Saranac Imperial Stout

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

bottle. pours oily black with a one finger brown head. plenty of lace. aroma of licorice and brown sugar. roasted malts and a solid bitter come in on taste. decent thickness. carbonation is a little more active than i’d shoot for but overall a very nice imperial. i like that the roasted flavors are clean - theydon’t have to compete with dark fruits and that its no where near cloying as are many imperials. definitely one of the higher quality beers coming from matt.

bottle poured a dark black in color with a nice looking creamy dark tan head with good retention. a nice looking beer from saranac. aroma has dark malt, raisin, baileys irish cream, cocoa, and coffee. mouth feel is unfortunately a little too thin but it has some lively carbination. flavor has plenty of malt, roasted coffee, chocolate, and some back ground hops lurking about. finished with dryness and some bitters and malt. does have some of the metallic flavors i find in most of there beers. definitely a step up for saranac but i liked the ipa. on the first release better.

Poured black with a medium-sized dark tan head. Aromas of chocolate malts, but also sweetness. Taste was very chocolaty but also very sweet. I was expecting it to be much more bitter. Not as strong as other imperial stouts, but still very drinkable.

Pours a dark black color with a 1 finger thick foamy dark khaki head. Decent lasting power with just a touch of lacing. Aroma of a slightly fruity chocolate coffee with cream. A notable sour note with some caramel in the background. An extremely burnt flavor, but up to the threshold of good. The roasted flavor isn’t overpowering. A lot of bittersweet chocolate undertones with quite a dry finish. The body is average for an impy stout. It does leave a pretty nice bitterness on the tongue. One of the better offerings I’ve had from Saranac.

Pours black topped with an inch of fine bubbles cratered by some large ones. Aroma of (50% cocoa) chocolate, earthy malt, old coffee. Tastes thin and unfortunately a little watered down. Dry, chocolatey malt finish. It doesn’t seem very balanced. Overall, it’s been a nice treat that I won’t be able to have again until another trip to the States.

Bottle. Very fruity chocolate aroma, with alcohol clearly evident. Black body, good sized brown head. Flavor is sweet, with roasty chocolate, and alcohol again evident in the finish.

This is certainly an ale that can stand up to the beer abuser that is FX Matt. A highly fruit forward stout with a dry bitter finish that is appealing.

Nice effort for these guys. Very complex, with hints of dark chocolate and coffe. Pours jet black with a very brown head. Thick and rich. Alcohol is present.