t Smisje Catherine The Great Imperial Stout

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

Very fruity aroma, with plums, cherries, chocolate, licorice. Spicy and complex. Medium-dark brown with lots of orange and a huge, fluffy, tan head. Very fruity and alcoholic taste. Mandarin oranges, raisins, and plums, with some brandied chocolate cherries and tons of toffee. Very hoppy, bitter finish. Lots of spicy hot brandy. Wild stuff. Very sweet, very hot, very spicy. I dig it, though at times it seems a bit out of control. Not very stout-like, even for a Belgian stout!

11.2oz bottle. Pours an orange-brown, mahogany colored body with a finger-width, creamy, lighter brown head that dissipates slowly and leaves lots of lacing. The lack of blackness was quite surprising. Aroma is quite fruity up front with some overripe plummy esters, raisins, and yeast. Behind the fruitiness is some tobacco smoke, chocolate, and sweeter caramels. Flavor is quite woody with a distinct bitterness. Yeasty fruits and sweeter plum esters join the dry, woodiness up front before some smoked roasts, ashy chocolates come in. A light amount of sweet caramels come in along with a good amount of spices before this finishes with a dry, woody bitterness and some smoke, yeast, a light estery fruit, and a chalky chocolate. A hint of alcohol warmth as well. Medium length aftertaste after a medium body and slightly high carbonation level. Overall, an interesting impy. Surprises all-around from the color to the flavor. Dry, smokey, and woody with a unique malt sweetness and estery plum fruitiness. Not the most complex, but intriguing nonetheless.

11.2 ounce bottle from Wine & Beer Westpark. Pours a dark brown color with a medium brown head. Good head retention and lacing. Aroma of roasted malts, smoke, berry notes, oak. Taste is roasted malts, nuts, tobacco, smoke, vanilla, leafy hops. Medium bodied. Good stout.

A deep dark brown stout with a thick moka head. In aroma, pleasant chocolate and plums, with notes of Brett, smooth and complex, light cork notes. In mouth, a funky chocolate malt with wood extract, black tar, Brett notes, very enticing and complex. On tap at St-Bock, Dec. 5 2009.

dark and dense brown with a massive head that settles quickly to thin bubbles with whitewash lacing. Aroma has raisins, dates and lots of esthers and ketones, smells like a chemistry lab experiment. Taste starts off with sweet dark fruit and chocolate, then acidity creeps in, then intense smokiness. Nicely complex and interesting. Not quite chewy, but substantial body. Not sure I can deal with the aroma, maybe it will grow on me. Maybe laying it down for a year will help. For nor, it’s decent enough to give it a try.

bottle courtesy of fata, thank you! talk about liquid bread, the hell with giunny! this stuff pours thick and opaque brown with some lil crusty, floury floaties. the nose is of dough, lots of dough! sweet with vanilla and butterscotch extracts, some hop flour dust. the taste is full on fresh dough, a hint of cinnamon, with a very present hop bitterness in the back. the mouthfeel is super, super full, chewy, and creamy. it lingers and makes you want a drink of water to wash it down. nice.

Bottle. Brown color. Tiny floaties . Malt, caramel, raisin, chocolate and a hint of ash in the aroma. Ashy, caramelly sweet flavor with roast and chocolate. Rhum. Hints of upcoming tartness. Just a touch of alcohol. Not bad, but not flawless.

Bottle, 33 cl. Dark brown beer with huge white/beige head, ubstablle and lacing and lasting. Fantastic head in one word. Sweet and grainy smell. Taste of coffee and caramel with a bitter aftertaste. Good stout, but there are definitely better (and more complex) ones.