Samuel Smiths Imperial Stout

Brewed by Samuel Smith
Style: Imperial Stout
Tadcaster, England

I poured it aggressively and found a beautiful cascade effect. Very dark, but not unfathomably deep--tinges of ruby red around the edges. Keeps a thin head for a long time. Initial aroma was gorgeous--suggestive of port wine, with plum and chocalate. As it warms, the aroma mellows into more rounded roasted and chocolate notes, with some hints of fruitiness still there. First tastes are sweet, with decent bitterness and a hint of astringency in the back of the palate. Adequately carbonated, although a little thin in character, yet not watery: oily, slippery. Halfway through I licked an couple of envelopes (the bills have to get paid) and the flavor didn’t go well at all; I wouldn’t recommend trying that combination. Warms very well. For some reason I found myself drinking this very fast--extremely quaffable, perhaps because the flavors are not overwhelming and the sweetness makes it oh so tasty.

Opaque ebony with a tall brown head and the aroma of dark fruit, coffee, mocha, and malt. Flavor shows coffee, plums, and chocolate, with a small bitter finish

12oz. Bottle: Aroma is lightly sweet. Smells strongly of roasted barley with hints of dark chocolate, coffee, and cream. Poured dark black with a small brown head that shrank but lasted throughout. Fair lacing. Opaque. Flavor is medium sweet but not bitter or sour. Flavor is dominated by roasted barley and malts. There are also notes of chocolate, and coffee. Roast flavor is almost overpowering. Full body. Thick texture. Average carbonation. Long, slightly dry, chocolate finish. Warming. Overall, a little unbalanced toward the sweet, but still quite good.

35,5 cl Bottle. Black colour with a fantasic nice white head. Aroma of dark chocolate, roasted barley and coffee. A great flavour of complexity, blend with chocolate and littlebit of alcohol. Ends up some dry.A fantastic beer.

A very different Imperial Stout compared to the heavily dark roasted and bitter American versions, and still a solid favorite; Initially, very sweet and oatmealy as compared to other Imperial Stouts, but the moderately strong dark roasted malt flavor and the bitterness kick in and modestly balance the beer fairly quickly, though the sweet oatmeal flavor remains the dominant force here; Very rich and creamy mouthfeel coddles the palate; The nose is sweet, sweet, sweet, with some maple syrup thrown in for good measure; Jet black in color and very nearly opaque; The bubbly, light tan head is huge during the pour with a nice creamy coating, and retention and patchy lacing are fairly good; Truly a delicious beer!

I really don’t understand why so many people think this beer is so great. I think their oatmeal stout is much better. [re-rate] OK, now I’m starting to get it. There are a lot of subtle things going on in this beer...molassas, prunes, brown sugar. Nice chocolate/coffee finish.

This one was quite a surprise in both good and bad ways. The aroma is sweet, yeasty, and a little moldy, kinda like a laundry hamper. Appearance is nice, almost a black brown and it leaves wonderful lace. The flavor is as complex as any stout I have ever had. The flavors are vinegar, molasses, raisins, chocolate, and deeply roasted, almost burnt, malts. Plate was OK but could have been thicker. The aftertaste is acidic, sweet, and somewhat bitter but not overly so. Rather bewildered with this one. Even though it has some not so great qualities I can’t hate it. You will just have to try it to see what I mean.

Re-Rate 08/07/02: I guess many think this beer has slipped over the years, and that the clear bottle decreases its flavor. I have had this bottle since August of 2001 so its a year plus old. Color, is ’Black as The Mid-Pacific on a cloudy night’, the head is quite decent, light chocolate in color, the lace is thick sheets clinging to the glass. Nose ’Ah the Nose’, toasted grains, bitter-sweet chocolate, caramel, malt and one of the ’More Sniffable’ beers around. Front is sweet, creamy rich, the top is full, the finish has a nice crisp acidc bite, dry and a quite acceptable hop presence. Still one of the best ’Stouts’ on the ’Beer market’ today, yesterday and it will be tomorrow. This is one brewery that loves its beer and the drinkers who buy their products. Ranks #119 on my current 1000 beer list.