Karl Strauss Wreck Alley Imperial Stout

Brewed by Karl Strauss Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
San Diego, California USA

Serve in Snifter

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Bottle. Pours black, thin head. Roasted malt nose. Flavor espresso, toffee and dark chocolate. Flavor lingers on the palate. ABV is undetectable. Lots of flavor but very unbalanced and too thin on the palate. Hopefully it will age well.

Bottle. The pour is dark with a thin rim head. The aroma is a lot of toffee. The taste actually has a nicer blend of coffee, toffee, and some hints if chocolate. A very complex taste and really plays games on the palette. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Pours a deep brown almost black color. Aroma is of dark roasted hops. Taste is very chocolate, with an earthy flavor for a stout. Overall a rich stout that was bitter with a hop aftertaste. Not for the weak beer drinker as heart.

A - pours deep cola brown with almost no head. No real lacing. S - a nice sweeter stout. Notes of cacao nibs, caramelized sugars, molasses, toasted malts. Quiet coffee, vanilla and burnt malts. M - sweet mediums bodied stout. Lighter on the front, light sticky sweetness on the back. Bitter long ending. T - coffee (grounds and tangy espresso) and toasted malts up front. Tangy Cacao nibs, burned malts, fake chocolate, oats on the palate. Long bitter grassy and coffe grounds malty end. O - ok stout. Weaker than I'd like. Less complex and to sweet. 3.3 ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Bottle:   Black, moderate frothy beige head, spotty lacing.   Roasty nose, a touch of sweet soy, minor lactose and hops.   Soft graham cracker on the tongue, minor roast, little hop, decent maltiness, with a slightly charred wood background.   Pretty smooth and clean, not harsh at all.   Some chocolate notes on the backside, bakers chocolate like.   A little lactose.   Hides the 9.5% ABV well.   Body and mouthfeel are moderate to full.   More respectable than I thought it was going to be.

Black, one finger dense brown head. Smells like vanilla, milk chocolate and coffee. Some prune or raisin in there, too. Flavor is more prune (are we calling these "dried plums" now?), and raisin forward, with nice coffee and vanilla notes. Some oak in the finish. Not overly heavy, either, so it actually seemed lighter than 9.5%. I got this in a trade, but can’t remember from whom. But Thanks, whoever sent this!

22 ounce bottle purchased at Frenchy’s in Woodland, CA. The aroma on this is rather grainy and a bit husky. Becomes a little sweet with some chocolate notes and underlying melanoidins. Slightly transparent dark brown/black body with a small, quickly dissipating mocha head. Weak. Starts slightly sweet with some chocolate maltiness. Continued sweetness in the middle with a little bit of slick butteriness and a touch of diacetyl. Finishes with light coffee flavors and virtually no bitterness or roastiness. Very sweet, and a bit thin. Not sure what the deal is with this beer.

Poured at Cap Brewfest. Aroma and flavor of hazelnut coffee and roasty malts, coming through more in the flavor. Palate was nice, but looked like cola. Besides the aesthetics, this is a great beer. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Draft at the Karl Strauss Carlsbad location and a bomber at home. Nose is roast, coffee, chocolate, and a hint of light char. Clear dark brown with a big tan head. Flavor is lightly sweet, chocolate, and a background hint of bitter and vanilla.

Bottle from Total Wine, Sacramento. Pours dark brown with a decent tan head and a chocolate and coffee aroma., There is a hearty chocolate and treacle flavor with a dry coffee finish.