Tampa Bay Iron Rat Imperial Stout

Brewed by Tampa Bay Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial Stout
Tampa, Florida USA

On tap at the brewpub 1/1/07: Pours a nearly opaque black with dark brown edges and a dense, tan nitro head. Aroma of sweet caramel and dark chocolate. Body starts sweet, full and caramely with good mocha balance and a mild bitterness before a sticky, lingering dark chocolate finish. A nice, smooth imperial stout with good flavor.

Draft at TBBC. Pours a thick dark color with a lot of head. Heav\y bodied with hints of coffee, roasted malts. Some hoppiness.Pretty clean finish.

Draft at TBBC. Pours a soft looking black with blood red hues at the fringe. Head is lasting, tan with white swirls. Aroma is all roasted coffee and heavily roasted malt, a little too roasted. Little detectable hop presence. None of the complex aroma I associate with a well made imperial stout. Flavor is about the same, uninspired, but very smooth and drinkable. Average beer from a usually above average brewpub.

Body is a deep, nearly opaque garnet with a small ringing of foam around the edges. Faint aroma of roasted malts and alcohol. Flavor is bursting with roasted barley, coffee, and bittersweet baker’s chocolate. Alcohol is there but not too up front. Finishes dry and warm. Nice, balanced impy.

Poured black with lasting frothy tan head. The aroma was really light. I couldn’t smell hardly anything at all. The flavor however is very nice. There is a burnt and chocolate maltiness that create a both roasted and sweet flavor. About midway the taste becomes just a bit sweeter like molasses. There is just a little sense of alcohol that actually gives the beer added interest in the flavor. It seems the molasses flavor and light alcohol note mix to create an almost oatmeal flavor. This beer works for me.

on nitro-pours a big creamy tan head that laces and black color. Aroma is dark malt-chocolate, perfumy/mint. Taste is dark malt-coffee/chocolate, creamy. Alcohol. Mild carbonation. Not my style but, occasional, sipping. 3.0

Draft at new brewpub. Poured black color with an average creamy off-white head that was mostly lasting with good lacing. Heavy roasted coffee malty aroma. Medium to full body with a creamy texture. heavy roasted balanced flavor with a medium bittersweet finish of moderate duration. Solid drinkable beer.

We enjoyed this one...nice dark black/brown pour....thin brown head. Lots of roasty malt in the nose, some lite smokiness, maybe some choco notes, but it did smell great. Ful bodied...lotsa coffe maltiness in the flavor. Not too different from the regular Iron Rat...just kicked up several notches to the good. Nice bitterness in the finish. Very nice IS.