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Smuttynose Imperial Stout

Smuttynose Imperial Stout - Imperial Stout

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 Percentile 
99
overall
Brewed by Smuttynose Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout

Portsmouth, New Hampshire USA

bottled
common

on tap
common

Broad Distribution
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 Ratings  Average  Score  Seasonal  ABV  Style Pctl  Serve in 
6073.96/5.03.94/5.0Winter10.1%84.2Snifter
View Statistics  P 

Commercial Description:
After a one year hiatus the Imperial Stout is back in action. We figured that after catching a bit of flack for its absence we’d have it return with a bang. We bumped up the starting gravity from 20° P to 24° P. This allowed the beer to finish just over 10% ABV. Like this year’s Barleywine, we’ve decided to play with the hop character, specifically the dry hop presence. Trying to avoid the fiasco of my previous attempt at adding pellets to the fermentor, I did what any good manager would do: I made Charlie add them. He had the advantage of being able to add the hops directly through a top manway and so his besting me in this challenge is not necessarily a sign of his superior brewing skills but more a reflection of my adventurous, try anything spirit (or at least that’s the story I’m stickin’ to). The Charles added 44 lbs of Cascade, split evenly between two batches, or about half a pound per barrel. We then transferred the beer onto seventy-eight pounds of an even mixture of Centennial and Columbus whole flowers, about one pound per barrel. The beer is a little top heavy in terms of the hopping but it seems to be smoothing out a bit as it’s aging. I’d give it six months or so, if you can wait that long. If not, hey, enjoy it anyway.
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
 jake65 (1658), Williston, North Dakota, USA
4.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/59/104/517/20
Oct 1, 2008  
Bottle: Near black pour with a finger of creamy brown head. Nose is simple and intense with roastiness, chocolate, and an overal sweetness. Tastes rich in roast, coffee, and chocolate. A faint bit of smoke with bitters in the trailer. Smooth, balanced, and rich in flavor. Huge. Thanks to my secret santa from last year!


 Naka (524), Indiana, Pennsylvania, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/58/104/516/20
Sep 14, 2008  
Courtesy of Nate. Pours dark black color with a 1 finger dark beige head. Lasts only a few seconds. Aroma is sweet with a carbonic bite and a very noticeable hop character. A deep burnt caramel and coffee flavor. A little plum and bitter chocolate as well. The bitterness in the flavor is huge, like really dark roasted black coffee. The body is rich and creamy. Leaves a very dry bitterness on the tongue.


 Nate (2533), Indiana, Pennsylvania, USA
4.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/104/58/104/517/20
Sep 14, 2008  
From bomber. Has a quite hoppy nose with some grapefruit. Chocolate and mild coffee. Licoric and alcohol, oak, and vanilla. Nice aroma. Bit of carbonic gaseousness. One of the hoppiest impys I’ve had. Dark, dark brown-black with cocoa tan lacing head. Heavy oily body with medium carbonation. Nice alcoholic warming. Starts heavy and sweet with chocolate and caramel. Light licorice, alcohol. This is really a great impy stout. A bit hot, vinuous and sweet. Medium bitter finish and warming after. Well done.


 mgumby10 (1844), Jupiter, Florida, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/517/20
Sep 13, 2008  
Pours black, with a thick, creamy light brown head. Smells pretty rich and roasty, good bit of chocolate, touches of dark fruit, and oak are also present. The flavor is also on the roastier side, with lots of chocolate malt and coffee making their presence known. Just a big, rich imperial stout just the way I like them. The alcohol was noticeable, but not over the top, and the flavor on this one was quite delicious. I enjoyed it very much.


 Theis (3617), Denmark
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/58/104/517/20
Sep 9, 2008  
Bottle at Sune’s (Thanks). Black - brown head. Burned, dry burned, licorice, high hoppy, chocolate, coffee, piney, grassy. Fantastic.


 sunevdj (1765), Copenhagen OE, Denmark
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/103/58/104/517/20
Aug 31, 2008  
@ home with the club. Vintage 2006. Pours black with no head. Full flavoured and sweet. Aromas of burnt malts and some coffee and hints of alcohol. Nice strong hoppyness. Reminds me a bit of a Stout-IIPA mix. The strong hopsaromas surprice me. Good.


 doubleo (1096), San Diego, California, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/59/104/518/20
Aug 30, 2008  
22oz bottle. Pours viscous looking black with a small, light brown head. Smells dark and sweet malty, slightly roasty but not overwhelming. Tastes nice and sweet malty with a lingering roasty malt flavor. There is a nice, mellow, earthy hop backbone as well. Very nice, very complex, great tasting stout. Full body, good carbonation.


 Mette (224), Frederiksberg, Denmark
4.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/59/104/518/20
Aug 29, 2008  
Sune-drengen er på banen med denne øl. Sort, sort......... karamelfarvet skum. Superlækker duft og smag af bitter choko, kaffe , kaffegrums og brændte noter. Denne flaske er fra 2006 og har ligget i Sunes køleskab lige siden. Utroligt, jeg havde drukket den.



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