Vintage 50 Crazy Ivan Imperial Stout

Brewed by Vintage 50 Restaurant & Brew Lounge
Style: Imperial Stout
Leesburg, Virginia USA

(Sample Date: 3/15/2009 Source:Other) Growler from the brewery. Roasty slightly astringent with a hint of sourness in the aroma. Dark almost opaque with a small tan head. Roasty flavor with hints of wood and whiskey. Some vanilla and dark fruit notes. Nicely done.

Growler courtesy of Maltdawg at the Richmond Gathering, the beginning of the Impy Stout finish for the night. Black, decent head. Chocolate and espresso nose, along with something faintly earthy. Flavor matched, along with a slight vanilla note. Pretty good, but not mind blowing. I’ve come to expect mind blowing in Impy stouts unfortunately.

Draft from the cask. Pours a solid black with a substantial two finger thick, tan head. The head lingers a significant amount of time and leaves behind solid lacing. The nose fills with chocolate, coffee, and roasted malt sweetness. A rich, creamy mouthfeel with low carbonation. The taste is coffee, chocolate, latte, vanilla, and toffee. The alcohol is warming, but otherwise well hidden. The finish lingers with a bit of bitterness. Overall a very good example of style, just a bit on the light side.

Growler courtesy of MaltDawg. Somewhat clear dark black body with ruby highlights and a medium creamy tan head. Roast and coffee aroma with some chocolate hints. Rich coffee and roast aroma with some chocolate notes and a touch of vanilla. Medium body with moderate carbonation.

Almost black with almost no head. Aroma is sour old coffee. Flavor was bitter coffee and malt.

Perfect body, black with a nice dark-tan head. Good lacing on the glass as well. Aroma of coffee, tobacco, molasses, and maybe some bacon. Taste of some dark fruit, coffee and toffee. Smooth ending but nothing of great note.

Sampled from a growler courtesy of maltdawg. Thanks! Pours a dark brown color with a thin head. Poor retention and lacing. Aroma is roasted malts and coffee. Fairly disjointed and unpleasant. Taste is a little better.... roasted malts, chocolate and coffee. Medium bodied.

On tap at Vintage 50. Pours an attractive deep black with a light brown head. Nose of roasted malt and some dark chocolate, coffee - moderate strength aroma. An imperial stout on the lighter end of the scale (8.5% abv) - this one’s very drinkable. Very well-balanced flavor of roasted malt, mocha, some espresso, earthy hop character, some underlying caramel and slight tinge of dark fruits. Not too sweet, astringent or bitter - everything works together quite nicely. The body is light for an imperial stout but not necessarily thin - smooth texture, moderate to light airy carbonation. Sort of like a robust porter/imperial stout hybrid. Overall, nice beer.