Saranac Imperial Stout

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

Bottle in a blind tasting. This puppy actually held up rather well against some big boys. Pours extra black with a dense cascading layer beneath a small brown head. The appearance is oily. Aroma of raisins, molasses, brown sugar, soy sauce. A dense mouthfeel with molasses, espresso. A good transition of bitter roast to caramelized qualities was present along with mild hints at soy sauce and even a bit of meat. Hats off to Saranac on this one.

Bottle. Pours like black oil in look and pretty thick in consistency, brown head.. I was pretty skeptical for it being Saranac (which never makes "bad" beers, but extremely average ones mainly), but I have to give it to them, this one is really good. Creamy texture. Aroma is chocolates with some roastiness to it as well. Flavor is bitter chocolate, with roasted malts and coffee. It’s certainly not as complex as many imperial stouts, but it’s nearly perfect in it’s simplicity. Alcohol is extremely masked.

delicious beer. chocolate mixed with espesso taste, along with definite hoppiness- nice complexity. really good aroma, extremely dark in coloration, with a dark head as well- lives up to its imp. stout qualification. great beer, really enjoyable.

An incredible-looking thick and oily jet black. The head is thick and creamy like an ice cream float. Looks big and amazing. Aroma is rich and smoky toasted malt. Has a pale malt as well as a surprising hop presence. Really rich and complex. Cloves and cinnamon. A very mildly roasted malt flavor. Burnt but not harsh. Spicy, like a cinnamon taste. Burnt darkness nicely balanced. Slightly bitter hop. A tad cloying at the swallow. The feel is milky but with a slightly rough edge. It’s a fine drink. Dark but balanced.

Pours a dark cola black with a medium light brown head. Aroma of roasted malts, coffee beans, bitter chocolate and smoke. Taste of roasted malts with a coffee bean presence and hints of bitter chocolate and smoke flavor.

12 oz bottle. Pours a completely opaque brown/black with a very long lasting tan head that laces wonderfully. Nose is malty chocolate, roasty, coffee and there is a bit of astringency in there as well. Nice coffee, really roasted flavor with a little burnt characteristic in there as well. Mouthfeel is oily and lasting, very full. Nice Imperial Stout and one of the best from Saranac.

Courtesy of orcasteve. Pours black, brownish head. Aroma roasted, light hops, malty and grainy. Taste, dry, roasted cofee matls, some dark fruits. This is is loaded with alcohol. Very sweet beer with a nice molasse aftertaste. A really good Imp. Stout.

Poured into a Duvel glass, this brew pours pitch black with about a half an inch of dark tan head. Smell is mostly roasted malt and sweetened coffee blended with alcohol as it warms. The dark roasted coffee flavor is dominant with a pleasant alcohol heat on the finish which is masked very well. There is also a hint of chocolate that comes through as it warms A admirable offering by Saranac. I never really found their brews to be anything spectacular, but this is really a fine brew with is definitely worth the try. You can’t beet it for the value as well.