Samuel Smiths Imperial Stout

Brewed by Samuel Smith
Style: Imperial Stout
Tadcaster, England

18.7 oz bottle. Dark brown with a quick settling tan head. Nose is molasses, licorice and coffee. Medium body with a light fizz. Taste is coffee, cola and prunes. Finishes with dark roast. Good stout, good balance but doesn’t thrill me.

Dark brown appearance, little head. The nose is alcoholic, heavy roast, slight sweetish organic notes. The body starts slightly sweet and moves quickly into a good roastiness. Hints of tin, salt and alcohol. Finishes Slightly roasty and dry.

Still a pretty tasty Impy, dark looks, darker chocolate along with some roast and dark fruit. Still avery nice body. An enjoyable imperial stout, although I think some of the higher marks are due to this being one of the better gateway beers and such a shock to the newbies.

Poured an opaque black w/ sizzling, very active brown foam which dissipated & disappeared very quickly, leaving sporadic bubbles of carbonation coming to the surface, looking much like a lake in light rain. Roasty, slightly burnt aroma of raisins & dried fruit, banana & apricot, licorice & molasses w/ some soft lactic sourness & notes of spicy hops. Full-bodied, creamy feel. Rich, complex Christmas cake & brandy flavour gives way to a fruity, spicy, hoppy, bitter finish.

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.

Bottle at DBF 2004. Jet black with a nice tan head. Aroma is very roasty and burnt. Flavor is quite nice too, silky smooth. Need to do a re-rate on this.

This was a tremendously wonderful beer. Very dark and thick. There were significant roasted characteristics to go with the coffee, chocolate, and even a bit of fruity sweetness. Outstanding.

A cold pour thows up a tall lasting head and reduces to a fine lace. Dark coffee in color w/ aromas of dark roasted chocolate. Medium nectar w/ good carbonation. A dry style with a heavily roasted malt backbone. Robust w/ strong flavors of black cocoa, charcoal, tobacco, steak, jerkey, and desicated darkfruit finishing strong w/ lingering smoke. Overall: this is a very robust style. A world class specimen sitting in a slot by itself.