Schlafly Imperial Stout

Brewed by Saint Louis Brewery
Style: Imperial Stout
Maplewood, Missouri USA

This is my first Schlafly beer, and it is an interesting one. This bottle was labeled "2008," so I wonder when exactly it was packaged, as it drank like a very "young" stout that could stand to mellow a bit. It poured a pretty inky black, with decent tan head formation. Aroma was a lot of vanilla, and a considerable amount of oakiness. Flavor was a punch in the mouth...if I were a wine connoisseur, I might describe this beer as a "bit of a rascal." It was almost like a young red that is full of tannins, the oakiness and vanilla and sweet maltose flavor was a real mouth-puckerer. Not bad, but surprising. Definitely unique and a departure from other Imperial Stouts I’ve enjoyed lately. Mouthfeel was nice; not to slick and sticky; substantial without painting the inside of your mouth. I thought this beer was interesting and oddly I have another bottle that I’m going to hang onto for awhile and see if this rascal settles a bit as it ages. This 2008 bottle was left at my house by SurlySober, so a big thank you to him!

In the bottle at Phil and Bernie’s holiday stout tasting. Pours black with a medium off-white head. Has a great classic aroma of roasted barley. The flavor is kind of sour. This is an odd beer in that the sourness is just too strong for an imperial stout.

Aroma is chocolate, hints of port, cocoa, and vegetables. Taste is sqashy, cocoa, alcohol, and bittering hops. Finish is a bit milky, sweet, and bland. Meh. I waited so long to try this, too. Hop in the City 2009

HBF09. quite thick and strong aroma and superstrong flavor. framboise-milkchocolate.

Draught at HBF 09. Dark opaque brown, small tanned head. Hot nose with vanilla, molasses, HP sauce, little wood and licorice toffee and cooked vegies, some similar notes with Pesäpuu. Dull marinade like flavor with acidic salmiak, aged fruits, syrupiness, some alcohol and hops in the finish along with bitter cocoa and licorice. Mouthfeel could be a bit thicker. Feels kinda cheap and artificial, really not a fan of those marinade notes.

Draught at Helsinki Beer Festival 2009. Dark reddish brown color with creamy head. Vanilla and bourbon aroma upfront with coffee and chocolate in the background. Sweetish, roasty and whiskyish flavor with firm bourbon barrel note. Some solventy and sharp alcohol notes. There are some tasty elements here but overall the stout is too much lost in bourbon.

Keg (HBF2009)
Very sweet roasty aroma, vanilla’s there, for sure. Salty taste - spicy - and a touch alcoholic. Yup, OK, there’s stoutness too there, that doesn’t need to be said. Tingly finish. Weird. Are there anchovies in this?

Draught 0.2L glass at HBF 2009. Pale brown head. Black dark brown colour.Malty nose. Soft chocolatey taste. Full taste with mild mocca aroma. Some hints of vanilla at finish. A very nice one.