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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?  
 nqualls (1429), Nashville, Tennessee, USA
4.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/59/104/518/20
Oct 6, 2009  

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.


 abcfan (247), New Jersey, USA
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/516/20
Oct 5, 2009  
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.


 brewski519 (395), Morrisville, North Carolina, USA
4.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/105/58/104/518/20
Oct 4, 2009  
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.


 cgarvieuk (4159), Edinburgh, Scotland
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/515/20
Oct 3, 2009  
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.


 BleacherBum (176), Blowing Rock, North Carolina, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/105/57/104/515/20
Oct 2, 2009  
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.


 juiceisloose (640), Windermere, Florida, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/105/57/104/515/20
Sep 29, 2009  
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.


 corby112 (677), philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
4.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/105/58/104/518/20
Sep 28, 2009  
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.


 ditmier (1021), Boise, Idaho, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/517/20
Sep 26, 2009  
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...



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