Church-Key Riot Act Imperial Stout

Smokey stout with a full bodied roasty flavour. A nicely balanced sweetness and a slight hint of coffee gives this solid brew a reputation on par with some other impressive micro stouts coming out of ontario these days. Best Churck Key brew I’ve had yet.

Draught. At Volo. Simply put, this is an excellent imperial stout. Poured thick, opaque deep brown-black with a small creamy brown head. Nice roasty aroma, bitter chocolate, strong coffee, a hint of cream and green hops. There was a widely acknowledged initial hit of metal in the taste, but it settled out quickly and I was left with roast choc/coffee bean malt (not as bitter as the aroma), dark fruit, slightly tart, light alcohol and increasingly bitter as it warmed green hops; longish finish, some acidity and more strong coffee grounds in the finish. Solid body on this one, thick, creamy, increasing astringency and acidity as it warmed - unlike tupalev, I actually prefer the acidity and in-your-face nature of the Tsarina K to this, but he’s right, this one has more sublety, although I suspect it could have been a tad fresher (hence the mild metal). Solid all round.

On tap at the Church Key Spring Revival open house weekend, May 6 2006. Pours a deep pitch black with an oily dark brown medium head - looks fantastic, even in the plastic cups! Lovely aroma of roast, molasses, coffee and chocolate. Sticky, oily medium mouthfeel. Tons of flavour - lots of roast, lots of molasses, oily hops, a hint of acidity. Hides the 9% stunningly well. We don’t have too many Imperial Stouts in Ontario, and I suppose the obvious comparison here would be the Katarina, but I found this to be easier to drink yet more complex (and without the sour acidity that can detract from the fine Scotch Irish effort). Ontario’s best Stout, great job John, and what a nice reward for going to another Spring Revival!