Samuel Smiths Imperial Stout

Brewed by Samuel Smith
Style: Imperial Stout
Tadcaster, England

Really good, but having it right after Linc's awesome homebrew made it taste a litlle predictable. Solid and serious stout all over the place. The room is spinning anti-clockwise. Coffee for sure with that kind of dark chocolate they always put over father's day ginger. Alcohol is up front and then dissipates. I got some bank tobacco as well. Anyway, if they made it for her majesty's forces I bet it was for the smart ones who stayed home: dad's army. Great beer anyway.

Beers like this one is the reason I drink. Pours black with an outstanding aroma (almost red wine like)rich berries. Taste of malts takes over this beer. Finish is just enjoyable as the first sip. Drink at room temp you most certainly will enjoy it more. Doesn't have that American punch but a great Imperial stout to start a non-drinking beer fan out with.

Outstanding beer! Thickish and dark, sweet and smooth to drink. It poured nicely, forming a dense head that parts at the mouth to let the raisiny sweet brew glide past the tongue.

This is what you call a full bodied beer you are just about eating it! Wonderful complex flavours too many describe.

550mL bottle, 05.19.04 Pours impossibly black; smallish, dark tan head, no lacing. Aromas of bananas foster, bubblegum, gumdrops. Delicious beer with flavors of plum, prune, charred fruits, burnt toast, licorice, dark molasses. Palate is chewy and burnt, but I could go for more sweetness. The malts are quite dominant until the bitter, burnt ending. Great, widely available beer.

very pleasureable drink. alchohol is neither high nor noticable. tastes unlike any imperial stout i've had, i.e. not very strong. well balanced with no off tastes or dominating flavors. rich. will put a smile on your face

The beer came in a 550 ml. sturdy looking clear (why?) bottle that released an a dark brown liquid with red highlights. This beer does not have the inky black look of other imperial stouts. The head was coffee-colored and formed at about 1½ inches thick initially, but then quickly dissipated to a thin layer of foam and some decent lace. The aroma was roasted coffer and dark chocolate goodness, with a dollop of dark skinned fruits thrown in the mix. The taste was a delightfully intense balance between the sweet flavors of raisins, figs, toffee, and apples; and bitter notes of old coffee and unsweetened chocolate. The alcohol warmth was pretty tepid for an imperial stout, and is clearly not the draw in this beer. The mouthfeel was also quite a bit lighter that the big boys, but was satisfying nonetheless. An easy drinking stout that is clearly a step above the ordinary, but remains very approachable still. A sessionable imperial stout if you will.

Beautiful black body with full tan head. Aroma of bitter choolate and roasted coffee and a little anise. Full bodied and creamy but a tad more carbonation than I like in a stout. Flavor was sweet but not cloying, robust and full. Classy stout.