This beer received a 98/100 rating on http://www.ratebeer.com and an 87/100 on http://www.beeradvocate.com so it is nut just a gimmick but a great beer.

Commercial Description:  This imperial stout is brewed with copious amounts of speciality malts, jasmine and cranberries. After fermentation we then dry-hop this killer stout with a bucketload of our favourite hops before carefully ageing the beer on French toasted oak chips.

It is all about moderation. Everything in moderation, including moderation itself. What logically follows is that you must, from time, have excess. This beer is for those times.

Rating: 5.35/5

Barrel Aged Wreck Alley by Karl Strauss is a 10%ABV Imperial Stout brewed with Cocoa Nibs and Coffee Beans and aged in Bourbon Oak Barrels.

Label: 
When we tasted the first batch of Wreck Alley Imperial Stout, we knew barrel-aged versions were in the cards. The only questions were when and how often? Batch #1 answers the first question, and as for Batch #2, you’ll just have to wait and see. Brewed with the same darkly-kilned malts, Tcho cocoa nibs, and Ethiopian coffee beans from Bird Rock Coffee Roasters, Batch #1 was aged three months in American oak bourbonbarrels. The resulting brew is a dark, unblended, and richly flavored union of dark chocolate, espresso, and toasted oak. Grab a bottle while you can, this limited release won’t be around for long
___

Been waiting a while for the right time to get this. The fragrance of this beer is of nice dark, milk and bakers chocolate, coffee, some vanilla, some bourbon and funky oak. The flavors are very good and it was a surprise as the fragrances weren’t as complex. The flavors are of a lot Milk chocolate, vanilla, very rich dulce de caramel which is unlike many beers I have tried, a good amount of funky oak, grapes, plums, berries and creme, minor bourbon and almost like a chocolate and blueberry cheese cake flavor. This almost reminds me of the Hellshire II. The Coffee is not as strong or bitter as the smell but it is still there to lend a mocha like twist. It is highly drinkable which is very surprising. Not only is this a 10%ABV beer but the boozyness or even bourbon lends a hand only enough to make this incredible. This may not be like the utmost ABV high of dessert beers I have ever had but, simply because it is a rich and thick dessert beer with hardly any sense of alcohol that I could find offending or even attributing, I still consider this a great beer. I like it a lot. I really think it has to do with my love for rich sweet beers like chocolate rain or organic chocolate. Hell, it lends to hints of berries and crème. That’s good stuff!! Sometimes you don’t have to be highly impacting or complex to get to the sweetness that is a great beer. Some people may not find it as great because it is not a supreme bourbon bomb dessert but regardless it is still a winner and a favorite of mine now.

It would seem I’m late to the party on Narwhal, Sierra Nevada’s imperial stout. I’d never had this beloved brew until recently. Shame on me.

Emerging from the depths of oblivion, I finally know what everyone’s talked about with this brew, which sits at 93 on Beer Advocate.

Fittingly, the beer pours a midnight black, matching the dark chasms where its mysterious namesake dwells in the ocean. Deep aromas of dark chocolate and Chocolate malt dominate the nose of Narwhal, piercing through residual scents of vanilla cream, roasted coffee and figs. At 10.2 percent, it’s hard to ignore a warm, boozy bite at the end of each sniff. Cinnamon, charred wood and bittersweet cocoa nibs send you on your way home.

The beer offers a very dry mouthfeel and has a hard bitterness to it, no doubt aided by the use of high-alpha acid Magnum hops in the bittering process. English-bred Challenger hops are also used and are perfect for this type of UK-inspired dark ale with just a peep of earthy spiciness. Chocolate, Carafa and Caramel malts make for a bakeshop collection of tastes – think sweet rolls and freshly-made bread. While sweet caramel dances across every sip, there’s plenty of baked bread tastes and every sip finished with flavors of dark chocolate and roasted grain.

I’m keeping this on my radar for next year’s version.

