Smuttynose Imperial Stout

22 ounce bottle in tulip. Black with brown head and lace. Wet green hop espresso and chocolate aroma. Earthy wet forest green hop minty bitter roasted dark chocolate coffee with wet woodsy piney mocha finish. Very complex with a weird pungent melting pot of flavors contending against each other. Definitely needs aging...or something. Just so green. Still, obviously made of fresh distinctive high quality ingredients.

Thanks to rustychiles for bringing this to the bockyhorsey tasting. Pours a very dark brown without a head. Aroma is balanced between bourbon, alcohol, and roastiness. Taste is pretty darn dry and roasty. The roastiness and alcoholicness accumulates on the palate in a semi-annoying way.

2009. hops are very up front and the alcohol is noticeable. age would do this some good. not very good.

22 ounce bomber purchased at Bullock’s in Marietta, Georgia. Bottled In: 2009. So fresh! Appearance: Pours a dark brown, near black body with a head the color of café au lait. Smell: Roasty, coffee-toned nose with bittersweet chocolate and particularly fragrant hop scents of bitterish pith and pine. Taste: Roasty coffee flavor at the beginning with a touch of bittersweet chocolate and a bit of dark caramel. At this stage, the hops are rather assertive and deliver a heavy citrus taste and lesser hints of pine needles. Moderate bitterness. Both the roasty coffee flavor and citrusy pine resin vie for attention, but neither side really wins out. Finishes drying, roasty, and bitter. Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Medium carbonation. Relatively smooth mouthfeel. Drinkability: Good fresh, though I’d personally prefer to see it with a bit of age on it to temper those biting hops. Paired well with the CD "Some Are Lakes" by Land of Talk.

Nice off-white head. Not as chocolate brown as I was hoping for, but a very good looking beer. Found this one at the Buford Highway Greens. This one has a nice pungent alcohol aroma. The alcohol could have been well hidden, but I do not mind the presence. A different kind of aroma. Nice creamy palate with a noticeable sharp pungent taste. I taste the coffee, but the hops dominate. A great twist on the stout, and I just tried a different stout that had the same characterisitics. This beer has a nice wood taste as well. Overall, awesome stout.

Bottle courtesy of a couple of generous BAs poured into a tulip. Pours a dark, dark chocolate brown with hints of mahogany around the edges when held up to might. The small tan head is creamy and recedes to a ring and a swirl of bubbles on the top. Huge dark chocolate malts dominate the nose with hints of dark fruit and some citrus hops. The taste is bittersweet with lots of chocolate and roasted malts but with an interesting bitterness in the finish that’s part coffee and part citrus hops. The mouthfeel is smooth with enough light soft carbonation to make it tickle the palate nicely. Another great beer in the Smuttynose Big Beer Series. A straight-forward but extremely tasty stout that delivers without being too over the top.

22oz bomber thanks big time to mcox90. Pours a pure black color with a small light brown head. An motor oil look alike. The aroma is very nice; heavy roasted malts and chocolate, lots of coffee, and brown sugar. The taste is excellent; strong roasted malts, sweet milk chocolates, a large dark fruit aspect, plums and prunes big time. From the initial taste I could tell that this beer is quality, and a top imperial stout. Just excellent.

Sampled at the Bockyhorsey tasting, courtesy of rustychiles. Near black pour with a foamy tan head. Roasted malt and coffee in the aroma, along with chocolate, molasses and a touch of hops. Flavor is rich and roasty, with the hops coming through on the finish. Very good brew!