Scotch Irish John By Imperial Stout

Brewed by Heritage Brewing Limited
Style: Imperial Stout
Carleton Place, Canada

Not completely opaque coke coloured pour which builds up a nice and lasting beige cover. Malt-focused nose possesses a fair fruitiness to complement the cocoa nibs and charry biscuit notes. Indeed, soft pear and raisin nuances complexify the burnt cookie base. In mouth, we’re staying in the same mold, though the fruits seem less forward and the toastiness becomes bulkier. Medium-full body offers more bubbles than your average impy, but is perfectly suitable. While certainly noticeable, the alcohol level is not disturbing. In the finish, hops join with the roastiness to provide a drying bitterness. Not a particularly complex offering, but effective. Most satisfying, much better than ancitipated in fact as I’ve not liked Scotch Irish as much as most.

Bottle, 8.4 ABV. Pours back with an extremely thin bubbly head despite a vigorous pour. Aroma is coffee, chocolate, some booze and soy sauce. Nice roasted malts and some good bitterness. Way too thin for an impy. Mild carbonation makes for great silky mouthfeel. Judged on it’s own merit , John By is a very good beer, if judged by it’s style criteria it fails miserably.

2009 bottle. Aroma of roasted malt and chocolate, with a ilttle sourness but nothing overpowering. Appearance is near black with no head to speak of. Taste is much like the aroma with some nice roasted malt flavours but a strange grainy taste as well. Palate is smooth with little carbonation. Overall pretty good, I find it varies from bottle to bottle though and have never been too impressed.

Thick, with a strong and bitter coffee flavour carefully wrapped up in cocoa sweetness. Great aroma, great taste, and terrific ’dense’ feel with hints of alcohol. Excellent overall.

Top popped off sort of abnormally, it is possible that it was slightly loose? But the beer was not skunked, despite the lack of head... Will rerate if the next bottle I have is better. Extremely strong and good aroma with tons of fruit and heavy roasted malts showing very powerfully with a slightly sour and barnyardy smell hiding behind the fruit and malt. Pours black with a weak brown and quickly dissipating head, disappointing. Huge roasted malt flavours up front, although not rivaling some Imperials I prefer, still very nice. Slightly too thin of a body for an imperial, bitterness comes in much later, almost feeling like an intentional afterthought. An artistic aftertaste, with some licorice notes. This bitterness drops out quickly, overall, the flavours do not linger greatly. No boozyness despite 8.5% and a thin body, I could see getting drunk off these beers quickly, easily, and VERY enjoyably! But that’s not exactly what I’m looking for an my average imperial stout. Warms you up just like promised on the label, a good but not great beer. Worth trying if you’re in Ontario and can grab a bottle at your local LCBO.

bottle, via trade with garthicus, deep brown color with some thin off white foam, aroma has a lot of vanilla and wedding cake, flavor of cream and cocoa with some bitter coffee to finish

On tap at Volo in Toronto. Pour is hued blackish brown. Powerful malt and chocolate aroma. Taste is toasty with rich chocolate

opaque brown with a small beige head that fades away. dark coffee, slight buttery smell, burnt wood. taste is rich, bitter coffee, herbal, light hops at the end, a little salt. drying, fairly thin feel. would buy again occasionally, price is fair for it. 8.5% ABV, while it was 6.7% ABV last time i had it