Thirsty Dog Siberian Night Imperial Stout

Brewed by Thirsty Dog Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Akron, Ohio USA

Finally, after two unsuccessful attempts at rating this beer (both met an untimely demise with the ground) I get a chance at redemption and give this one a go (the others smelled really good while mixed with broken shards of glass). I like to think that after drinking this wonderful beer, the people at Thirsty Dog made this beer, just for someone like me.

The beer oozes out of the bottle with a jet black body and a 1/2" dark tan head. Aroma erupts with coffee and chocolate notes, like smelling a cake batter that just had a cup of espresso dumped into it. Anise, vanilla, and molasses really round it out. Flavor bears the weight of the dark chocolate and coffee with ease, never over-the-top and just right I think. Scorched campfire marshmallows, burnt caramel, and molasses just echo the intensity of the flavors. The "3rd time" definitely is a charm.

Bottle, 12oz, from trade with theepeeist. It’s a black beer topped by a lasting, tan head leaving lacings. Coffee and chocolate dominates the aroma, some tar is also let in. The flavor has the same chocolate and coffee found in the aroma, with some tar and a good roasted bitterness lasting for a long time. Full-bodied and dry, with some warmth. A really nice beer, and a good companion with some dark chocolate with dark orange. 090822.

Bottle. Black colour with brown head. Aroma is coffee, roasted malt, grain. Flavour is sweet, coffee, roasted malt, hop, grain, chocolate. Full bodied nice beer.

dark, with a creamy tan head. big roasted barley aroma... coffee notes. taste is big with nice hop bitterness up front.. enough to balance out the massive deep roasted, coffee, chocolate and caramel malt flavors that follows. thick mouth feel with a nice resiny finish.

The roasted malts, coffee wins out over chocolate in the aroma. Maybe some vanilla in there. Not bad at all, but a little simple. The appearance is dark, dark brown, completely opaque, nice tan head. The flavor is awesome, much more than the aroma led me to expect. Flavors of chocolate, cocoa powder, roasted coffee, cream, molasses. The finish haas a nice bittering, mainly from the roasted malts. Slight pine hop in there, too. The mouthfeel is an awesome thick, full body, light on carbonation, creamy. An excellent beverage.

Appearance: Pours a midnight brown with a thin, tan head. Atop lies frothy swirls. Aroma: Cocoa powder, roasted malt, vanilla and hop spice. Taste: Burnt malts, black coffee, toffee and dark chocolate. Mouthfeel: Spicy and fizzy. Medium bodied. Overall: Very flavorful, balanced. Very roasty and spicy.

Bottle. Black pour with an even tan head. Nutty cocoa aroma with light alcohol and lightly roasted. Roast is stronger on the flavor, with the roast and alcohol up front, and then some chocolate comes in. Nice and warming.

12oz bottle brought back with me on my trip to Philly. Pours a black body with a finger-width, brown head that dissipates quickly and leaves some creamy lacing with an above average retention. Aroma has lots of molasses up front with creamy, sweet chocolates as well. Lots of malty caramels with plenty of sweeter, lightly smoked roasts, dark fruits, and fudge. A bit of a vanilla soy milk as well. Flavor has lots of sweeter flavors up front as well as lots of roasts. The roasts aren’t very hard roasted, but much sweeter and milder. Lots of chocolate, molasses, and caramels with a light smoke, wood, and milky vanilla. Some darker fruits and brown sugar come out towards the end before this ends with lots of sweet, smokey roasts, malts, and creamy chocolates that linger for a long duration. Dry with a light to medium body, mouth coating, and very smooth with a nice balanced and lots of flavor. Overall, its like a 3 Muskateers bar or a coffee loaded with creamer. Lots of sweet flavors, but plenty of roasts that never become acidic or hard. A nice, somewhat subtle fruit as well as plenty of sweet caramels and molasses. No hint of alcohol, silky smooth, and well balanced. Very nice.