Stoudts Fat Dog Stout (Vintages through 2003)

Formerly brewed at Stoudts Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial Stout
Adamstown, Pennsylvania USA

750 mL, vintage date 12/30/2003. Pours black with a small off-white head. Strong milk chocolate aroma with some subtle fruitiness, most noticeably (and most interestingly) grape. The flavor is fruitier and somewhat sour. Cocoa joins the fruit at the beginning and a hefty dose of lactose stays in the mouth long after the swallow. Thick, lightly spritzy mouthfeel.

(750ml bottle, 2003 vintage) Pours a hazy dark brown body with an average brown head. Aroma of chocolate, dark fruits, and vinous. Flavor of roasted malt, vinous, and lactos.

2003: deep color with fine tight bubbles. Coffe and warmth fill the nose. A smooth mouthfeel leads to coffe and malt tones. Seems stale rather than aged.

2003: Pour is brownish black with a thin tan head...toasty cocoa nose...lots of sweet cocoa in the flavor, but this is just over aged...I can imagine it being much more delicious 2 years ago...

Courtesy of Pailhead. Couldn’t decipher the date on the bottle, just 11/01. Thin oily black with minimal head, just film, and a ring of bubbles. Huge chocolate malt aroma up front, with some sour fruit in the background. Flavor again, chocolate malt with faint roasted grains. Sourness is starting to take over the flavor though, still drinkable, but bet it was one heck of a beer a few years ago.

Bottle: (3/11/01 or 7/11/01) Courtesy of Secret Santa. Aroma has lots of chocolate fruitiness with a hint of coffee. Pours a dark bown with no transparency and a moderate tan head that lasts a minute or so. Chocolate up front with a light roasted coffee presence in the finish. There’s a light fruity sourness throughout. I’m sure the sourness was not intended, but it seems to work and blend well with beer. Chocolate presence increases as it warms. After 5 years and and only 6.5% abv, this has held up rather well.

Bottle shared by kp, best by 2/27/99: Nearly opaque dark brown pour has a thin ring of tan head. Sweet, mild dark fruit and oatmeal aroma has nice subtle aged complexity. Body starts with a semi-sweet milk chocolate flavor and lots of dark fruit complexity. Seems to have aged very nicely. Probably not too "imperial" but enjoyable nonetheless. I’m really surprised this has lasted so long.

1998 Vintage: Yes you read that right. Poured a very dark brown color with a thin light tan head. Big chocolate aroma with light coffe (with milk added). Sweet. Very light notes of soy. Chocolate flavor and light roasted malt. This aged amazingly well. Medium bodied and a big carbonation.