Samuel Smiths Imperial Stout

Brewed by Samuel Smith
Style: Imperial Stout
Tadcaster, England

Comparative tasting with Brew Dog’s Rip Tide just for fun. :-) Appearance: Both of them is dark brown, SS is seems a bit more opaque and less ruby-tinted than BD’s Rip Tide. Both of them has a limited brown head. In the retention attributes Brewdog shows more potential for sure. SS’ head leaves a tiny-ring lace around the glass. The aroma: BD kiks SS’s ass again :) - SS is roasted malty with some slight "table"-red-wine or slighly sour dark grape character. BD is lot more fruity and mellow. The flavor: While Brewdog is a perfectly bombarded white blueberry and other dark fruity, estery(?) components and the dryness is a much more smoother and subtle than Samuel Smith’s espresso-coffeish and peaty, stone-smoked aggressively dry character. SS is way too dry to pair with desserts, but could be nice with seafoods. It’s a lot more seaweed-like dry at the end than the scottish William Bro’s Kelpie seaweed ale. Mouthfeel attributes: Brewdog is more smooth and and bit heavier too. SS is a bit more lively on the carbonation, but not fortunately too harsh. Overall impression: BrewDog is heavier, sweeter and lot more suitable for pairing desserts or plain chocolates. Samuel Smith’s has a lot more dryer and coffe-like qualities, maybe too light, easy bodied for the style? - I wouldn’t say that bad, or boring but not as vibrant or bold like some other western-craft stout brews. I woldn’t give too high marks on this. Well made stuff, but nothing exciting or outstanding.

Pours clear but very dark with a head more brown than tan that fades quickly. Lacing remains and is thick and smooth. Lovely in the glass. Nose is sweet like brown sugar and molasses with a hint of something green (cucumber or broccoli, maybe?) giving it a nice, sharp edge. Flavor is rich and complex, a roasted, bitter coffee balanced by molassesy sugar. I could use a bit more sweetness to go with the mouthfeel; there’s some heft on the tongue, and it leaves my mouth a bit sticky. Sips finish dry with little alcohol apparent. A hefty beer flavor-wise with a relatively low ABV makes this one right up my alley.

$8.99 / 4 Pack- Been trying to track this one down for a while. I wouldn’t say this is Smith’s specialty, but not a bad showing. Surprised how much hops come through on this one. Probably wouldn’t classify this as an "imperial" at 7 % ABV, but this is more of a triviality.

From bottle shared by awiseman. Nose is of dark molasses and brown sugar with some alcohol. Pours a thick deep brown with a fading one-finger tan head. The first thing i notice is some sour funk, with a little bit of malt in the finish. Some dark chocolate notes as well. The sourness lingers to the next sip, with kind of an oily mouthfeel. Very strange IS. Don’t know that its one of my favorites.

Bottle from Red Barrel in Mooresville, shared with Brother Nathan. Pours dark black pearl with slight brown edge and thin creamy beige head. Nose is sweet licorice and molasses. Taste is dry, nutty, bitter, mild hops, on top of dark roasted malt and rich black licorice. Flavor is pretty dry and earthy overall. Not bad.

Beautiful looking. Dark as night with a nice two finger caramel head. Aroma is sweet with some fig, dates, malty chocolate, and alcohol. Taste is pretty lacking comparatively. Malty taste with barley and a little alcohol. Nice brew

Solid black, creamy brown head. Aroma- malty biscuit, fruit, milk chocolate, nut, mocha, vanilla, butter. Taste- sweet light milk chocolate with a dark chocolate bitter finish. A lighter Imperial stout than others for sure. Good creamy texture and roast finish.

Pours a sizable tan head, mostly dinishing. Aroma of dark roasted malts - coffee, chocolate, dark fruits. Nice though as it is not "smoky" - not a fan of smoky beers. Thick mouthfeel with a slightly bitter finish. Nice offering of the style, just not my style of preference.