smellysell
Go Vols!!!
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2007
- Messages
- 9,915
My man Charlie hooked me up with a couple of bottles of this a while back and they’ve been sitting in the “cellar” since. They’ve tempted me a couple times but the other night when I was chatting with the guys at the Club Caribe HERF, Charlie asked if I had tried it yet. I decided what better time and grabbed one of the bottles to crack open, just to be interrupted and have to put it back without drinking it. The next night I had some time so I sat down and took some notes. Thanks again Charlie for sending me these.
Style – Imperial Stout
ABV – 12%
Brewed In – San Diego, CA
Availability – Brewed Year Round
Appearance
Pours a crisp, jet black, with an almost nonexistent, light tan head. Very clear, if that makes sense for such a dark beer, I guess “uncloudy” might be more accurate/make more sense. For how incredibly thin the head is, it actually had pretty heavy lacing. Wish some agitation, the color of the head change completely to a much darker tan, with an orangish hue. This only lasted momentarily though, and the head and lacing was back to the light tan, almost white.
Smell
The smell was surpisingly mild and understated. Hints of burnt malts and dark chocolate. The most predominant smell though was definitely alcohol. For a beer that is brewed with coffee, I was surprised to not catch any hints of it in the aroma.
Taste
Huge burnt dark/bittersweet chocolate flavor up front. Some mild bitterness in the middle, that I guess might have been the coffee? I kept waiting for the coffee in this beer and it never came though, so maybe I just talked myself into the bitterness being coffee. Finished with a noticeable alcohol burn, but nothing that was unpleasant by any means. The flavors are all what I’ve come to expect from an imperial stout, but the perfect balance of all of them is what stood out to me. Very smooth, well balanced beer. Very near perfection IMHO.
Feel
Definitely not the syrup you get with some imperial stouts, but not thin either by any means. Coats the mouth nicely and is very creamy. Very smooth with the low carbonation you would expect from an imperial stout. As far as the style goes, I have to agree with the above description that it is fairly crisp.
Verdict
While it is still a sipper for sure, the thinner body combined with the amazing balance makes this perhaps the most drinkable IS I’ve had. I love this beer and can’t say enough good things about it. Sadly I only have one more and it will take some work to get some more. Thank you so much Charlie for giving me the opportunity to try this.
Style – Imperial Stout
ABV – 12%
Brewed In – San Diego, CA
Availability – Brewed Year Round
Appearance
Pours a crisp, jet black, with an almost nonexistent, light tan head. Very clear, if that makes sense for such a dark beer, I guess “uncloudy” might be more accurate/make more sense. For how incredibly thin the head is, it actually had pretty heavy lacing. Wish some agitation, the color of the head change completely to a much darker tan, with an orangish hue. This only lasted momentarily though, and the head and lacing was back to the light tan, almost white.
Smell
The smell was surpisingly mild and understated. Hints of burnt malts and dark chocolate. The most predominant smell though was definitely alcohol. For a beer that is brewed with coffee, I was surprised to not catch any hints of it in the aroma.
Taste
Huge burnt dark/bittersweet chocolate flavor up front. Some mild bitterness in the middle, that I guess might have been the coffee? I kept waiting for the coffee in this beer and it never came though, so maybe I just talked myself into the bitterness being coffee. Finished with a noticeable alcohol burn, but nothing that was unpleasant by any means. The flavors are all what I’ve come to expect from an imperial stout, but the perfect balance of all of them is what stood out to me. Very smooth, well balanced beer. Very near perfection IMHO.
Feel
Definitely not the syrup you get with some imperial stouts, but not thin either by any means. Coats the mouth nicely and is very creamy. Very smooth with the low carbonation you would expect from an imperial stout. As far as the style goes, I have to agree with the above description that it is fairly crisp.
Verdict
While it is still a sipper for sure, the thinner body combined with the amazing balance makes this perhaps the most drinkable IS I’ve had. I love this beer and can’t say enough good things about it. Sadly I only have one more and it will take some work to get some more. Thank you so much Charlie for giving me the opportunity to try this.
.
