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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?  
 bitbucket (2026), Kirkland, Washington, USA
4.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/105/57/104/517/20
Nov 4, 2006  
Bomber shared with after4ever. Pours an opaque blackish brown with a lacy tan head. Coffee, chocolate and and pine/floral hops on the nose. Full body with moderate carbonation. The taste sweet with coffee, chocolate an dark fruit. The finish is bittersweet with the hop and smoky espresso coming through the roasty malt.


 Zeswaft (1000), Seattle, Washington, USA
4.5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/105/59/105/517/20
Nov 3, 2006  
Thanks to nhorween for this. Pours extremely thick, black, and with a one finger brown head. Aroma is tons of chocolate. Body is as heavy as it looks. Flavor is very hoppy and lots of chocolate. reminiscent of Yeti. Finish is somewhat alcoholic. aftertaste is quite smoky. This is a very good imperial stout. Really good. I see a price tag of $5 on the bomber. Hell of a deal. Imperial stouts are just so good.


 2beerguys (299), North Shore, Massachusetts, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/105/57/104/515/20
Nov 2, 2006  
Phenomenal beer. It pours a black body with a murky/muddy clarity. Medium-brown, small fizzy head that leaves fair lacing as it begins to diminish. Aroma is of chocolate malts, mild coffee, and a sweet, floral perfume scent. Initial taste is lightly sweet, building to a medium sweet finish with a long duration that we were very thankful for. Thin body, yet creamy. Reviewer’s notes: "Nice lacing and dark brown on top, oh wow, I would like this with a scoop of ice cream, very good stout"


sisyphus12 (98), Belmont, Massachusetts, USA
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/57/104/514/20
Nov 1, 2006  
Thick brown/black appearance with a chocolate/moca aroma. Pours thick and viscous like into the mug. Smooth silky initial taste with a medium mouthfeel. Hoppy and malty but not overpowering. A relatively smooth finish makes this an excellent stout for the money


 buckybeer (666), Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA
4.5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/104/59/104/519/20
Oct 26, 2006    Updated: Mar 27, 2007
This one has been sitting in my cellar for months now. Always had my doubts about this one. After all, how good could this beer be at only $3.99 for a 22oz. bottle?? (thats dirt cheap around here). Pours a deep black with a small tan head. Decent sticky lacing. When I popped the cap I thought I was smelling an IPA. Aroma was very hoppy. Can’t figure that one out. The flavor sure couldn’t be the same way could it?? Holy crap! Am I drinking an Imperial Stout or and Imperial IPA? Talk about the best of both worlds! This should be renamed as an IMSTIPA. It is starting to warm a bit now and is getting even better. WTF???? This is sooooo close to being perfect. If you could just add a slight Belgian taste it would be perfect. I think this is the longest description I have ever written.


DuffLover (48), Hoboken, New Jersey, USA
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/57/104/515/20
Oct 25, 2006  
From 22oz. Aroma of coffee and chocolate. Flavor the same. Appearance is dark brown/black with thin tan head that dissipates quickly. Good thick palate with a little too much carbonation to make it really smooth. Overall pretty good, but Imperial Stouts is a hard category to compete in.


 xproudfoot (729), Paleolithic, Pennsylvania, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/514/20
Oct 20, 2006  
Hoopy booze citrus roastz aroma. dark mahodony under short beige. hoppy strong coffee. full, thick, and alky.


 Marsiblursi (1631), Göteborg, Sweden
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/516/20
Oct 19, 2006  
(Bottle) Pours dark, dark brown. allmost no head. Citric, pine, rasin, Centennial hop aroma with hints of liquorice. A bit burned. Salty, roasted, liquorice and bitter hops in flavour. Dry, big body. Very good.



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