Grand Teton Black Cauldron Imperial Stout

Brewed by Grand Teton Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial Stout
Victor, Idaho USA

Serve in Snifter

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UPDATED: JUN 9, 2008 ****Re-rate**** Bottle… SMAACMSM O-Town Throwdown, Part Sept… Pitch black with a small, creamy, beige head. Decent retention. Chocolaty, smoky nose with hints of vanilla and oak. Full-bodied and velvety with lively carbonation. Leans on the sweet side of balance, like a foreign stout. Some singed chocolate, wood and diminished whiskey. Finishes sweet and chocolaty.****Original Rating****Bottle... Dark brown ale (almost black) with a small, fizzy, beige head. Smells like chocolate cola with traces of smoke. The flavor delivers burnt, bitter notes with chocolate, coarsely ground coffee and smoke. Full-bodied and mega-creamy with hardly any carbonation. Lengthy, chocolatey, coffee finish. Thanks go out to Argo0 for generously sharing the bottle! (Original Score = 3.4)

05 bottle provided by argo0. Black body with tan head, fading. The aroma is licorice, smokey, roasted with a touch of acidity. The flavor is smoke and roast with plenty of molases and chocolates. Full body, soft and smooth texture, slightly oily.

(2005 Vintage, 1L bottle) Beige head atop a clear black/cola body. Aroma is moderately sweet, chocolate, roast, some smoke, light coffee, earthy/grapefruit. Taste is moderately sweet, chocolate, smoke, some roast/coffee, earthy/grapefruit. Full body, surprisingly rich for its ABV.

Bottle: Black in color, thin light beige head, spotty lacing.   Rich roasted malt aroma, slight milk sugar and coffee on the nose.   Solid roasted malt flavor, slight coffee and chocolate.   Not as big as other stouts, but fairly sturdy and appropriate for the style.   Fairly big bodied, moderate mouthfeel.   Clean roasty finish.   Not big, but still quite enjoyable.   Shared with mattbob and he really enjoyed it.   Thanks Jordan for the bottle!

well, that’s it. i broke a nail opening this bastard. and i don’t mean a fingernail, i mean a goddamn 16 penny galvanized framing nail. i was trying to wedge it under that bear trap they call a latch-top. jeez. quite a chastity belt on this gal: the lid features a lead and epoxy compound poured over a heavy stampede-grade livestock gate hinge. i normally like to listen to the sound of the carbonation escaping when i pop the headgear of a good beer, but with this one all i could hear was the pop of my shoulder dislocating. seriously, i was thinking of getting to the beer via an easier route: chewing through the glass. this is very nice packaging otherwise and a beautiful product from a brewer that previously seemed to be on a fateful confluence with mediocrity. hurah, charlie, for making a big, ambitious beverage. when i finally got it open-- and had mostly recovered with a quick nap and a couple aspirin-- i was able to appreciate the choke cherry red-black pour. the beer has got heft and mass, sure, but it’s not like trying to see through a charcoal briquet-- it’s edges show a lot of transparency that suggest a pumpernickel brown. the head was a brief little formality; mostly it was open brew across the top, while a couple bubbles drifted aimlessly like forlorn castaways. i smelled hemp fiber and pumpkin seeds, rinds of grated bitter chocolate and lemon, a bit of burnt toast, a suggestion of cedar. all these were given with a restrained hand: it’s not explosively fragrant, nor alcoholic. flavor is like a iced coffee-- big on dark chocolate flavor and sweetness, and providing the tangerine bitterness of pleasing balance. it’s not a huge or important imperial, but a nice one. (and you know that it’s more important to be nice than it is nice to be important). priced at over ten bucks though, one wonders why so much fancy exterior need adorn this "nice" but unremarkable imperial.

UPDATED: OCT 7, 2006 Courtesy of Bück Dich <!-- P --> Sharp alcohol aroma is followed by chocolate, roast, vanilla and very mild coffee. Deep black body with a diminishing finger thick mocha head. Rich roasted malts, more vanilla and chocolate run through the middle fore and finish. Has a very nice creamy texture and a good intensity of flavor, but little range.

UPDATED: MAR 1, 2008 Bottle (2005) sampled 05/2006: Dark pour of blackish brown with a small brown head. Aroma is smooth with tones of coffee and malts. Taste is packed with chocolate, coffee, roasted malts, and bittersweetness. Rich and full bodied brew. <P>Update with 2007 batch on draft: Huge black pour with nice large brown head. Nose is rich and sweet with mocha and roasty malt. Lots of cocoa and coffee flavors with a subtle smokiness and plenty of roast. I love the dark chocolate presence. Smooth and rich.

Tap @ the brewery. This stout was into full bodied, quite rich & complex, but I found it to be rather sweet with a cooked sugar essence. It was also very alcohol foreward, to the point of interfering with my ability to enjoy the flavors. The server mentioned it would improve over time and I would have to agree.

1 liter swing-top bottle poured a dark brownish black with a small, diminishing brown head. Aromas of licorice, oak, light boubon and bitter chocolate. Palate was medium bodied and dry. Flavors of roasted malt, coffee, smoke, hint of licorice and light oak with a smooth, lingering bittersweet finish.

Big ole’ bottle. Pours opaque with a lasting thin brown head. Aroma is sweet malts, chocolate, creme, slight soy, stinging alcohol (7.5%, wtf?) Palate is chocolate malts, slight bitter grains fading into a lasting hop bitterness. Vanilla, cocoa, roasted malt and slight alcohol. Hints of oak. Palate is a dreamy thick deluge, very inviting. Very, very solid beer.