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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?  
 raiderfost (158), virginia beach, Virginia, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/517/20
Oct 26, 2007  
Excellent beer. Pours a very dark black. Nice hoppy flavor and a chocolatey note. drank this beer after drinking a stone ruination and i deffinetly notice it was 10.1%!


 NJBeerman013 (761), Trenton, New Jersey, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/105/57/104/516/20
Oct 25, 2007  
Bomber ’06 vintage - Pours a midnight black with a rapidly fading head. It seems that the year of aging has brought the hoppiness down a bit from what others have noted when the beer was new. The mellowing, I think, helps to marry the roasted maltiness with the hoppiness, creating a well balanced character. There is a chocolatey note, but not a sweet one. More like burnt dark chocolate. I like.


 performula (147), Triangle Area, North Carolina, USA
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/103/514/20
Oct 22, 2007  
Lots of bang on the sniffer. Good color. Small head that creeps to a medium. Chocolatey taste. Sweet alcohol finish. Tingly on the tongue.


 MI2CA (1260), Noblesville, Indiana, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/517/20
Oct 9, 2007  
22oz - Indy tasting Sept 07 - Aroma of oats, dark malts, chocolate and fresh hops. Pours black with a small head and good lacing. Flavor matches aroma and I like it a lot. Palate is creamy and nice. A great brew.


 TheJester (694), Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/516/20
Oct 8, 2007  
750 mL bottle. Deep, dark copper brown; almost black. Nice dark beige head. Black coffee and dark chocolate rule both the aroma and the taste. Alcohol is not apparent in the aroma, and only mildly so in the flavour. You’d never know that this is 10%. No astringency. The finish is lightly bitter and alcoholic. Mouthfeel is full and almost creamy. Nice beer.


 tronraner (1905), Maryville, Tennessee, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/103/516/20
Oct 1, 2007  
Draught. Pours black with reddish edges, and a small dense tan head. The aroma is molasses, maple syrup, some dark caramel and chocolate, and a hint of pine. The flavor is sharp piney hops, some strange tart floral notes. Then molasses comes, with some bitter chocolate and some wood. The finish sports alcohol and light rum. I like my imperial stouts hoppy, so this was quite satisfying.


 bager (2121), Copenhagen N, Denmark
4.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/518/20
Sep 26, 2007  
Bottle. Pours pitch black with a small brown head. Roasted and malty with notes of dark and dried fruit, hops, spices, coffee, bitter chocolate and a slight alco burn in the end. Very nice.


 Jmichael (633), Asheville, North Carolina, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/514/20
Sep 20, 2007  
poured into tulip. pours a black with mild head. mild mocha malty aroma. sweet malty mocha thruoght. hops present themselves. hop mocha, good yet fresh.



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