Smuttynose Imperial Stout

Source:22 oz bottle split with a few friends.
Glass:North Coast snifter.
Appearance:Black pour with a thin brown head.
Aroma:Chocolate, roasted malt and citrus.
Flavor:Molasses and brown sugar, with chocoalte and roasted malt in the finish.
Palate:Full body with soft carbonation.
Overall:Excellent RIS. Love this stuff.

Fantastic brew! Pours black with a very small tan head. Aroma is very bitter chocolate and hops. Taste is heavy molasses, hops and chocolate. Very smooth, easy drinking.

22 oz bottle - shared this with a couple of the guys prior to heading to World Beer Festival in Duham NC - pours a dark brown color with thick foamy tan head. Aroma of roasted malt, chocolate, pine, hops and licorice. Great taste of a sweet, chocolatey, hoppy, piney stout - this one is a winner from Smuttynose - everyone loved it. It was a great start to a fantastic beer tasting day.

Bottle at home ... From my GBBF haul i think... if it was a trade i appologise and please put me right ... deep black ... thin tan lacing ... big sweet meaty roast malt ... little chocolate nose ... again sweet with a big resiny pine hop front ... lovely solid chocolate malt roast background ... lovley ... soft mouthfeel ... a sipper but delightful.. even if again its a bit hop heavy for me tastes.

What a unique beer: Not that overly impressive techniques, ingredients or unexpected results culminated in such a fantastic beer, but rather that I’ve never tasted anything like it. This is a hop monster, which leads me to believe I have a very fresh bottle on-hand. The aroma on this is piny/floral hops and licorice. That’s it. That’s all I get. Flavor is more of the same. Piny, bitter hop bite, dark fruits (from the hops), licorice and a hint of dark chocolate. Hints of mint and Jaegermeister??? The finish is dry and resiny. This beer tastes like a damn Christmas tree (makes mental note to pick up a couple extra bottles for the holiday). Body is medium. No alcohol burn. Aftertaste is almost asphalt-like, but not in an offensive way. I’m sure it’s roasty, but almost all aspects of imperial stout are masked by the copious amount of hops. This is the definition of an ager. I’d hope the coffee, caramel and chocolate flavors would eventually come through in a couple years, but maybe not as this puts any "Black IPA" to shame, IMO. A force to be reckoned with, but with a price tag to love. $5.50/22 oz.. Pretty good now. Should be fantastic with age on it.

22z bottle shared with a good friend. Pours a very dark brown almost black body topped by a big, foamy tan head that shows great retention. Thick ring of lacing mark the glass. The aroma is bursting with a good amount of dark chocolate and huge amounts of piney and earthy hops. There was a touch of licorice and dark fruit in there. The aroma was really hoppy, which caught me by surprise. The flavor followed suit and was just as hop forward with pine resin and earthy hops showing strong. The dark chocolate added a touch of sweetness and mellows out the hop bitterness a bit. Full bodied and very smooth mouthfeel with good carbonation that leads to a lengthy bitter finish. Really nice imperial stout and definitely one of the hoppier stouts I have had. I could see this getting even better with some age on it.

Pours a very deep dark brown, pretty much black and almost completely opaque with only the slightest mahogany edges and a huge foamy coffee colored head that has great retention, slowly fading into a lasting ring that leaves sporadic lacing. Roasted malt aroma with hints of roasted coffee, chocolate, nut, alcohol, dark fruit, fig, licorice, peppermint, oatmeal, toffee, caramel and some piny citrus hops. Mmmmm this is very promising. Silky smooth malt mouthfeel with a decent amount of roasty flavors along with some spiciness, alcohol warmth and a surprisingly prominent hop presence. Roasted malt flavor with hints of chocolate, peppery spice, oatmeal, coffee bean, toffee, caramel, dark fruit, fig, alcohol, bourbon candi sugar and a very surprising, yet excellent bitter hop note.

2009 Bottle - Thanks motortoddhead! - Pours dk dk brown with a large tan head...aroma is roasty and sweet, cocoa, caramel and toffee...flavour is similar, chocolate candy, dk fruitm roasty grain...lightly sweet coffee and creme, burnt wood bitterness that doesn’t linger...Smutty is some of the the best value available, bar none...