Two Brothers Northwind Imperial Stout

Brewed by Two Brothers Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Warrenville, Illinois USA

Pours very dark, close to black, with a deep brown head. The aroma is fruity and sharp - much sweeter than it should be. There is no roast or bitterness. Medium / light body with fairly soft carbonation. The flavor starts with plastic fruit and roasted malt that is oversweet. The finish has cane sugar and lots of off-fruitiness. An imperial stout that has fallen to hell after sitting about three months??? Thumbs down to the bad aging of this beer. Next year I will sample a fresh bottle and see how much my opinion changes.

Bomber. Pours pretty impressive black, with some brown on the edges and a tan head. The aroma is mild molasses and raisin with some coffee and bitter chocolate floating around, too, and a distant note of something that reminds me of maple syrup. The flavor is chocolate, maple syrup, raisin, and tart acidity at first. The middle smooths out to a sweet caramel, leading into a finish with woodsy hops and a slight bit of roasty astringency. One dimensional, perhaps, but still tasty.

Spicy nose of light fruit tones, specialty coffee treats like cappucino; reaching deeply coaxes hints of toffee & caramel. Pours black. An aggressive pour is needed to coerce the mostly diminishing tan frothy head, the lace left behind is minuscule. The brew is roasted malt through & through with light acidity. Alcohol presence is totally incognito. The surprising finish is long and luscious. The flavor is extremely appealing & well appreciated. The medium body is uber creamy & soft - very, very nice. A very subtle and sophisticated offering in a time when over the top & overpowering imperials are the textbook norm and en vogue.

I really enjoyed this over the holiday weekend. Pours jet black with absoluetly no head to speak of. Black cherries, coffee and roasted malt wafting off of this. Very smooth drink throughout. Not incredibly complex, but stable from beginning to end with a nice brown sugar and chocolate sweetness along with some sweet espresso. Fine beer.

Shared by brewfiend with some decent Johnsonville bratwursts (thanks badgerben!) the Imp Stout pours an near opaque black brew with a thick tan head. Good retention and sticky lacing. Aroma of roasted coffee and whole milk, strawberries, and chocolate. Taste is rich chololate malt, some molasses, and full body. Finish is sweet and thick.

Bomber. This is pretty damn black beer. Lacing is spotty and the head is very whispy, though visibly dark tan. Aroma is roasty, reminds me of fresh ground cheaper coffee blends. A little rum, molasses, licorice,and alcohol make themselves known in the nose. Very heavy on the nutty coffee taste here. I like it. Licorice, tons of soil, raisins, and again, heavy Maxwell House flavors. It’s on the thinner side of imperial stouts, but not watery by any means. Very smooth, very well balanced. Nice and clean. I was expecting something much heavier and richer from Two Brothers, but this makes a nice drink. It’s more enjoyable in the warm weather now.

The imperial stout category is something of a category of giants. Looking at the other beers of this style I’ve reviewed, they’ve been largely excellent. Dark Lord, Old Rasputin, Great Divide Yeti, Brooklyn Black Chocolate, Great Lakes Blackout, and Alesmith Speedway Stout are all fantastic beers full of lots of dry roastiness and full mouthfeels. And this one fell short, at least compared to those others. While I’m a big fan of Two Bros beers, I thought this one was disappointing and not very drinkable. Flavor was not very roasty and mouthfeel was a bit watery. And maybe it was when I had it in my evening, but this beer made me feel exceptionally full which led me not to finish it. Unfortunately, the next day I’m unable to articulate what exactly it was I objected to.

Mostly black in color with a thin caramel head. Nose is deep roasted malts, charred oak, coffee, and hints of chocolate and surprsingly enough: olives. Very weird smelling olives in my beer but somehow it fits with the beer. Smooth and balanced but a little light in body for an Imperial. A very nice beer overall.