Smuttynose Imperial Stout

Bottle pours a dense deep black with a thick dark tan head. Aroma is decidedly hoppy and dark roasted, chocolately and leather. A bit like expedition. Very rich and full molassas and dark fruit. Flavor is quite chocolatly but still very bitter and smokey. Body is a bit thinner that I expected but does not detract. Soft carbonation and a suprisingly soft bitter trailer.

Bottle: Pours a dark black color with a thick tan head and nice lacing, excellent carbonation and head retention for a beer of this type. The nose is very hoppy, almost annoyingly so, that it almost overpowers the alcohol and the roast. Well, the alcohol is certainly there at least. The flavor is a bit like soy sauce with the ripeness, but the hop bitterness and dry roast astringency get their word in too. The finish is long and pleasant, very nice body and sweetness level blends with the hops. A bit of delayed alcohol sting on the back of the tongue. Nice Imperial Stout, but it’s also like a black double IPA if you can see it that way. I like it. Thanks Ken!

sampled blakes... a fairly hoppy dry IS w/ a thick tan head over an opaque pour. Aroma was dry coffee and coccoa powder w/ some citrus tones. Palate was well coated but lacked some of the creaminess i like in my imperial stouts. The flavor was dry and highly chocolaty.

Bottled. Nearly opaque, very dark warm brown with a small, light brown, frothy, mostly diminishing head. The aroma is malty with moderate-to-heavy notes of smokey roasted grain, moderate caramel, coffee, unsweetened chocolate, molasses; Hoppy with moderate notes of herb, light note of resin/pine; Yeasty with a trace note of basement; Miscellaneous notes of light top soil, left over campfire wood, trace note of underripe banana. The flavor is vivid and engaging: Moderately sweet, moderately-to-heavily bitter, lightly acidic with a long, moderately bittersweet/grippyish, lightly acidic, lightly warm finish. The body is full, the texture is velvety and the carbonation is soft.

Head is initially small, frothy, brown, mostly diminishing. Body is black (opaque). Aroma is moderately malty (roasted/burnt grain, chocolate), lightly to moderately hoppy (resin), with a note of alcohol. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, watery/velvety texture, lively carbonation, lightly alcoholic. Pretty uninteresting.

Bottle. Almost opaque brown, light lacing. Oxidized aroma, molassis, some roasted character. Initially creamy and sweet, taste becomes heavily roasted. Light creaminess throughout. Good compliment of bitter hops to go along with the roast. Possible Smuttynose "house" taste in this one. Nice stuff.

This is a very nice imperial stout. Fully bodied and not overly hopped. This one is a sipper at 10+ percent, but it’s proof that an american imperial stout can be tasty without being heavyhanded. Underrated.

Pours to a black body with a huge foamy light brown/tan head. The aroma is hugely citrusy and chocolatey. Dry roastyness. The flavor is really chocolatey and dry black roast. Citrus hops are pretty strong. Sort of like FFF’s Black Sun. Velvety and tart mouthfeel. I’d buy it again.