Narwhal stats:

• Malt: Two-row Pale, Caramel, Chocolate, Honey, Carafa and roasted barley
• Hops: Magnum and Challenger
• Adjuncts/additives: N/A
• ABV: 10.2 percent
• Brewery: Sierra Nevada of Chico, California

+Bryan Roth
“Don’t drink to get drunk. Drink to enjoy life.” — Jack Kerouac

After adding to their current stash of less than 100 oak barrels, Green Flash will use the newly acquired Heaven Hill barrels to age Silva Stout for 15-18 months, ramping up production to 6,000 cases. Early plans are for release and distribution during mid-2014, but as with all barrel-aged beers, this “will be ready when it’s ready.”

Green Flash’s plans for a second production brewery in Virginia Beach (mirroring their San Diego location) also include a barrel program, so expect to see even more from brewmaster Chuck Silva and company in the future.

In this video, Dave, Doug, & Morey sip on a BIG beer from The Bruery out of California. This is none other than Black Tuesday (19.2% Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels)!

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@ErieBetterBeer on twitter

Jag ber om ursäkt för den dåliga bilden, när jag tog fotot tyckte jag det såg bra ut på mobilskärmen. Men i den större verisonen på datorn så ser jag tydligt hur suddig den blev.

När ölen hälls upp är den bläcksvart och har ett brunt skum som snabbt lade sig. Vilket syns på bilden då det endast är en tunn hinna kvar där.

Ölen doftar av russin, karamell, vanilj, fatlagring och rostad malt. Här finns även toner av alkohol.

Smaken är full av whisky, söta torkade frukter, lakrits och fatlagring. Ölen inhandlades i maj och har sedan dess hunnit lagras lätt, vilket jag tror att den har vunnit på. Den är något för spritig, men jag anar att den som nyköpt måste smakat ordentligt av sprit. Nu verkar smakerna har landat lite och hunnit växa ihop lite mer.

Sammantaget kan jag säga att det är en rätt bra öl. Men jag får erkänna att jag är något besviken på den. Hr. Frederiksen är, som sagt, en favorit för mig, men den här versionen upplever jag som något för tunn och spritig. Jag har en flaska till, den ska jag ställa längst bak i skåpet och hoppas på att tiden kan lyfta smakerna en nivå till.

Betyg? Det landar till slut på 3/5. Jag var nära på att sätta 2,5p, men jag vill nog ändå höja den till 3p. Men ja, det är kanske en något svag 3:a.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, the announcement is finally here. Three Floyds’ Dark Lord Day 2013 will descend upon the Munster, Indiana brewery on April 27, with tickets going on sale at Noon Central time on Sunday, March 17.

Ready for the trademark FFF twist? Admission price has officially tripled over the past couple years, hitting $30 per person for the 2013 installment. Despite rumors about moving the event to a larger location, all signs point to this still going off at the brewery, so prepare to get cozy and comfy with your fellow bearded beer geek brethren (veteran DLD attendees already know).

Landing tickets for the event has been nothing short of a headache for the past few years, and Three Floyds took steps this time to limit reselling and scalping. There is a TWO TICKET limit per person, with the purchasers name printed on the tickets. IDs will be checked at the gate and need to match the corresponding name. Please note, buying two tickets DOES NOT give you two allotments of Dark Lord, as each person will only be allowed to purchase their share (which is still TBD).

The groups (for purchasing Dark Lord):

• Group A – 10 am to 12 pm
• Group B – 12 pm to 2 pm
• Group C – 2 pm to 4 pm
• Group D – 4 pm to 6 pm
• Group E – 6 pm to 8 pm

The rules:

• No Coolers
• No Furniture
• No Pets
• 2 Tickets per person
• No Reselling
• PURCHASER NAME WILL BE PRINTED ON TICKET
• 21 & Over Only
• General Admission

Buy tickets here. Good luck, you’re going to need it. Info regarding bottle limits, barrel-aged Dark Lords, bands, food and taplists are still forthcoming from the brewery.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company,
Imperial Stout, 10.2%

This label is the best.

