Triumph Imperial Stout

Brewed by Triumph Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Princeton, New Jersey USA

Very similar to their Coffee and Cream Stout from what I remember. Almost suspiciously so... Anyway, pours an opaque black with tan thick head, taste is strong and sweet with coffee and chocolate dominating. I thought the palate was balanced nicely, had a good creaminess to it. By far the best at Triumph.

Tap in Princeton. Much lighter version apparently. Poured dark brown with an overly foamy tan head. Foam took away from the aroma which had chocolate, espresso, coffee, caramel and smoke. Roasted coffee and chocolate tastes were pleasant and got stronger as it went down. Palate was creamy but a bit watery.

Strong soy, chick peas, black beans and chocolate in the aroma. Opaque black body with a dense and lasting brown head that recedes to cover and coats the glass. Very sweet chocolate up front with strong notes of rubbing alcohol. Hot, medium full body with fair carbonation and sticky texture. Sampled on tap at the Pennsylvania location of the brewpub with beerbuzzmontreal, MartinT, Rastacouere and Yowie.

Pours a deep black color with a thin light brown head that sticks to the glass. The aroma is mostly sweet with some roastyness. The flavor is very sweet with soy, roasted malt and fruity esters. The body has a light to medium thickness with an oily texture and soft carbonation.

On tap at the New Hope location:

The Lure:
Soy sweetness and roasted malt shyness slowly rise from the bed of dates and raisins they were bathing in. Black beans are evoked strangely, and overall this isn’t appealing enough for the style.

The Festivities:
Coffee beans and dark chocolate evolve into a strong back bitterness which diversifies the forceful sweetness. Flavors appear muddled for now, maybe this is a little too young for my tastes in the style. Not a top notch example imho, but a big and fun hunk of malt sweetness for those who like that.

Transcendence:
I never could eat all my candy at Halloween.

Black, not completely opaque. Fully laced medium-brown head lasts eternally, leaving sheets of foam upon the glass. Strong roastiness takes the role of a foundation whereas brown sugar and licorice replace the usual chocolate and coffee for this afternoon’s performance. It is therefore still richly malty, but appears extremely sweet, floury and anisey to no end, the flavours are thick and sticky and can count on nothing, but raw, brutal roastiness to balance it out, the execution is deemed not to be very motherly. Slight soy sauce and beany, vegetal influence obviously don’t help the cause. Too sweet and not in a vinous/fruity way, I can’t help, but disagree with most previous raters which is too bad as I have lots of respect for some of triumph’s stuff, smoked beers and pale lagers most notably. Don’t get me wrong, but my impression is that we may collectively be overrating imperial stouts a bit!

Yes! I drank this one on tap at their New Hope facility on a cold rainy day, just what I needed. The brown head was almost creamy, unusual in an imperial, and it lasted and lasted as I admired the sip lines and lacing. An appealing, earthy aroma preceded a hoppy strong malt flavor that lightly coated my mouth like 10W-30. The chocolate and coffee flavors are faint, in the right proportion. The finish is strong with a bitter-sweet aftertaste.

So my 100th rating. We made the trip down to Triumph in New Hope. They had the Imperial Stout and being my current top style of beer I figured it was a nice way to ring in my 100th. This beer looked great. Just like an Imperial Stout should. Dark as night with a tan head that stays around the whole time and laces the glass like paint laces the side of a paint can. Aroma of coffe and dark chocolate. Really smooth at first with a bit of a bite at the end. Slightly thin, but still great.