Smuttynose Imperial Stout

2007 bottle, somewhat fresh, found at Astor Liquor. Deep brown body with a semi-dark tan and brown head, filmy really, not tall or building, but also not invisible. Oily, viscous brown resin coats the glass. Nose of robust dark, bitter bakers chocolate, smoked cream, smoky, charred toast and charred/burnt milk. Hints of vanilla cream, some floral lactic scents as well, some lighter peppery, vegetal notes, with the creamy yeast being most evident. Exceptionally deep nose, yet completely focused on the chocolate and charred malts, not really any dark fruit or sugar presence. Moderate thickness, doesn’t devour the palate, rather it’s lightly syrupy, oily, with a medium to light dried vanilla and malted milk ball flavor wrapped up in a heap of bitter dark chocolate and charred cereal grains. It leaves on the tongue a very slight pastiness. Rich toffee and vanilla flavors show up in a lingering, resiny, chocolately finish. Very good all around, I like the medium thickness opposed to a more viscous texture. Well-made and fresh and moderately malt-forward.

Not quite as sweet as many examples. Very hefty on the hops, full throttle. It’s been growing on me as I drink it.

22 oz. bottle. Poured syrupy, almost black with a small creamy brown head, good retention. Aroma of espresso, chocolate, caramel, and alcohol. Rich flavor immediately consumed the tastebuds, with notes of coffee, chocolate, alcohol, and a malty sweetness that finished with a nice bitter hoppy/alcoholic bite. A great nightcap.

Pours a deep dark brown color with brown head that fades quickly. Aroma of light chocolate, copious amounts of citrus and pine flavors, and roasted malt. Taste is coffee, light chocolate, roasted malt, citrus hops, alcohol. I’m a hop addict but I’m not use to the amount of hops in this impy stout. Great beer but it would benefit from some aging.

Bottle. Thanks alot Jason (Kramer17801) for this one. Pours a black color with a tan head. Sweet malty slightly roasted aroma with hoppy hints. There are also some hints of chocolate in the aroma. Sweet malty roasted flavor with hints of hops, chocolate and coffee. Swet malty finish with a hoppy bitter aftertaste.

Bottle Almost black pour with thin tan head. Roasted malt aroma with a bit of hops behind. Flavor is more dominated with hops. Interesting mix of roasted malts and citrus hops. Good brew, maybe should have aged it though.

22 ounce bomber. High quality, a top notch beer. This is a very nice looking beer. It pours dark brown from the bottle and appears black in the glass. The head is dark, like any good Imperial stout should be. However, any beer that doesn’t pour like pure black oil from the bottle cannot get top marks in the appearence score from me. I want every Imperial Stout to be pitch black, no matter what, sorry. Aroma indicates that this is a fresher bottle, it has some nice malt elements (chocolate, roast), but it is mainly dominated by huge, citrusy hops. Flavor is very expressive and concentrated. It is massively flavorful in both malts and hops. The malt shows hints of chocolate, coffee and roast, while the massive hops add hints of citrus and pine. A very fresh, hoppy Imperial Stout. This is a tasty beer, but not sublime fresh. I could see this aging really well.

22oz bottle, shared with ebbies7, not sure of the age of the bottle as there was very minor hop presence almost as if aged. nice and thick, a good brew.