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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?  
 probstk (1005), Nepean, Ontario, Canada
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/517/20
Dec 21, 2006  
Tasted at YeHA! 2006 in Montreal along with Cathschlag’s truffles...merci. App.: DEEP orangey-brown, little head but what’s there is mocha. Aroma: WOOD, vinous, baker’s chocolate, a little vanilla, smells bitter, hoppy background. Palate: full, powdery body, med. carbonation. Flav.: a bit sweet, lots of raisins, molasses, baker’s chocolate and wood. A little bitter. Goes great with the truffles and finishes with plenty of hops. A nice way to cap off a great evening! Thank you, Montreal Ratebeerians!


 Glouglouburp (2778), Montreal, Quebec, Canada
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/516/20
Dec 21, 2006  
Black body with a small tan head. Typical stout elements: roasted malts & chocolate but very little (if any) coffee flavour. The chocolate flavour is half milk-chocolate, dark bitter black chocolate. A pleasant tobacco leaves complements this initial taste and makes for a nice transition to an avalanche of citrusy hops in the finish. Alcohol remains mostly well hidden except in the finish where it overwhelms the citrus hops. Very well done. I know these strong and heavy beers are bad for me but hey, I treat each day as if it was my last; and one day I’ll be right.


 MiP (8793), Sønderborg, Denmark
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/57/103/517/20
Dec 19, 2006  
Bottle. Very hoppy aroma, sweet. Black colour, brown head. The flavour is nice with a good teaishness, very hoppy, too. The aftertaste has a very short coffee burst. Good mouthfeel. The alcohol rises into my nose. A good beer, a bit much, espceially the hops.


 redlem (1155), Illinois, USA
3.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/57/103/516/20
Dec 15, 2006  
Pours black with a small tan head. Good hop aroma, almost unbalanced with hops, if that is possible in an IS. Not much malt profile in aroma. Coffee roasted malt in taste.


 AllAboutStout (605), Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
3.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/103/57/103/514/20
Dec 14, 2006  
Poured from a bomber into my Delirium tulip. Pours a very dark brown/black with a slight 3/8" head. Good lacing down all sides of the glass. Hops dominate the nose. The taste is all hops, with a slight coffee bitterness mixed in. Tastes good, but not the leader in its group. A smooth drinking beer, but is a tad bit thin for a Imperial Stout. Glad I tried it, would make for a good sessionable brew. Worth a try.


 NachlamSie (1630), Tennessee, USA
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/105/58/104/516/20
Dec 8, 2006  
Bomber consumed outside in the 18 degree weather. The pour is solid for an impy, jet black with a tall dark tan head. When the snifter is held to the light, a bit of ruby hues are apparent perhaps. The aroma highlights a distinct hoppiness and a wash of espresso and mocha. It’s thick, not uber thick, but dense enough to compete with any reasonable brew in the style. Birch, soy sauce, tree bark, espresso, earth, and caramel are in the mix of rich flavors. Great beer, well done, I would some it up as a tamer Yeti Stout.


 Papsoe (14613), Frederiksberg, Denmark
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/103/515/20
Dec 7, 2006    Updated: Sep 9, 2007
(Bottle 65 cl) Pours completely black and opaque with a light brown head. Sweetish aroma of lightly burned malts. Very solid body with distinct sweetish and hard roasted malts with some vanilla accents. Some bitterness from the malts. 011206 and 070907


 ante (2904), Stockholm, Sweden
4.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/105/58/104/518/20
Dec 7, 2006  
Bottled at olver Twist, Stockholm. Opaque black with a firm beige head. The aroma is simply wonderful. A mix of a top notch 2IPA and a powerfull Imperial Stout. Lot’s of piney hops in the aroma with touches of dades, figs and dark chocolate. Full, chewy and burnt flavour of black chocolate, black coffee, with nots of dades, tobacco and pepper. Extremely full body. Long, long aftertaste of dark unsweetened chocolate, ink, nut-shells and salt. Lot’s of piney burps aftertwards. One of the best Imperial Stouts but not as good as the Expedition Stou, though.



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