Samuel Smiths Imperial Stout

Brewed by Samuel Smith
Style: Imperial Stout
Tadcaster, England

There’s one thing I have to say first .... I know you’re from another country, where maybe you came up with this style, but if you’re making the trek over the waters to sit on an american shelf, use a brown bottle. 550 ml pours brown black with a brown thin head. Very sweet aromas, it keeps reminding me of an opened canister of oatmeal ... sugarry toasted grains, with green apple and pear. Thin fizzy chocolate flavors going into a sweet creamy milk with apples and pears that slowly give way to a little roasted chocolate. Although not imperial in the american sense of it, .... i prefer a bolder beer with more chocolate and roast ... it is a tasty and balanced stout.

very very black, beige head. LOads of carbonation, i’m not used to that in an imperial, seeing how i’ve had so many american monsters in that category that pour like motor oil. Really nice roasty malt aroma, hint of coffee, and slight chocolate. Flavour is VERY roasty, and laced with coffee. Again, doesnt seem very imperial beside the american monsters, but this was around way before those, and this is an original impy, so i give it points for that!

355ml Bottle from De Bierkoning. Black colour, nice lasting beige head. Aroma of dark chocolate, some caramel, roasted malts, Irish coffee. Flavour is roasted malts, nuts, strong coffee, bitter chocolate, a little caramel and some alcohol. Good roasted coffee bitter finish. Smooth and thick mouthfeel, medium to fullbodied.

Bottle courtesy of my cousin Tim. Pours a dark cola with a medium sized light brown head. Aroma of bitter roasted malts, dark chocolate, black licorice and smoke. Excellent !!

Single bottle into a snifter. Chocolate notes, rather sweet with a bitter finish... tasty!

Bottle. Poured a pitch black into a snifter. Aroma of roasted malt and coffee. Flavor was roasted malt and coffee with a bitter chocolate note as well. Full bodied with low carbonation.

Bottled 355ml. An extremely dark beer with a beautiful beige head. The aroma is of roasted malt with a surprising touch of apples. Seaweed, hazelnuts, figs, heather, banana and licorice. A slight peppery nose. Full bodied. Ginger, dark chocolate, figs, mocha, licorice and plums in the taste. A slight salty touch. Wonderful mouthfeel. An extemely complex beer with a hint of tar? .... Sweet finish with hints of molasses, licorice, dark chocolate and heather. Samuel Smith’s epitome beer. Wonderful!

imperial stout tasting, march 04: black, tight beige head. nice aroma of roasted malt, coffee, red liquorice, and a bit of fruit(apple?). more dried fruit in the flavour with dark chocolate, sweetened coffee and a biiter finish balanced between hop and roast. very nice.