Ottos Jolly Roger Imperial Stout

Dark black in color with a little off white head. Chocolatety malty hoppy aroma. Toffee nutty caramel notes. Hoppy malty flavor. Roasty coffee and chocolate notes. Smooth tasting. Finish is chocolatety. Nice beer.

From a 22oz Bottle. Courtesy of CharlesDarwin. Viscous pour of dark black with a tall head of fine bubbled, creamy tan. Excellently layered malt flavors, accentuated by a pleasing level of minty hops. Chocolate chip cookie dough, vanilla wafer, and chewy toffee create an enticing mid-malt juiciness that’s sandwiched enticingly between layers the dark malt characters. Smooth coffee and rich black chocolate create the roasty bookends for the malt bill. Full bodied, creamy mouthfeel with a chewy malt body, although not too heavy. Flavors of chocolate, coffee, and toasted almonds create a fabulous dessert-like treat. Notes of pecan pie and milky hot chocolate add more complexity. Some soft vanilla nougat peeks out in the middle, balancing the chocolate and coffee roast flavors marvelously. Finishes cleanly, leaving some smooth roast coffee lingering in the final smack. Well crafted beer - I love how this relies on the depth of the malt characters to make it shine, without resorting to extreme hop, barrel, or charred flavors to create a bold flavor impression. Thanks, Tom!

2007 PP SAF Bottle (thanks to whoever brought this): Opaque with a small lasting creamy tan head and very good lace. The aroma has notes of chocolate, walnut, grassy, coffee, smoke, and an earthy ester. The taste has a rich balance of bitter grassy hops and chocolate malting. Also noted plum, smoke, anise and leather notes. The mouth feel is smooth and refreshing for an Impy stout. This is very drinkable and could still benefit from some aging.

Taste is creamy dense coffee and soy. Chocolate and salt with a smoke and hop crisp bitterness. Strange. Aroma is alcoholic and smoky. Finish is viscous and hoppy, but blends and lingers pretty well. Soy, chocolate and smoke. This is not a bad beer at all, but not world class in my opinion. Very solid.

Thanks to tronraner for sharing this at our impromptu tasting prior to the Brewer’s Jam. Black opaque pour with a thin mocha head. Sweet roasty aroma with a flavor that follows. Well balanced and very smooth.

Tasted from bottle brought to the ’07 Pizza Port Strong Ale Festival. To many ratebeerians to list. Great syrupy dark tan pour. Pitch black liquid. Roasted caramel goodness. Delicious. 8,4,9,3,17:4.1 1/4/07: Tried again at fordest’s tasting with ibrew2or3, fordest, papajohn, toncatcher, and others. Bottle from kmweaver. Thanks Ken! Dry and a hint of oxidation and bandage. A little bland. Beer 9 of the night. 6,3,5,3,13: 3.0. Wow, two ratings of the same beer at two extremes. Keep in mind I tried this after a Rodenbach Alexander.

22oz bottle. Poured deep black, with a bit of a reddish hue, capped with a huge brown head. Rich, roasted chocolate malt aroma. Velvety smooth mouthfeel. Big chocolate flavor, with coffee, licorice, vanilla, and enough hops towards the finish to provide balance. Long, roaster chocolate malt finish. Very nice stout; worth its reputation.

Sampled during Manhattan Blind IS Tasting: Rich and smooth. Some bite in the front and back. Hot from the alcohol but had richness and some bitter hops to back it up. Very nice.