This beer is topping off my week of posts on the Cold Nights pack. It’s a new release from Sierra Nevada this winter. It usually comes in a 4 pack with a slightly elevated price over their usual offerings. I will be honest, I have had this beer quite  few times already and am thrilled to review it for you now. So let’s begin.

It pours..black. Light is not getting through here. It sports a tan/brown head under an inch thick, which doesn’t stick around. First sniff, the aroma is big. Chocolate, coffee and just…booze. A little vanilla sneaks in also. The first taste: Oomph. Strong coffee flavor and heavy booziness. It’s very bitter all the way through, like bakers chocolate. I believe if a Narwhal drank this, it’d stay nice and toasty down in the dark depths. It’s doing a good job on me, I feel warmer already just a few sips in. The mouthfeel is hefty. It’s nice and chewy, sticks to you a little bit. Alcohol content is, obviously, very high and noticeable at 10.2%. This is absolutely snifter and sipping worthy.  I put it in a pint glass, but it really deserved a snifter or tulip glass. Don’t drink straight out of the bottle if you can help it; this guy deserves to breathe some.

Overall, this is a great beer. I raved about it all winter to my co-workers. I like imperial stouts a lot and this one does not disappoint. I would be happy to stock up on this for the months it’s not available. It’s not for the faint of heart. Packs a real wallop and does it well, just like any of Sierra’s beers. They aren’t always the definitive example of a beer style, but they do everything they do with conviction. This is a solid beer and I’ll be excited to see it continue to come out each year. Narwhal release day will definitely go on my calendar.

I’m digging into my box o’ Canadian beers tonight and pulling out an Imperial Stout. I didn’t have anything in the fridge (except a long Budweiser) and I wanted a beer faster than it would have taken to cool anything else to my desired temperature, so I’m going with the darkest thing I have. It’s a 6.5% ABV “Stout Moka”, which I would believe translates to Mocha Stout. I absolutely desserty flavor combinations in heavier, darker beers (especially in combination with chocolate) so I’m looking forward to seeing this take on it. The beer was C$2.99 for a 341mL bottle.

The label tells a story about poor English people from back in the day and how they loved to get drunk and unload cargo ships. There’s a really cool drawing of such a limey boozehound carrying a sack of something without any shoes on.

My pour was horrible, which is pretty unfortunate, and the resulting head spilled slightly. Amateur hour over here. The beer is surprisingly light and smooth, with a pretty sharp carbonated bite at the end, which is nice. It’s a little sweeter than I would have liked, and while I’m not tasting much mocha, there is a subtle taste of vanilla that plays really nicely. The alcohol taste is a bit too strong, but otherwise it’s a really solid beer. As it breathes, it retains that strong booze taste; in fact, it only seems to get stronger. It’s really unfortunate, because the light body is something that I’ve apparently been struggling to find recently and if it wasn’t for the alcoholic aftertaste, this would be a top 10 stout for sure.

Will Your Girlfriend Like It? My girlfriend says “Rich and savory, yet sweet. I like.”

How far would you go for your favorite Craft Beer??

Fans of Cigar City Brewing Co. (Tampa, FL) and the cult-like following of their limited-release Hunahpu Imperial Stout drew a crowd of approximately 10,000 people for the release party. This was a release party for the die-hard serious Craft Beer fan, because they only had 12,000 bottles available for sale and limited each customer to only purchase 3 of their 22-ounce bottles. Hopeful beer lovers were in line for up to 24-hours waiting for the chance to chug this ultra rare brew.

Are you a Long Island Craft Beer fan? Join our Meetup group for FREE: www.meetup.com/licraftbeer

Cheers to the 10,000+ brave Craft Brew lovers who endured the lines and were able to get their hands on the 22-ounce bottles!

