Sankt Gallen Imperial Chocolate Stout (2009-)

Brewed by Sankt Gallen Brewery
Style: Imperial Stout
Atsugi-shi, Japan

Serve in Snifter

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Bottle bought at Tokyu Food Show around Valentines Day. Dark brown colour with thick golden bubbly head. Aroma is roasty malt and not as much chocolate as I expected. Taste is similar. Nice burnt malty taste at the start. Just a murmur of chocolate again. Finish is burnt, spicy and lingering. Bit of bitterness too. Pretty nice and surprisingly not so much chocolate. Maybe just a touch left behind with the burnt and spicy finish. Will definitely drink again. Satisfyingly different from a lot of imperial stouts.

33 cl bottle thanks to Ingo! Sampled on April 8, 2013. Marked (BB?) 2014.2.14, purchased late December 2012.
LAbel also had "2012" marked on it.
Clear dark brown color, brown head. Sweet, lactic, alcohol scent. Malty, grainy, dry taste. Dry bitter finish. Medium mouthfeel, medium bitterness. Roasted finish.

Bottle (33 cl), courtesy of Ingo. Black with a brown head. Pretty straight forward chocolate and coffee roasted malt aroma, some herbal hops. Medium bodied, medium carbonation. Semi dry, medium bitterness.

Bottle from Yodobashi Camera in Kyoto. It poured a dark inky black with a burnt orange-brown head of foam. The aroma was of a bitter roast malt which was matched in the flavor but also had smokey, caramel, toffee & chocolate notes. I love that they list the IBU, hops & OG on the label and was surprised that they use the exact same hops in the Orange Chocolate Stout: EK Goldings, Cascade, Willamette & Nugget. I agree with KyotoLefty, this beer is quite bitter & would probably benefit from some aging to mellow it out...

Not sure this deserves a separate listing on account of a slight rise in alcohol, but anyhow...Draught at Bungalow. Black, tan head. Didn’t look so special. Big roasty, creamy aroma, chocolate, some berries, roasted wood, some hops and coffee. Taste was similar with a very bitter finish from hops and roasted barley. Actually too bitter for me, as happens with their BW when very fresh. I would sit on this a while for better drinkability, but it was nice enough.

This bottled brew from rbsg poured a head of foamy fine to medium sized light brown colored bubbles that were and left behind a no visible carbonation opaque and a fair lacing. The strong flavor contained notes of acidic and dark malt. A decent one that I would consider drinking again.

UPDATED: MAY 31, 2012 Tap at Devil Craft. Dark black colour wih tight off white head. All about bitter roasty flavours, coffee and chocolate, with some sweetness to balance. Long finish. Impressive, half a pint was enough though.

2011 version, brought back from Japan by my awesome cousin. Pours a dark brown, almost black. Huge tan head that dies down to a ring, spots of lace here and there. Aroma is a boozy and a little malt like chocolate. Tastes a little bit of bite, slightly bitter, malty, a touch of vanilla maybe, and boozy again. It actually reminds me of chocolate cherries taste wise as well but not the cherry isn’t super strong. I would love to try this on tap.

pours almost jet black/brown, small head, small CO2, ringed and thin layered retention, half-runny lacing. Strong roasted coffee and malts on the nose. Buttery mouthfeel, rush of rich 80% cacao / half fresh roast coffee, 3/10 sweetness, very minor sour clean finish, long mellow bitter coating in the rear half of the mouth. High depth, medium complexity, excellent carry, long length, full-bodied. Loads of chocolate & coffee on the exhale. Extremely well executed beer; I’d give it a higher rating if I loved this style more.