Thunder Canyon Warhead Stout

Brewed by Thunder Canyon Brewery
Style: Imperial Stout
Tucson, Arizona USA

Hand-bottle courtesy of cbkschubert sampled on 1/10/07: Pours an opaque black with dark brown edges and a frothy, wispy-lacing off-white head. Aroma of sweet dark caramely malts with lots of dark chocolate and a touch of plums. Body starts fairly full with nice sweetness and good dark caramel and chocolate malty notes toward a smooth, complex, and balanced finish. A very nice imperial stout.

Hand bottle from cbkshubbert via TURDFERGUSON. Good aroma Chocolate, raisin, caramel/toffee. Bit of a woodiness. Dark blackish brown color. Ok head & lace. Bitter flavor. Roasted grain, fruity. ABV is noticeable in the flavor, Medium body, oily viscous mothfeel, bitter sweet flavor. Very nice. Really liked the mouthfeel . Thanks TF for this rare treat. Made me think I gotta visit my friend I Scottsdale again, soon. My only notes from the NC get together.

(2006 version) Hand-bottled 22 (from a growler) courtesy of cbkshubert. Thaks Craig! Shared with the Carolina Crew at Tom’s house. I got to the tasting and told everyone we need to open this now. It could not have been a more perfect time. Nose and flavor were incredibly chocolately and balanced. Creamy mouthfeel that makes me wanting more. One of the best impys out there. Ummm.....yum. 9/5/9/5/17 (2007 version) This time I have the whole bottle to myself and can make a better rating of what I thought was a pretty fine beer last year. Still pours pretty nicely for a hand-bottle. Aroma is a bit more boozy than I remember, also some raisins and molasses. Flavor has a lot of chocolate, coffee, and a bit of hops. Very nice balance and a nice creamy mouthfeel and finish. 8/4/8/4/17

Pours out a nice black color with a tan head. Aroma has a lot of roasted malts and semi sweet chcolate. Flavor is very much the same with a thick feel to if. Over all this is a great brew!

Bottle sampled at the Carolina tasting, thanks Sam. After hearing about this one for a while, I was glad to finally get to try it. This was the first beer of our tasting. Sam got this in a trade from cbkshubert I am pretty sure. Pours out a dark black color with a tan head that starts from the bottom and goes up. Smell is heavy on the roasted malts and chocolate. Taste is smooth and thick, really creamy stuff. Decent level of carbonation. Very good stuff, very thick, interesting. Thanks for this one Sam!

22 oz bottle via cbkshubert (thanks!). Winter 2006 bottle...Pours almost black with a tiny tan head (hand bottled so to be expected). Nose is vanilla AND subtle chocolate. Taste is chocolate, vanilla, chocolate and more chocolate. And some earthy hops. And then chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate. Did i mention this has chocolate? The nice thing is that it is not a FAKE chocolate. Well there likly is a ton of cacao beans in this, but I think most of it comes from a good grain combo with lots of roasted & chocolate malts and a perfect balance of hops. Full bodied. Silky, creamy and then chewy. Can a beer be all 3? Well this one is!! Low carbonation. Awesome Imp Stout. Bronze prize?! Are you kidding me? If so, then i want to know what 2 are better than this??? World f%#%*n #1 class.! **********3/4/2007 re-reate-Winter 2006 bottle..Why so soon? Because the first time i had it i had already had some IIPA hopbombs beforehand....so was thinking maybe my palette was hosed. But tonight i have only had a wimpy Guinness Draught and half a bottle of DR Imp Stout..and now this...and this is still perfect and completely obliterates everything i have ever tasted. Why? Because it has a perfect Mocha taste with NO off-flavors....simply divine chocolate, a little coffee a little roastiness. This is like a chocolate cheesecake in a bottle! And i repeat, it has NO off-flavors...no excess diactyl, no excess fruity esters, no oxidation.....no excess west coast hops....so no flaws.... A perfect 5.0. ********1/17/08********rating the winter 2007 version-2006 rating was perfect 5’s*************** Growler via cbkshubert (thanks man you frakkin rule!!!). Pours almost pitch black with a nice sized tan head. Nose is muted chocolate, coffee, pine. Tastes like it smells with a very nice balance, however the mocha is much more subdued than last year...bummer, as i love GOOD chocolate and GOOD coffee. It is balanced and tasty, and a very good Imp Stout, but no longer the best i have ever had. Body is medium, carbonation moderate. Good beer, bad nowhere near the perfection they had last year...wtf did they change the recipe so much??!! THis is NOT the same beer..not even CLOSE....Anyways it is somewhere between above average Imp Stout and GOAT IMP stout...and i miss my damned GOAT Thunder Canyon...give it back i say, or be forever forgotten in the endless brands of ’good’ Imp Stouts. Here’s tp hope that next year, you ’S’tand ’Out’ as world class again!!

Poured a dark black but not opaque with a light tan head. The aroma was of sweet milk chocolate that dominated over the roasted malt. Some coffee notes as well. The flavor was sweet with a lightly roasted malt. Sweet finish. mild notes of coffee as well.

Thanks to cbkschubert. An aroma of chocolate and coffee with a hint of brown sugar. An almost black pour with a slight tan head and gooey lacing. A flavor of chocoffeeish roasted malt. A dry start that transistions to a semi sweet background flaor and a nice bitter. A smooth even textured palate that spreads across and is neither slick nor thin. Carbonation was good as well. An overall very good beer. thanks craig