Ballast Point Sea Monster Imperial Stout

Brewed by Ballast Point Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
San Diego, California USA

Serve in Snifter

Sea Monster pours black. Pitch black. A small tan head forms but quickly disappears. Right off the bat you’ll notice this beer has a really sweet nose to it. One of the sweeter stouts I’ve smelled in a while. It’s the dark chocolate doing it’s thing. A decent amount of roasted malt and a smaller amount of coffee. The taste is more of the same. The sweetness cuts through everything else. The coffee leaves a bit of a bitter ending that sits at the back of the throat. Mouthfeel was really nice. It was more towards a heavier, thicker mouthfeel. A little bit on the flat side. Just goes down your throat with ease

Bomber to stella artois chalice- Probably sat on room temp shelf for quit a while. Blackish plum with some hidden red highlights.Short head ,ring of foam little lacing. Smell of sweetness, dark chocolate,mildly bready pastryness,light coffee,some dark fruit, a bit of butter and very subtle but noticable hops. Taste is somewhat sweet at first with dark roasted malt pretty roasty but not too much,somewhat smooth but the roast roughs that up some. More coffee in taste than darkchocolate and a bittersweetness overall,lingering coffee flavor and the bittering seems herbal but somewhat a citrus grapefruit. A bit tangy finish.Maybe some coffee astringency in the finish.

This doesn’t smell as great as it tastes. Lots of thick chewy characters, but not too alcoholic in the flavor. Just a slightly off aroma.

On tap at Publich House Temecula. Thick viscous black pour. Aroma is of chocolate, coffe and alcohol. Very thick on the palate, but drinkable. Comparable to Speedway Stout in that way. Dark chocolate notes on the finish.

Bitter yet balanced. A bitterness based on coffee and hops. Black with red highlights, and lace sheets. Great roast, coffee aromas. A sipper. Another great creation from this brewery. Aged a year

Jet black and almost tar-like in appearance. The tan head doesn’t last, which is to be expected with such a strong beer. The aroma has chocolate overtone. A nice dark roast coffee comes through in the taste. Very smooth and great balance for such a big beer. Definitely getting some caramel and alcohol coming through in the aftertaste, but very smooth finish. A very good beer.

On draft at Tap 25 in Livermore. It pours black with a nice tan head. The aroma has lots of dark fruits, licorice and a little roasted malt. The flavor is pretty much the same with a subdued roasted malt quality compared to other imperial stouts and more fruits and licorice. Nice roasty finish though. Nice balanced impy stout!

Bottle. Pours black with a thin tan head. Aroma of chocolate. Great chocolate and coffee flavor that is balanced with just a touch of hops. Great flavor, well balanced beer. Tasty.