Scotch Irish John By Imperial Stout

Deep black color, with a frothy tan-colored head, leaving laces, with a mochaish, roasty nose, with some black chocolatey and coffee accents, a subtle cappuccino, vanilla note in the aroma follows through on a medium-bodied palate with a toasted, roasted, black malt character, with a faint fruitiness, some smooth black coffee bean, dark chocolate, mocha and cappuccino flavors, with a hint of flowery hop leafiness, leading towards a roasty, bitterness finish.

Bottle. I’ve drank quite a few of these lately, it’s time sit down and actually rate it. This is one fine looking beer! Pours a very dark brown, pretty much black, with a large long-lasting fluffy light-brown head. Looks perfect. Very nice, rich aroma of roasted malt, coffee, dark chocolate, molasses and floral hops (8+). Flavour follows the aroma and is just as good: Dark roasted malt, coffee, dark chocolate, just a hint of alcohol and some floral hops. Nice and long roasty bitter finish. Medium bodied. Fantastic stuff, I’m glad I still have many of them. Way to go Scotch Irish!

Bottle from the LCBO. Very, very dark brown with a large mocha head. Luscious aroma of dark, sweet roasted malt, strong coffee, dark chocolate, molasses - just fantastic. Full, rich mouthfeel. Flavour starts with bitter coffee, developing sweet malt notes in the middle, and a long bittersweet chocolate finish. As Slacks notes below, this beer pairs just perfectly with good quality dark chocolate. A fantastic beer all around.

341ml Bottle: I’d say this comes in a great little stubby bottle, but I sadly must admit I passed right by it last week. Went back and found it today! Pours black as a beer can with a good brown head that lasted about halfway down. Espresso grounds, roasted malt, molasses, and dark chocolate aromas; so rich and inviting, can’t wait to taste! Right off the top it’s bitter, but not in an overpowering fashion, and rich with coffee and grassy notes. Second wave offers roasty malts and chocolate. As it warms it just gets smoother with more dominating espresso and bitter hops. I tried pairing it with some 86% dark chocolate to see what that brought out, and found some incredible sweetness became more prevalent. Perfect pairing, give it a try! Excellent work by Scotch Irish on this one, I really hope this becomes an LCBO mainstay.

LCBO sample- Pours jet black, topped with a thick mocha froth. The head is foamy and long lived. Excellent coffee and roasty aromas, dark chocolate as well as a touch of dark fruit. Very bitter, lots of cocoa, dark chocolate, black coffee, roasted malts, and the perfect amount of bittering hops. A touch of currant in the finish. Not as big and bold as some of the crazy impys out there, but I guess that makes this one a little more approachable. Well done.

Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a huge brown color head with good retention and lacing. Aroma of black chocolate is quite intense with some subtle notes of coffee. Taste consists of a well balance mix between some black chocolate, coffee notes and some light sweetness to balance the mix. Body is full with some great carbonation and no alcohol was noticeable. I thought this was a very well balance example of the style and was easily drinkable.

Dark brown black colour with huge brown head. Aroma is robust, roasted chocolate, coffee and all that other goodness. Flavour follows the aroma quite well, with the same descriptions of flavour as well. It is very smooth. Very enjoyable.

Bottle 341 ml
Appearance: Thick , dark brown ale with solid medium sized mocha creamy top.
Nose :Smooth sweet raspberry entering quality chocolate cake , sweet clean mocha roasts, gentle darkness found behind. Pleasant soft, clean sweet ebony nose.8-
Flavor/Palate : Medium body with lighter side to it. Clean roasty coco beans paired together with sweet brown malts and darker bitter ones. Dangerously smooth and drinkable. Not the biggest imperial on field but one of silkiest ones. Its sweetness goes well with calm warming late alcohol. Pleasant and satisfying but at the end felt a bit empty.