St. Patrick’s Day Party & LI Craft Beer Event this Saturday March 16th from 6:00pm – 10:00pm@ Hoptron Brewtique. FREE Corned Beef & cabbage! FREE to play Craft Beer Trivia game and prizes!  FREE Admission! But the Beer costs extra! http://www.meetup.com/LICraftBeer/events/107660612/

Check out Patch.com and our featured St. Patrick’s Day Party & LI Craft Beer Event this Saturday March 16th from 6:00pm – 10:00pm@ Hoptron Brewtique. FREE Corned Beef & cabbage! FREE to play Craft Beer Trivia game and prizes!  FREE Admission! But the Beer costs extra!

http://patchogue.patch.com/blog_posts/st-patricks-day-party-long-island-craft-beer-event-at-hoptron-brewtique-on-saturday-march-16th

Bristol Beer Factory: Imperial Stout Aged In Whisky Cask (England: Imperial Stout: 10.5% ABV)

Visual: Black, creamy beige froth that descend quickly to islands over the main body.

Nose: Roasted. Raspberry and Blueberry. Milky coffee. Smooth. Slight washing  up liquid early on, dissipates quickly. Twigs. Spirity. Salted toffee.

Body: Bitter. Hazelnuts. Big chocolate. Salted toffee cheesecake. Blueberry hints. Cloying feel. Chalk touch.

Finish: Raw chocolate and bitter. Roasted hazelnuts. Cheesecake. Cloying cream. Toasted teacakes.

Conclusion: So what to say, here at the end of the 12 stouts of Christmas 2012? A fine thick yet slick texture, that cloying touch toned down so it has only just a hint of Russian porter style in there. Big chocolate bitterness and roasted. The base beer rides the style with excellent aplomb.

The whisky influence is interesting. There are berry hints, not too heavy, but sprouting from the beer when you least expect it. You have that layered against a salted toffee cheesecake dryness, so yes very interesting. This tart against dry over a heavy base means from moment to moment you could get anything from refreshing to viscous to lingering mouth drying character. A ride to be sure,

Heavy and sinks down into your belly, seems to leave the flavours in weighted dregs in its passing. The remains bloom into new flavour in the extended finish, resurging again and again to keep the beer present long after the last sip.

Spirit touched, tingling alcohol prickles promise warning of its punch, but never hurts the beer by becoming burning.  For all the added elements the whisky gives, the beer keeps very much to the thick and heavy feel of a traditional stout, avoiding the liquore like smoothness that a lot of new wave Imperial Stouts use.

The traditional weight is a boon to me, the extra grip for flavour makes it easy to examine, and lets you take your time with it.  For all its range it doesn’t deviate too much from its core concept in strong heavy flavours. This makes it initially less impressive, but helps reinforce its excellent character over time.

A beer to take your time with and allow it to flow through you.

Background: Whisky cask, whisky cask, could you generic up that a bit for me? Actually the bottle blurb is a bit more helpful, listing it as Speyside whisky but still no further details. This is the final of the 12 stouts of Christmas Beers!  Only took me a quarter of the year.  Still, been a worthy run so far, I’d say in general just slightly higher quality than last year, though the first run had the advantage of being a completely new idea and thus has more of the spark of the new. Now just to wait for next year’s run.  Drunk while listening to Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile. It seemed to match well to the beer. Especially Starfuckers inc.

Ok, so I’m out after work on a Monday, I thought I would stop in at a local place, Dan Diego’s. It’s a nice place, its small, it quiet. They have an impressive Belgium selection, I went for beer in a can. What!? Beer in a can? Yeah, TenFIDY by Oskar Blues brewery. I’m quite impressed, it is very, very rich, perfect for a chilly day, not that it is chilly here in san Diego.
This robust malty beverage kicked my tongues ass, well only on sip number 1. This is a great imperial stout, I’ve had a few to compare, old Rasputin, Stone Imperial Stout. My comparison base is broad, but this little guy is well worth the $7.00, with its mellow aroma and sweet after taste.
I’m always excited to try new stouts, especially imperial.., they take so long to (and right here my phone died.) to brew, they can take upwards of 6 months to ferment competely……….
Fast forward, its Friday now, I’m having another at the same place, Dan Diegos. Ok,……… It is still tasty, its like and iced espresso, super yummy. So, the moral of this story is, take notes when reviewing beers, charge your cell phone and always tip your bar tender.

