Saranac Imperial Stout

Brewed by Matt Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Utica, New York USA

2009-02-05 Brown rimmed black body with a hesitant khaki head. (3+) Pleasant roast aroma with nice mild chocolate undertones, mild sweet malt. (7+) Sweetish flavour has pleasant roast and chocolate, bitterness in the finish. (7+) Smooth medium bodied palate. (3+) Surprisingly decent straightforward imperial stout. Enjoyable. Bottle from Premier Gourmet, Buffalo

Pours black with no head, only a ring of bubbles. Boozy nose of licorice and brown sugar. The taste is actually pretty good with some coffee, dark chocolate, licorice, and earthy notes. I have to admit I wasn’t expecting much here, and though it won’t be something I go raving about it is a nice solid, very drinkable, semi-complex though not much to look at RIS

THOUGHTS: I had my doubts since since it was Saranac, but it was a lot better than I thought it would be. It was a little to boozy thou, without enough flavor and body to balance it out. I doubt this will ever be great after aging. Actually this was a little disappointing because it was the first impy stout I haven’t truly enjoyed. It’s an OK beer, but an awful impy stout. It just kept getting worse as time went by. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a dark brown that was opaque black in the glass with a small, tan head that mostly diminished and left fair lacing. The aroma was mostly alcohol then moderate hot cocoa mix and cheap chocolate, dark fruit, licorice and cola. The flavor started very sweet and slightly bitter; and finished sweet and slightly bitter. There was chocolate syrup a little cocoa powder, cola, slight dark fruit, alcohol and a little metallic hops. The medium to full body was syrupy and sticky on the lips, but oily too with fizzy carbonation and a dry, metallic and moderate to heavily alcoholic finish.

12oz bottle. Pours black with a medium tan head. Malty and boozy aroma with some dark fruit and a bit of hop. Malty flavor up front and finishes with a hop and alcohol balance. Pretty good overall.

Pours a flat black color with a medium thin light beige head that recedes steadily. Thin sheet of lacing that slides down the glass. Roasted malt and mild coffee aroma. Medium body with a roasty character of malt and coffee. Notes of hops and dark chocolate as well. The finish is lightly roasted coffee and hops with a short bitter aftertaste. Decent overall, althouth it was sort of unfair to try this right after Péché Mortel .

Definitely the best of the Saranac brand. This is a pretty average imperial stout at a great price (got six pack for 8.50!) As has been said it is thin for an imperial stout but the hops do a good job of balancing out the maltyness without overpowering what should be the dominate feature of the beer.

Brewed in the USA......Pours a deep dark brown color with a thin tan head. Aroma of milk chocolate, roasted malts and toffee. Taste is much of the same with the addition of hops. The mouthfeel is a bit thin but well balanced and has a nice mild bitter finish. Overall, I think this is the best from Saranac.

This was a surprise to see from this brewer since they are not known for making big beers. Smells roasty and bitter. Tastes swet with dark fruit and hints of dark chocolate on the finish. Decent.