Free State Owd Macs Imperial Stout

Brewed by Free State Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Lawrence, Kansas USA

Serve in Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

9/30/04. Sampled at GABF ’04 in Denver, CO 9/30/04. Dark brown appearance, disappointingly not black, and not opaque or even very hazy. Extremely rocky, sudsy tan head. No lacing at all, though. I’m pissed about the appearance, and if it weren’t for the apparent thickness, I might have given it an even more severe rating in that regard. This beer has no business being BROWN in color. Nose is nicely bourbony with lots of rich coffee and dark fruited maltiness-- prune, licorice, molasses, and very little sugar, but some sensation of like a "natural" sweetness. Hard to describe. But that’s a good thing. Still, the bourbon sort of overshadows a bit too much. Taste is bold and rich, very complex with a big time hop character now coming in to complement the still huge woodiness and bourbon. Alcohol heat is all over. It seems like more than the 9.5% that it is, maybe due to the big wood presence and maybe due to the crazy amounts of hops. Thick, stinging and prickly badass mouthfeel. Really nice imperial stout, as it is, but I have to say I’m more than a bit disappointed overall. I’d like to give Free State the benefit of some doubt, however, and I should say that my rating (and all of the others logged at this year’s GABF) should be taken with a grain of salt, because I don’t really believe this beer travelled very well at all. From what I understand, it’s available in cask-conditioned form ONLY. Well, I know I didn’t see a cask at the Free State booth at GABF. And I know it (like all beers there) was poured into pitchers which were then used for serving the one-ounce samples. Even if they DID pour it off of a cask and into the pitcher, it’s hardly desirable to have the cask beer sitting out for upwards of 30 minutes before it’s all completely poured off into the one-ounce taster cups. I still enjoyed it, but I really want to get this one again and re-rate it. And next time I’ll hopefully try it in its element-- at the brewery from the hand pump.

huge thanks to belgianbeergal for bringing this treat to me. poured black with a beige head. aroma was bourbon, chocolate, fudge, and dark fruits. flavor was fudge, dark roasts, bourbon, oak, and some hints of dark fruits. body was thick and slick with low carbonation.

Pours black inpenatrable, no head and not too viscious. This smells amazing! Vanilla, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, bit of roast, cream, bourbon. Taste is delicious as well with a lot of the same aspects- vanilla, smoke, creamy chocolate. Overall this is delicious.

courtesy of ericandersnavy. Black color/ fleeting tan head. Big boozy whiskey vanilla aromas with some dark malts. medium bodied. Vanilla, whiskey, chocolate, dark roast malt, boozy flavors.

Hand bottle shared by alexsdad06. Poured a clear dark brown color with a minimal frothy brown head that mostly diminished with minimal lacing. Moderate to heavy toasted chocolate, wood and alcohol aroma. Medium to heavy sweet wood and dark malt flavor with a heavy dark sweet and small alcohol bite finish of long duration. Full body with a smooth texture and flat carbonation. This is a standout beer.

[Handbottle] by StFun and shared by DalzAle. Thanks Greg! Pours a deep brown with pretty much no head. The aroma shows a fair amount of oxidation, dusty chocolate, astringent roast, moderate sweetness – like artificial vanilla. The flavor is sherry-like oxidation, a lot more alcohol than you would expect for a 9.5% beer, dusty chocolate, light roastiness. The mouthfeel is moderately slick, there is actually a little bit of carbonation, about as much as the ‘undercarbonated’ Angel’s Share. Overall, I’m pretty surprised how well this has held up.

Hand bottle shared by DalzAle. Pour is dark brown with little to no carbonation and no head. Aroma is boozy and black licorice with some dark dried fruit (purnes). Taste is sweet and bitter with purnes and coco some licorice. Palate is oily and sticky full feel and dry finish. Glad I had a chance to try this!

UPDATED: JAN 17, 2011 Bottle. Poured into a tulip glass a dark brown color with zero head, swirling generates a minimal tannish wisp. The aroma is very pronounced with notes of vanilla and chocolate with a slight soyness to it. Surprised I’m not really picking up too much of the barrel aromas. Starts off with a sweet nutiness, vanilla, and ends with a bitter dark chocolate roasted flavor that lingers slightly. The booze shows slightly. Decent beer though. As this warms caramel and dark fruit notes become slightly apparent.

Handbottle thanks to StFun. Dark black pour, almost no carbonation and a nice mellow dark chocolate/whiskey nose. Flavor is sweet creamy dark malt, vanilla, still plenty of smokey bourbon which lingered on the aftertaste. Slight oxidation, but didn’t detract much from the enjoyment.

(growler with big thanks to ericandersnavy) near black, no head, viscous in body, and clearish edges. Nose of raisin, sweet fudge, nice and funky reminds me of Belgian yeast. Taste is very fudgey, raisin, honey. Thick body but under-carbonated. Very flavorful. Nice beer!

big thanks to erica for this growler. poured black with no head. nose is thick with chewy malts, syrup, and fudge. thick on the palate, flavor is chewy malts, dark fruits, raisins, dates, chocolate, and awesome. yes, awesome is a flavor.