Arcadia Imperial Stout

Courtesy jayMFg. Pours dark mahogany, almost black in color. A foamy, coffee colored head fades quickly to a wispy film with a small edge. Minimal, spotty lacing noted. The aroma shows both sweet and bitter dark chocolates, caramel, molasses, black currants, and mocha. There is also a touch of molasses, as well as a heaping helping of cream. Flavors are sweet up front, with caramel, chocolate, and dark fruit dominating. Things turn a bit more roasty as the mocha emerges, but it still remains on the sweet, chewy side of balanced. The body is medium-full and creamy, but finishes a bit sugary, sitting heavy on the stomach. Finishes with just a touch of salty smokiness. Overall, its a decent imperial stout. It just lacks roastiness, leaning excessively towards the sweet side of the scale.

[’06 Bottle, thanks Guerde!] Pours black with an almost non-existent brown head. Aroma is fruity, with vanilla, coffee and chocolate. The taste has dark fruits, a hint of coffee, some roasted (almost charred) malt, a little alcohol and chocolate. Medium mouthfeel, smooth and has a good finish. A very nice imperial that I will have to try again with a bigger sample.

pours black, has a coffee and chocolate aroma. alcohol is right up front with coffee, chocolate and a faint vanilla flavors.

12 oz, cellar temp. Dark brown, nearly black, pour with a fine tan head. Roasty and hoppy, good smoky malt backbone and some alcohol in the nose. Nutty and some toffee. Flavor is lackluster and the finish is watery. All acrid smoke and coffee. I’m surprised I didn’t get any hint of that in the nose. Warming in the chest. Not great.

Bottle: Pours pitch black with almost no head. Aroma of malt, coffee and smoke. Flavor of same. Tastes like it has more alcohol than it really does. Not bad.

Bottled shared with cgarvieuk. I really wnt to town rating this as i wanted to do it properly like as if judging at a fest. Aroma is big, vanilla, meaty bloody character, roasted loads of alcohol, molasss cause you to have to hold the glass away from your nose or it becomes too over powering, as it warms the peppery alcohol goes onto a really cheap nasty blended whisky - high commisioner comes to mind, a warm taquila blanco on a hangover with woody notes. Taste is like off pasta that you’ve had in the fridge too long, a tomatoy acidity, cuts through a meaty smokey roast malt, the lac ruins you from start to finish, the floural hops are extremly out of place, a roasty finish with meaty bloody smokeyness causes me to run for water to get rid of the taste. Holy mother of god this is a awful beer, did not finish the 75mls or so i had.

Bottler shared with Tom ... Deep black ...almost no head ... vanilla whiksey malts ... l;ots of soft smooth treacle ... some malts in linger.bit 1d but still tasty.

2006 Vintage

4/15/2008: Arcadia Ales Imperial Stout is near black in color and has a very thin crown. There doesn’t appear to be much carbonation left, but that’s okay by me for this style. A wonderful chocolate liqueur aroma is both rich and complex. The flavor is extremely smooth and contains rich dark chocolate, light coffee, creamy hot cocoa (like the kind made from scratch with Hershey’s cocoa), and some roasted malt. There is also some subtle dark, dried fruity flavor blended deep within the complex, chocolatey flavor as well. There is a bit of heavily roasted malt/char around the edges, but it works well with the other flavors and is definitely not burnt or acidic in any way. Overall the flavor and aroma are on the sweeter side which is absolutely fine be me! The alcohol is well integrated into the flavor, but provides a nice warming effect that enhances the overall tasting experience. This beer is full-bodied and has an extremely smooth body with a soft and creamy texture.

12 fl. oz. bottle from Party Town. Rating #313 for this beer...