t Smisje Catherine The Great Imperial Stout

Brewed by Brouwerij De Regenboog
Style: Imperial Stout
Assebroek-Brugge, Belgium

Pours a very dark, but definitely no trace of blackness, hazy brown, decent head. Aroma is an odd mix of Belgian yeasts, dark fruits, apricot, and a decidedly roasted note. The initial flavor matches, and it is a shocking muddle, as nothing is remotely integrated. As it warms, the roast notes thankfully diminish a bit, and a nice interplay of yeast, dark fruit, and light roast notes emerges. Significantly better warm, but it still wasn’t quite my thing.

33cL bottle, from State Line Liquors (Elkton, MD). Pours deep, hazy orange brown, capped with a moderate sized tan head. Aroma of cocoa powder, liquorice, roasted malt and vanilla. Flavor is a bit vegetal, with chocolate, anise and some hops. Thin finish, with some earthy, mineral character.

Bottle. A muddy brown beer with floaties and a big beige head. The aroma is of yeast, vegetable, coffee and glue, the taste is much the same with some fruit notes. Medium body with a finish of yeast. Mud!

Bottle. Large beige creamy like head that mostly lasted. Good display of lacework. Muddy amber color. Aroma of yeast, caramel, fruit, toasted malt, chocolate. Medium bodied with an average carbonation and mild alcoholic texture. Moderated bitter and sweet flavor. Roasted mild bitter malty finish. A bit strange for an Imp. Stout.

Objectively speaking: Very pale stout that has mostly sweetness to offer.
I like: Pleasantly fruity with appealing date and fig juciness. Complexifying earthy and spicy undertones. Fairly subtle alcohol. Thick and healthy mouthfeel.
I dislike: Quite yeasty and mineral. No balancing proper roastiness. Absent hops. Very limited complexity for the style. Not particularly appealing yeastiness, a bit musty in fact.

Bottle, bought @ Aakjærs, Esbjerg.
Pours deep, dark red with a giant, creamy offwhite head. Aroma is yeasty, lightly roasted, some dark toffee. Slight dark, dried fruits. Relatively light mouthfeel, but still creamy enough for the 10 % ABV. Flavour is musty, grainy, very dry and vinious. Finishes with cocoapowder, ashes and a good dose of hoppiness. A bit too astringent in the finish. But one of the better Belgian Impy’s.

On tap at The Thirsty Monk, Asheville. Mild sweet malt aroma, bit of toffee, molasses, and alcohol vapor. Quite herbal in the nose, too. Musky and bit earthy. Dark brown cloudy with thin off-white lacing head. Medium-heavy body with medium carbonation. Fairly sweet throughout like a barley wine, not an imperial stout. Good level of bittering hops to finish. Fairly thin with alcohol notes, toffee, and rich malt. Big bitter hops finish with strong bitter after. Kickin’, but this is no impy stout - really more like a barley wine.

330 ml. Not quite opaque, chocolate body with a three-finger head that settles into a small lasting ring. Complex aroma of raisins, spicy yeast, date bread, rum cake, coffee, molasses and tart cherry. Flavor is sweet of the front with dark fruit, cocoa, and tart fruit; then turns drier with some leafy-woody hops, rum, and toasted oak. Yeast, wheat, and wooden bubblegum aftertaste on the warm finish. Medium body is watery and dried on the finish with hops and alcohol.