Scotch Irish John By Imperial Stout

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

Brown bottle, 341 ml, gift from Steve Gamble, savoured on February 11 2008; eye: black, opaque, voluminous cappuccino head that lasts, nice lacing; nose: pleasant roasting, nice vanilla lightly lactic, dark chocolate, slightly burnt; mouth: pleasant roasting, grainy malt offers the backbone on which clings some nice vanilla, a light lactic aspect, a bit of bitterness, long creamy finale in roasted with a little burnt side to it that is enjoyable, lightly bitter, full body, slightly grainy, lactic and slightly oily texture, not much carbonation; overall: nice discovery FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, 341 ml, cadeau de Steve Gamble, savourée le 11 février 2008; œil : noire, opaque, mousse cappuccino abondante qui dure, bonne dentelle; nez : torréfaction plaisante, belle vanille, léger lactique, chocolat noir, très léger brûlé; bouche : torréfaction plaisante, malt granuleux offre une belle charpente à laquelle s’accroche une belle vanille, un léger lactique, une petite amertume, longue finale crémeuse en torréfaction avec un petit côté brûlé amère agréable, légèrement amère, corsée, texture légèrement granuleuse, lactique et légèrement huileuse, peu carbonatée; en résumé : belle découverte

Stubby. Thanks, Glouglouburp! Gotta love that stubby--really takes the air out of the american marketing tendencies that surround this beer style. Black with a dense, creamy dark tan head that falls quickly away to a light foam, leaving decent stalagmites of lace. Big sharp sour coffee nose, almost pungent. Plenty of charcoal, sweet roasty malt, and hints of chocolate in there as well. Rich creamy body, with coffee, roast, char, and a bit of liquorice on the mid-palate. Not much alcohol bite. Long sour coffee finish. This is one of the better coffee bombs I have had, but coffee bombs aren’t an everyday thing for me (even given my love for goliathly huge stouts).

341 ml bottle from LCBO, served at cellar temp. in a tulip glass.

App.: Black, large mocha head. Aroma: Quite fruity, loads of black coffee, dark chocolate and black strap molasses, a touch ashen and smokey, a wee bit of piney, resinous hops peeks through the wall of dark-roasted malts. Palate: Fairly full bodied, soft carbonation, a touch syrupy. Flav.: Much less fruity than the nose, lots of clack coffee and bittersweet chocolate, a touch vinous; tangy, decently bitter and just off-dry.

I still have some 2005 Tsarina and will compare the two eventually (alongside a few other Impy Stouts). For now, I think that Heritage pulled this one off fairly well. Hopefully Perry will let us know if this turned out as he’d envisioned.

Bottle shared by Dickinsonbeer: Pours opaque with a thick lasting brown head. Thick and tarry aroma. Burnt graham crackers, espresso, caramelized brown sugar underneath (but not very sweet) Slick feel with a great flavor. Lightly sweet upfront with a molasses suggestion- which smooth transitions to tons of soft black malt, lightly charred and roasted flavors and a smooth light inky bitterness. Really and awesome easy going Stout.

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.

341 mL bottle. Deep, dark brown; almost opaque. The head is as dark as any I’ve seen. Doesn’t last, though. The aroma is large, roasted malty, with cocoa powder, coffee, smoke, and burnt caramel. The taste is as complex, but not as full as the aroma. The flavours carry over from the aroma, with the addition of an interesting amount of alcohol, and quite a strong bitterness that carries into the aftertaste. It comes as much, I think, from the roast as from hops. A very good beer. (I would have gone with "Colonel" By Imperial Stout myself.)

341ml bottle
6.7% ABV
I tried this beer on Decenber 24, 2007 after purchasing from my local LCBO outlet. The beer poured a coca-cola black with a huge chocolate milk coloured frothy head. The aroma consisted of roasted malts and some chocolate tinges. The mouthfeel was medium-bodied with little carbonation. The flavour was very similar to the 95% Cocoa Lindt chocolate.

Bottle from the LCBO. Pours pitch black with a generous milk chocolate head, leaving large amounts of lacing as the drink is consumed. Strong cocoa smell, accented with coffee. The taste reveals bittersweet chocolate and espresso, reveling in a medium bodied palate. As the drink warms, some of the fruitier more vinous qualities become evident. This really is an excellent offering!