Stats:
Style – imperial stout.
ABV 10.5%
$$$$….. $7.00 for 12oz

I give this one a 7 out of 10.

Please drink responsibly and put your beer in a glass.

Appearance  5/5

As black as can be from the very beginning of the pour. The head was a nice coffee color with good persistent thickness and a very clingy lacing.

Aroma  5/5

Dark, sweet, red fruit. Strong aroma hops. Malt. Honey. Coffee. Caramel. Perfect.

Palate  5/5

It has that thick velvet softness that you expect from an excellent imperial stout but it’s also heavy and has a bite that grows the longer you hold it in your mouth, due to the high alcohol content. It was an interesting contrast. Usually with this style, I want to hold it in my mouth for a long time to see how fluffy it will get. But the alcohol tingle made me want to swallow it before it became painful. After it was down, my palate cleared up very quickly and I couldn’t wait to take another sip.

Flavor  5/5

Even before the beer touches your lips, your tongue is ready to accept coffee malt sweetness because of the aroma. But I was surprised to find that those tones don’t show up until the end. The first thing I tasted was fruit. Well, probably a chocolate covered fruit. Chocolate covered black cherries. Dark, unsweetened, baker’s chocolate covered black cherries. After that the caramel, coffee, malt, and hops that you’d expect from a great imperial stout reared their heads. But that initial fruit quality is what really puts this over the top for me.

Overall  20/20

If this wasn’t so expensive, I’d buy a whole case of it. Mikkeller – Black Hole has just skipped in line to top of my list of personal favorites. Usually, I finish these reviews before I’m even half done with the beer. But this time, my glass is nearly empty. I couldn’t put it down.

MUSIC PAIRING:  This beer promised to be the epitome of a dark, heavy, brooding, slow-sipping imperial stout. So I decided to throw on the darkest, heaviest, most depressing record I own. And I own a lot of doom metal so that’s saying a lot. But when looking through my record collection, I couldn’t find anything heavier, nor anything that made me feel more “black” inside, than the Chelsea Wolfe/King Dude 7″ Split. Specifically the song “Fight Like Gods” on Chelsea Wolfe’s side of the album. If you’re a sad drunk, I don’t recommend listening to this song when inebriated. If you’re a happy drunk, it’ll make you a sad drunk. It was perfect.

Sip slowly and enjoy in good company.

P.S. I just noticed that there is a shit ton of yeast settled in the bottom of my glass so if you don’t like that, be sure to decant it off. Personally, I’m planning to drink it.

P.P.S. Fight like Gods by Chelsea Wolfe might be the darkest and most heavy record I own at the moment but that’s because I only just ordered “Sex Tape/Snuff Film” by Bongripper and it hasn’t arrived yet. I wonder if my music pairing would have gone differently……..

Rating: 5.75/5

Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout 2012 by Cigar City Brewing is an 11%ABV Imperial Stout Aged on cacao nibs, ancho and pasilla chiles, cinnamon and Madagascar Vanilla Beans. This was released in March 2012 so it is almost exactly 1 year of aging.

Label:
In Mayan mythology, Hun Hunahpu was the father of the Mayan hero twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque. Hun Hunahpu, along with his brother Vucub Hunahpu, was tricked by the Dark Lords of the underworld and slain. Hun Hunahpu’s corpse morphed into a cacao tree, his head becoming a cacao pod, which in typically awesome mythology fashion, spit upon the hand of a young maiden named Xiquic who promptly became pregnant with the hero twins. The twins would ultimately grow up to avenge their father and uncle and defeat the Dark Lords and ascend to the heavens to become the moon and sun

