Samuel Adams Imperial Stout

Brewed by Boston Beer Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Boston, Massachusetts USA

Nice dark head is a plus, but low viscosity and translucency is a minus. The flavor, though, is extremely bitter and long lasting. Like black coffee with some bitter german chocolate. Sugar is nowhere to be seen. Not bad, but not too pleasurable, either.

Bottled. Pours a rich chocolate brown with tan head. Lacing is minimal. Smooth, with considerable alcohol flavoring and warmth. Aroma is diminished with some roasted coffee/chocolate type overtones. I had a hard time getting past the alcohol taste. Not first on my list for imperial stouts.

12oz. bottle. Roasty, dark chocolate malt aroma, estery and alcoholic, with notes of licorice, faint espresso, toffee, prune and marshmallow. Deep black color with a nearly fully subsiding, medium brown head. Flavor is gently bitter and spicy to start, becoming malty and roasty, and turning sweeter and alcoholic towards the finish with copious amounts of chocolate, along with earth, ashy wood and an unusual fruity tartness. Smooth, viscous, warming, mouth-coating feel, body is quite full. Given the current wealth of Imperial Stouts around at the moment, this is not one I’m likely to revisit soon.

bottle. Pours black with a thin brown head which dissipated. Unimpressive lacing at the beginning. None after a short time. Nose is of ash and roast malt. Taste is os ash and lots of licorice. Heavy on the licorice. Mouthfeel was medium-thick with a taste that coats and hangs onto your tongue. Decent, but not not really a good Impy Stout.

Bottle. Pitch black with a short, fading brown head. It’s reduced to a foam ring within seconds. Aroma is strong roasted malt, coffee, light licorice, dark chocolate, burnt bread and coffee. Taste is semi-sweet with roasted malts, chocolate, burnt brownies, coffee, light licorice, dark fruit and alcohol. Body is thick and meaty with a nice warmth to it. Carbonation is rather soft. The finish is more chocolate, roasted malts, brunt brownies and coffee. A touch more hop bitterness here as well.

12 ounce bottle - $2.99 at Total Wine & More in Kennesaw, Georgia. Appearance: Pours an appropriate black body with a frothy, medium-sized, tan-hued head. Smell: Malty bouquet of roasted barley, oven-charred bread crusts, chocolate, a dash of anise, and a cup of cafe au lait. Some simple alcohol wafts as well. Taste: Roasty, toasty maltiness with tastes of caramel, black coffee, powdered milk, anise, and chocolate sauce with a fair degree of sweetness. Earthy, spicy hop flavor with a medium-high bitterness trying to cut its way through the dense maltiness. Black currant fruitiness throughout. The flavor turns a bit more char-based nearing the end. Earthy and warming on the drying finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Medium carbonation. Slight creaminess to the mouthfeel. Drinkability: It’s good sipper, not great, but certainly worth a try or two. I am willing to get on board with this one.

Pours out really thick. Brownish head, relatively thick for an IS. Nice appearance. Aroma is a bit understated. Toasted grain, chocolate, mild fruit, raspberry, also. Palate is heavy-duty. Thick, syrupy, hoppy, chocolaty palate. Not bad, not a lot of complexity.

HH’s BEER TASTING: Not a bad idea for Sam Adams to inject some new blood into their tired lineup. Dark pour with a thin lasting white head. Roasted malts, dark fruits, and chocolate aroma. Burnt toast, sour milk, espresso, oat grains, and mild chocolate for flavors. This was ok for me. I do like the Double Bock better.