Midnight Sun Berserker Imperial Stout

Brewed by Midnight Sun Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Anchorage, Alaska USA

Dark fruit, figs, bourbon, cacao, red wine barrel notes on the nose. Black, creamy, and oily appearance. Dark brown head. Figs, dark fruit, chocolate, molasses, bourbon, and light red wine notes make up the flavor profile. Extremely complex and giant beer. Vanilla and brown sugar show up as well. Soft but sharp carbonation. Lingering dry roasted bitterness and a hint of barrel and alcohol in the finish. Solid.

Pours near black with a small head. Aroma of molasses, roasted malt, chocolate, dark fruits, licorice and wood. Syrupy sweet and somewhat boozy. But it’s complex and roasty and oh so good as a sipper.

Midnight pour topped by a thin, sanguine-brown layer of ultra-fine foam. Nose reveals sweet gingerbread molasses, alderwood smoke, buttered hearth-bread, tanned leather, and ’roasted bison’. Flavor reflects the nose, then adds bourbon-soaked cherries, earthy tannins, and a hint of oak. Mouthfeel is moderately viscous (I was actually expecting it to be a bit thicker) and makes for a nice, rich finish. The alcohol is certainly noticeable, but melds extremely well with the amalgam of complex flavors, making it dangerously drinkable. One of the aspects that I enjoy most is that the roasted nuances come across more like charred fire-wood and smoked meats rather than the typical coffee-like flavors we are often bombarded with. I am also impressed with how the richness stems from unique elements rather than the syrupy sweetness that other imperial stouts tend towards. This is a fantastic brew, and in my opinion, one of the slightly overlooked gems of the style. Even if it isn’t quite from Scandinavian soil, this brew from the far north is surely worthy of Hadding!

22 oz. bottle thanks to Scrizzz. Holy shit, thank you so much for sending this. Wow, that is a chocolate head. There is not much of it, but this thing pours like oil...big time. I mean people say, "Oh this poured just like oil." This really did pour like oil. Very viscous beer. Wood, roast, coffee, and a slight chocolate aroma. Wow, a very deep complex aroma. Nice subtle bourbon aroma that is coming out more as this thing warms up. Pretty damn nice aroma I must say. Love the bourbon. Ah the wood a liquor aroma. I have to say that subtle bourbon, wood, chocolate, coffee, and roast aroma are just so complex. So smooth, and easy to drink. I mean this thing has a nice bourbon sour flavor as well. This thing is so smooth and too delicious. My favorite beer. Again, thank you Scrizzz.

What can I say that hasn’t been said about this absolute gem? Well, forstarters, it’s smoother and less hot than Bourbon County, it’s more complex and cleaner than The Abyss, and it’s more drinkable and rounder than Bells Expedition...in short, it’s my new favorite imperial stout, hands down. What truly astounds me is how this thick and viscous monster managed to avoid being cloyingly sweet with only 30 IBUs. Wow...just wow!

This is a menacing brew. Pours unbelievably opaque black (couldn’t even see through the stream as it was pouring), with - no joke - the darkest head I’ve ever seen on a beer. A thin layer of dark, reddish brown foam slowly forms, then dissipates to a film. Just gorgeous. Molasses, dark chocolate and port wine on the nose. Those three notes are replicated up front in the flavor, which then moves into roastier notes of coffee and smoked meats, backed by just a bit of whiskey. Huge, huge mouthfeel. This stuff is motor oil. Just a bit hot, but they’ve seriously got something going here - a sipping brew, for sure - and just delicious. I’m heading to find more tomorrow - surely one of the new favorites.

Razor thin dark brown head rings the pitch black pour from 22 oz bottle. Thick and sticky with aromas of dark fruits, oak, bourbon, cherries, leather, and toasted sugars. Flavors intensify as the glass warms: dark chocolate, molasses, stone fruits, caramel, dark toasted malts, and spiciness in the finish. Some carbonation spontaneously appears on the tongue through to the chewy hot end. And the glass is stained brown top to bottom. A really impressive Imperial stout.

More Midnight Sun at pre-GABf than during Alaskan cruise!! Burnt chocolate nose. Black beer. Small brown head. DELICIOUS dark chocolate heaven. Satsifying cutting hops.