We brew Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout once a year and release it only at the brewery. We will continue to do so until the end of the cycle.
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Rated to be the 4th best Imperial Stout in the world. 100% world class. This version is aged almost exactly 1 year. I can only assume this is like a response to Dark Lord de Muerte from the Three Floyds as it is brewed with chiles also. Never the less, this is something special. Aromas immediately rush the nose several inches from this liquid of gods. Fragrances of Very strong Dark chocolate, Milk chocolate, Khalua, Chocolate Abuelita, chile spices from the ancho and pasilla, some vanilla, coffee, strong bourbon, vanilla, flan, cinnamon, champurrado, dulce de leche caramel, molasses, piloncillo sugar cone, oak, cherries and alittle bit of coconut. The flavors are of smokey roasted pasilla and ancho chiles but without the heat, dark chocolate, Khalua, coffee, chocolate abuelita, mole, champurrado, cherry, raisins, prunes, molasses, vanilla, small amount of earthy bitterness, cinnamon sticks, ginger bread, alittle bit of dulce de leche, piloncillo sugar cone, tamarind, oak wood and maple syrup. Initially, the chile spices would take over but then as the beer got warmer, it let a massive amount sweet chocolate flavors pull through with vanilla and cinnamon dancing all over. A delicious beer that is truly world class. While it definitely surpasses a great amount of world beers, I believe it is really preference based. While this one is very sweet and has the spiciness to cancel out the over powered sweetness, many people will find this appealing over more “Diabetes in a bottle” types like Dark Lord, Black Tuesday, Grey Monday or Chocolate rain (some of my ultimate favorites). For me I like the extra sweetness in some beers, but this has so much flavor of my culture written all over, fragrance and taste alike. In terms of Chile beer Imperial Stouts, hands down, The best in the world Chile beer right next to the Dark Lord de Muerte.

Another local Pennsylvania brewery is picking up steam, with Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company announcing their first limited release at the brewery on Saturday, March 9. After months of work, their bottling line is up and running, as the inaugural bottling of Tribute Tripel and County Line IPA made their debut at the brewery on March 1.

Saturday’s event features Coconut Mudbank Milk Stout, a spin on their seasonal beer brewed with coconut milk, coconut cream, and ‘dry nutted’ with shredded coconut, coming in at 7.2% ABV.

The details:

• 1000 bottles produced (with most available at the brewery, some distro)
• Limit 3 per person, $10 per 22 ounce bottle
• Doors open at noon
• NO growler fills of Coconut Mudbank
• Limited kegs will be available at area bars

Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company is located at 909 Ray Ave in Croydon.

Pours dark black highlighted with amber brown streaks. The liquid develops a thin layer of dark tan head that leaves some lacing down the glass. When cold there is a very strong, almost sharp flavor, it’s sweet and alcoholic. The coffee comes up  in the nose with lots of dark baker’s chocolate in the finish. Hint of vanilla in the nose and the open. It’s a little bit of an odd combination for me, it reminds me of vanilla sweetener in black coffee.  It’s a slow drinker so a bomber can last hours.

Since I was not totally satisfied with the initial flavor I was not afraid to try some dessert pairings. Firs up were Scottish butter cookies, they bring out a little more sweetness and vanilla though also seem to increase the hit of the alcohol. Luckily as the liquid warm it becomes more creamy, lessening that dry black coffee combination that I’m not a fan of. Next up I tried a Linzer cookie, this brings out a weird metallic flavor, from the acid in the fruit jam.   In the end I just stuck with the beer by itself. I was never totally satisfied with the flavor but letting it warm certainly helps. The mix of the coffee and the vanilla from the barrel aging is just too much.

I helgen öppnade jag en av mina flaskor av Uinta Crooked Line Labyrinth Black Ale 13,2% från 2011. Uinta Brewing Company är ett bryggeri som grundades 1993 i ett mekanikergarage i Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. Deras Uinta Crooked Line Labyrinth Black Ale  är en imperial stout som bryggts tillsammans med lakritsstavar innan den lagrats på ekfat. Det är en stor flaska, 750 ml, och jag kände därför att det var fördelaktigt att vi var tre personer som delade på flaskan.

