Sand Creek Imperial Stout

Brewed by Sand Creek Brewing Co. (Pioneer/Wisconsin Brewing Co.)
Style: Imperial Stout
Black River Falls, Wisconsin USA

First beer of the night at MrFacto’s ’Tosa tasting, brought by JPDIPSO. This really hit the spot after a long drive. Deep chocolatey brown body, thin/medium cream head. Rich chocolate and roasted malt aroma. Nice sweet chocolate flavor with dark fruit, caramel, and roast; not especially heavy but still rich, finishing with toast and a touch of alcohol. Slightly chalky. It was mentioned that this really doesn’t fit the Imperial Stout bill- I tend to agree; this almost seemed like a high ABV porter. I’d happily drink this again, however.

Nice tan creamy head. Dark body w/ faint red hue. No real big aroma... faint raisin with roasty nuts and caramel. Nice unobtrusive flavor... Simple roasty brown sugar sweetness with a gentle grassy hops bitterness. Definitely fresh cut grass about 30 seconds after the sip.

Ar: hint of hops.. sweet brown sugar fairly crisp at first then mellowed Ap: dark brown in color w/ a thin dark tan head that quickly disapated Pa: medium bodied pretty creamy some good carbonation I didn’t see coming Fl: very good malty with a hint of sweet to it and a touch of dark chocolate w/ roasted malts Ovr: I liked this beer a little biting bitter after finish Thanks to John for this beer. from a growler

Pours a dark, dark brown, small tan head. Aroma of licroice and coffee. Flavor is very malty, with coffee, roasted malt, and acidic lemony grass! Thanks to JPDipso for sharing this!

Dark brown with a red tint. Thin head that sticks to the glass. Aroma: Weak. Grassy hops? Winey/alcohol. Palate: Thick. Oily texture. Soft carbonation. Flavor: Dark chocolate, acidic, grassy hop finish. Long lingering flavor. Thanks JPDIPSO.

On tap at Cheers for a Cure


This was my final sample of the night. It caught my eye sitting there in a growler and since I like most imperial stouts, I figured that I would give it a shot. It was solid but given the way that imperial stouts dominate the ratings, actually somewhat below average. It’s odd that something could be both good and below par but there you go.

Aroma / Appearance - Velvet, a slight hint of hops and some cherry were all that I was able to detect despite a few efforts to detect those typical imperial stout characteristics of roasted malt and chocolate. Gauged against all other beers, it was great; compared to other imperial stouts it was lacking. The body was a black color with a thin tan head and persistant lacing that laced its way down the side of the sample glass.

Flavor / Palate - Once I took a sip, it become clear that there was more to this than meets the eye. I picked up a rich combination. This included cherries, caramel, malt, cranberries, vanilla and expresso beans. Somewhat later a feeling of cocoa joined the party. The sips were silky smooth and reminded me of the mouthfeel of Thirsty Dog Siberian IS. The only thing that was lacking was the denseness. Despite the huge flavor profile, it felt a little watery. On the whole, however, it was well balanced and for an imperial stout suprisingly easy to drink.

A very heavy imp. porter, it pours a dark black body with a meidum sized brown head. Strong aromas of bourbon, oak and dark chocolate. Flavors of re-heated burned coffee, dirt, toast and walnuts. Wicked strong, but very fulfilling.

Tosa Tasting. Small tan head with a garnet body. Aromas of blackberries, cherries, black malt and a mild grassy hops hint. Black malt and brown sugar flavors, more in line with a baltic porter. A touch acidic and thin in feel. A decent offering.