 CaptainCougar (4599), Rockville, Maryland, USA
May 10, 2008
Pours an oily, nearly-opaque with a thin, spotty-lacing dark tan head. Aroma of roasted malts and dark chocolate with some band-aid phenols underneath. Body starts with some fizzy carbonation and dark caramel malts toward a roasty malty finish with some bittersweet dark chocolate character. An ok imperial stout, but needs more body and balance.
cbkschubert (1518), Skyline, Arizona, USA
Jul 11, 2008 12 oz. bottle from Premier Gourmet (Buffalo) - Pours a dark brown color with a small light tan head. Light lacing. Aroma is roasted malt and light herbal hops. Flavor is mostly roasted malt with a touch of coffee. Palate is quite bitter and dry. Medium body. Not the best Imp. stout, but worth a try.
tgncc (202), Bellmore, New York, USA
Jul 4, 2008 Very nice nose of chocolate, roated coffee, and some alcohol. Very sweet. The appearance is typical to the style, a dark brown/black with a thick tan head. Very attractive. The flavor is mostly roasted malts, cocoa, maybe a slight bit of hoppiness (not much for a beer that’s 50 IBU). Very enjoyable, and the palate leaves a pleasant mix of roastiness and sweetness. Good thick mouthfeel. This is a solid beer. I often say that while Saranac is very brave in trying to brew a wide range of eclectic beers, their execution is often found wanting. This beer however, is a real accomplishment. Not just good for the normally mediocre Saranac, but good period.
GAManiac (200), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Jun 30, 2008 Bottle. Pours pitch black with a thin, dense tan head that recedes to a bit of foam around the edges pretty quickly leaving some decent lacing along the way.
Aroma is very sweet with roasted/burnt chocolate malts, molasses and a big dose of licorice. Slight hop presence in the background along with a subtle alcohol burn in the nostrils.
Taste disappoints a little bit after the good aroma and comes across a bit medicinal. The sweet malts, roasted/burnt coffee and chocolate are there but there is an overriding astringent bitterness that takes over and stays throughout the finish. Interesting tastes but too bitter for my liking.
Mouthfeel is a little light for the style but still creamy despite the astringency.
Well, this is definitely an interesting brew with a good mix of flavors, but the bitterness and burnt character keep it from being a great beer.
kramer17801 (1843), sunbury, Pennsylvania, USA
Jun 30, 2008 12 oz bottle, via BA beertruth. Pours a black body with a very fizzy, almost soda like head that faded pretty quickly. Nice deeply roasty nose with lots of chocolate and coffee. Lighter accents of cocoa powder, cereal grains, burnt malt, and alcohol. Roasty flavor with a good bit of malt and hop bitterness fades to a chalky dry bitter finish. Kinda leans to the burnt and acrid side of the style, not the smoothest drinker. Full bodied with a slight stickiness and moderate fizzy carbonation. Overall, just too much burnt malt character on the finish, when it combines with the hops, this just gets a bit too harsh.
Naka (369), Indiana, Pennsylvania, USA
Jun 29, 2008 Pours a dark black color with a 1 finger thick foamy dark khaki head. Decent lasting power with just a touch of lacing. Aroma of a slightly fruity chocolate coffee with cream. A notable sour note with some caramel in the background. An extremely burnt flavor, but up to the threshold of good. The roasted flavor isn’t overpowering. A lot of bittersweet chocolate undertones with quite a dry finish. The body is average for an impy stout. It does leave a pretty nice bitterness on the tongue. One of the better offerings I’ve had from Saranac.
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