När den hälldes upp var vätskan riktigt mörkt brunsvart med ett tunt brunsvart skum som snabbt lägger sig helt.

Den har en underbart mörk doft av choklad, kaffe, lakrits, anis och en doft som jag bäst kan beskriva som… soja? Doften är komplex men samtidigt enkel eftersom de olika tonerna verkar balanseras väl mot varandra.

Den smakar väldigt fint av välrostat kaffe med bitter mörk choklad och lite bär. I smaken blandas söt- och saltlakrits väldigt fint. Avslutet är beskt och torrt och eftersmaken är full av lakrits.

Det är en väldigt lättdrucken öl för att vara över 13%. Fatlagringen har troligen bidragit till att mildra några av de grövre smakerna, men i övrigt märks inte fatlagringen av i någon större utsträckning. Det är en välbalanserad öl med tydlig karaktär av lakrits. Men jag får här erkänna att jag älskar lakrits, de som inte gillar lakrits lika mycket kommer säkert inte hålla med mig om mitt höga betyg. Det är en riktigt bra öl. Har några flaskor till som jag ska spara för att se hur de utvecklar sig.

Betyg? Det är en väldigt bra öl, jag ger den därför 4,5/5.

/Jeez Louise

At last, this finest of stouts that I have held up as the peak and paragon of imperial brews, that I have proclaimed as the elusive standard which all others seek and so often fall short, is painstakingly reviewed and (exquisitely enjoyed). Great Divide Brewing Company’s  year round stout is a midnight malty mix of warm and indulgent roasted coffee caramel flavors that is rounded off with a wonderful bite of hops. This mix of malts and hops gives the Yeti a depth and complexity that most Imperial Stouts (traditionally utilizing only malts) lack. Topped off with a beautiful layer of frothy-toffee head in a Great Divide snifter, it’s a work of art. Weighing in at a strong 9.5% ABV, it’s available in 22 z bombers, four-packs, and five gallon kegs. Oh, for a five gallon keg. Adding to this brew’s mystique, Great Divide has limited shipping to the east, making a Yeti sighting (and subsequent sipping) all the more exciting.

It is this that will be in my glass this evening (to be more specific actually, it is a special offshoot of the Yeti, an espresso oak barrel-aged stout!). As if National Long Underwear Day, a day devoted to embracing and celebrating all that is good about the season, from the comforting embrace of sultry, warming meal to the clean bite of wintry air and the soft sound of new snow crunching underfoot, wasn’t good enough, your correspondent gets to share this exquisite brew with a wonderful woman (also clad in Patagonia Capilene), all while improving some ornothologic knowledge with a newly acquired Peterson Field Guide to bird calls on vinyl that miraculously is the same edition and thus lines up perfectly with the print copy I got at a used book store last year! Perfect night you say? Well, it is the greatest recently invented holiday…

Happy National Long Underwear Day! And cheers to the Yeti; I Believe!

GLB had some extra bourbon barrels hanging around and, thankfully, instead of turning them into rustic garden planters, they filled them with some 25th anniversary imperial stout. Great decision.

Why yes, that is a wax dipped bottle top. Maker’s Mark inspired?

Pours thick and black with a brown soft head that dissipates. Roasted bitter notes and sweet bourbon notes on the nose; I’m surprised to find it’s rather mild for such a big (11%!) brew. Beautiful texture, strong roasted malt character throughout and black coffee and dark chocolate acidity. Finishes with sweet vanilla hit with really enjoyable bourbon alcoholic tones coming out strong. The Canadian answer to the Dragon’s Milk Stout. Please note this beer can be aged for up to 3 years; it lasted less than 12 hours in my fridge…

23/24

Heavy Seas/Clipper City Brewing Company brews beer in Baltimore, Maryland, and this is the first beer from the northeast brewery that I have formally reviewed.

