Left Hand Imperial Stout

Brewed by Left Hand Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial Stout
Longmont, Colorado USA

(br-btl yw/br-lbl, Longmont CO, Rocky Mnt water, with flaked oats, 650ml, $7, 10.4%)

opq-bk, foamy-tan-hd.

sweet dark-chclt brnt-crrnt §mlss §slg aroma.

chclt Ts, roasty co2 T1, oatmeal-stout chclt-stout T2, §lcrc-lqr §brnt-dk-fruit §whisky T3, chrcl whisky Tf.

Pours brown to black with a small foamy head that quickly dissipates. Aroma is quite delicate for an imperial stout, but definitely likable. There are coffee, chocolate and fresh bread abundantly present but there is also a hint of licorice or mint. The flavor is quite earthy and slightly sweet, but mostly bitter. Well balanced. The texture is less grainy than the last few imperial stouts that I have had, this is a quite clean brew. But is has also a little less carbonation. Nice long finish that only slowly fades away.

Bottle. Pours nearly jet-black, with ruby highlights, and a creamy tan head that settles fairly quickly to surface cover. Aroma has notes of milk chocolate, roast malt, nuts, caramel and licorice. Flavour is quite creamy and has notes of roast malt, vanilla, dark chocolate and coffee. Mouthfeel is very smooth, with a hint of alcohol and a nice warm, mildly bitter finish. A very easy drinking Imperial Stout, maybe not the best one around but delicious all the same.

A: Pours a nice deep black color with lots of red showing thru as you swirl the glass. There is a nice large 3 or 4 finger fluffy head that settles down nicely. Lacing is left behind as the contents disappear. S: Not overpowering but nice. There is a smell of nice roasted malt and baker’s chocolate. T: Nice tasting RIS. There is a nice dark roasted malt character which brings out the taste of chocolate mostly with a hint of Cuban coffee. It is rather sweet but I fell it is defined by the definite underlying taste of cherries and dark fruits found in this beer. These added element seem to make it extra special. M: Not on the thick side at all. Rather medium bodied for a RIS. It is creamy though which makes it a real nice drinking stout.

Opaque dark brown body, with some ruby-red glow to it. Some light-brown head. Very intense roasted malts produce an apparent coffee-chocolate aroma. Some floral hoppiness and dark fruits are also present. The taste is dominated by a very robust roastiness, with milk chocolate and espresso notes. Pretty sweet overall. Some dried fruit (figs, prunes, dates) and some floral hoppiness. The finish is bitter, with some lingering dry espresso-like notes. The beer also develops a port-like quality. Medium-to-full body to it. Some carbonation. Velvety smooth. The alcohol is somewhat apparent. The one bottle I had went down quite smoothly, but this is certainly a sipper to be enjoyed in moderation. A very good Imperial stout, very well-brewed.

12oz --> pint glass. Pours blackish brown with very little tan head. Head laces slightly. Has a peaty smokey nose with chocolate and a hint of apricot. Taste is only mildly sweet, very briny and savory with an excellent bitter finish. Mouthfeel full bodied, creamy and mildly carbonated. Overall, I was quite pleased with this one. Well done!

Pours a dark, dark brown that is close to a black with a thin tan layer of what I guess you could call a head... I will not though. Smells like dark chocolate with a bit of cough syrup thrown in. Tastes almost the same as the smell but with some booze in the back ground. Has some depth and complexity... but also a little thin. Not bad at all for the price... I would buy another.

Poured dark brown with lighter hints at ruby. A thin bit of tan made up the head. Lots of roasted malt, coffee and some chocolate for the aroma. The flavor was really similar to the aroma. Mouthfeel was on the thin side. A really standard, middle of the road example.