to serve with dessert. Palate: Very creamy and exceptionally smooth. Could be a bit more chewy, but overall, outstandingly pleasant on the palate. Overall: Perhaps the most drinkable imperial stout I’ve had, well balanced and with an alcohol content of only 7%. Superb.

A fine looking stout; inky black with a thick frothy head. Smell is rich chocolate cake, with some fruity notes, perhaps cherry. Flavor is mild and chocolaty at first, but then there is an annoying bitterness like badly pulled espresso. Very smooth going down. Medium-light bodied. It’s a decent imperial stout, but the bitterness is not balanced out very well.

35.5 cL bottle. Pours dark brown to black with a huge and dense, creamy and light brown head. Mild roasted malt and chocolate aroma, mild hops note. Smooth roasted malt and chocolate flavours, shows an almost immediate acidic roasted note. Smooth chocolate flavours following. Nice stout, but falls a bit short compared to current imp. stouts.

Blackish pour. Roasty aroma with some chocolate and coffee. Flavor is sugary, roasty, and not at all what I prefer in an impy stout, though not a bad beer overall.

lots of dark fruit and banana in the aoma and flavor. too sweet for me to really enjoy, and not high enough abv for the style. definately not the best imp stout i’ve had...

Bottle shared at DLD 08. A nice full looking pour which is thick and creamy. A lot of strong banana in the nose and most of the flavor, with some chocolates thrown in. A very smooth and easy drinkable Impy Stout. I think it could use a higher ABV bill to make it hit all the style marks, but very nice regardless, and something you could use to turn people on to Imperial Stouts.