The story of Heavy Seas starts out with Hugh Sisson, a prospective stage actor and director. Plans were afoot for Mr. Sisson to attend the University of Virginia and attain his master’s degree in theatre, but his father, Albert, opened a new business: a tavern. He convinced his son to come work with him; Hugh thought it would be a short-term career shift, but when he got there, his dad gave him the keys and told him not to mess it up.

The tavern focused on imported beers and then eventually local craft beers, and by the mid-80’s, Hugh, now rejoined by his father, began to convert the bar into a brewpub. But first, there was some legal wrangling that had to take place, and Mr. Sisson successfully lobbied the state of Maryland to legalize brewpubs.

After the foray into a brewpub, Hugh set his sights on the production side, and started Clipper City Brewing. While there, another brewery, Oxford, was absorbed — then, in 2003, a third brand was created: Heavy Seas.

Hugh Sisson kind of sounds like that “most interesting man in the world…” guy…

Siren Noire is a limited release Imperial Stout that has been aged for three weeks (yes, a scant three weeks) in bourbon barrels. The beer is also brewed with chocolate nibs and vanilla beans. Coming in at 9.5% ABV (alcohol by volume), the IBUs (International Bitterness Units) are just 18. Typically, you see beers that are aged in bourbon barrels for months or even years at a time — let’s see what a very short time in the barrel can do for a beer.

The pour made for a small, very thin cover of light tan head, which was soapy and faded away nearly as soon as you could set the bottle down. The color of the brew was a very dark chocolate brown, and it wasn’t completely opaque as I could clearly see the outline of a bright light through it. The body was clear, free of sediment, and the lacing wasn’t in enough quantity or quality to merit mention.

On the nose, this one is all chocolate…at first. The chocolate is a nice blend of both milk and dark, along with some sweet caramel and a hint of vanilla from the beans and/or the barrel aging. But lingering in the background was the unmistakable scent of wet dog, and it only grew as the beer warmed, even turning fairly metallic after spending about fifteen minutes in the glass. Not appealing at all; as I took sips, I made an effort to hold my breath.

The flavors are actually quite pleasant — creamy, fudge-like chocolate opens then transitions into a dark fruit middle; raisins, figs, and plums, along with a little grape jam for good measure. Then, the finish comes on with a vanilla that almost tastes more like white chocolate with a wash of sweetness, then a bittersweet chocolate and the most subtle hint of bourbon you could imagine. The alcohol is completely hidden, and the beer is medium-bodied at best, with a foamy mouthfeel and soft carbonation. At times, this really felt like I had a Dr. Pepper soda in my mouth, especially in the middle of the taste and the swallow.

The aroma on this beer flat out sucks but the taste is pretty good. However, that doesn’t save things, at all — while the chocolate and vanilla flavors are decent, we learn that three weeks in a barrel doesn’t add much character to this beer. Nice try, but disappointing. The only really great thing this brew has going for it is the cheap price.

Heavy Seas Siren Noire Imperial Stout, 77 points. Price: $5.99 US for one 22 oz. bomber size bottle.

Left Hand Wake Up Dead Imperial Stout – 10,2 %

Igår var det melodifestivalen, vilket inte riktigt är min kopp thé. För att göra kvällen uthärdlig tog jag fram en av ölerna jag köpte vid det senaste släppet på Systembolaget. Valet av öl föll på Left Hand Wake Up Dead Imperial Stout.

När ölen hälls upp är vätskan kolsvart och klar, skummet är ungefär ett finger högt. Den doftar av mörk choklad, vanilj, ek, karamell och kaffe. Det verkar genast lovande, det här kan vara något för mig. När jag smakar ölen fylls smaklökarna med toner av choklad, kaffe, vanilj, lakrits och torkade frukter. Avslutet är något torrt.

Sammanfattningsvis är det en bra öl, den är förvånansvärt lättdrucken för att vara en imperial stout på över 10 %. Jag har köpt ett par till flaskor av den, de planerar jag nu att glömma bort längst bak i skåpet i något år. Den här ölen kan bli riktigt bra på sikt.

Betyg? Jag ger den 3,5/5 i betyg.

/Jeez Louise