Goose Island Night Stalker

Brewed by Goose Island Beer Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Chicago, Illinois USA

7oz Tap @ Stub and Herbs. Pours motor oil black with no head. Aroma was a mix of chocolate, malts, roast and some unexpected citrus fruits. The first sip blew me away. So not what I expected out of a big stout like this. First off it felt like a gusher in my mouth. The flavors and carbonation just blew up in the mouth. Not in a bad way just unexpected. It was pointed out to me that there was a lot of mango in it, and they were right. There were also many of the traditional flavors that came though, just showing off the beers complexity. Again not at all what I expected, but a ggod brew I would like to try again.

So this is better than the BCS but still not great. Pour is pitch black with no head. Aroma is dried fruits and very unfortunately bananas. Flavor is sweet and palate is just strange for an imp stout, kind of limp almost. Overall, it would be better without the bananas profile.

On tap at Stub and Herbs for their Black Friday imperial stout special. Black pour. Tan head. Creamy mouthfeel. Good hop presense here. Licorice, dark fruit, vanilla, and piney hops. Really my kind of impy stout. Very good effort from Goose Island here!

Tap at the Happy Gnome. Pitch black pour with a decent tan head. Sweet aroma, reminds me of a cognac. Flavor is also like a liqueur with some chocolate notes. There is heavy alcohol presence in both the aroma and flavor as well. Excellent sipping beer to be treated like a whiskey or liqueur.

Tap @ Stub and Herbs - Pours black with no head. The smell really caught me off guard, as I was expecting dark and roasty, and I got lighter, fruitier smells. It’s more sweet and malty, with some mango or passion fruit notes. Taste is really sweet, with the smooth mango still there and some nice, lightly bitter roast on the finish. It’s smooth and chewy--a nice, unexpected experience.

On tap at Three Floyds. Pours near black with small tan head. Aroma is roasted malt, lots of chocolate and coffee with some vanilla. Flavor is huge with sweet roasted malts, chocolate, coffee, vanilla, and booze. Mouthfeel is smooth and creamy. Finishes with slight alcohol burn. Pretty damn good stout.

Near black color with a lid of tiny tan bubbles. Big aromas with of dark, chocolate, vanilla, light fruit, an assertive hops component, that includes pine and resin. Fairly sharp in the front with dark to burnt malts. A quick nasal sniff reveals plenty of alcohol. Middle teems with green hops flavors of pine and grapefruit. Smooth and mouth-coating all at the same time. Finish has roasted malt, black malt and hops bitterness. Bits of molasses float about. Big and chewy hoppy imperial stout.

Tap at Clybourn brewpub, Chicago. Black pour with virtually no head. Aroma of chocoalte/coffee/booze. Tastes malty, chocolatey, dark fruit, coffee, sweet. Quite heavy going and complex.